Interview by Angela Croudace
JD Fortune is returning to Australia this October, bringing a full band and a set packed with the songs that helped make INXS a defining force in Australian music. Following the sold-out response to his 2025 Australian tour, Fortune says it was the connection with Australian audiences that made returning an easy decision.
“The love was insane,” Fortune tells HEAVY. “The energy for the music… there’s something in the DNA because of those songs.”
That connection is something Fortune understands intimately. After winning Rock Star: INXS in 2005, he went on to front the band, stepping into a catalogue that had already become deeply woven into the lives of millions of fans. Fortune says he has heard countless stories from people who associate songs such as Never Tear Us Apart and Don’t Change with weddings, graduations and even funerals.
“I never take it for granted,” he says. “Music is like a time machine.” His upcoming Australian shows will see him performing the best of INXS, alongside Pretty Vegas and Devil’s Party, songs he co-wrote with the band. Rather than reinventing the material, Fortune believes the songs should be allowed to speak for themselves.
“I think the songs are perfect the way they are,” he says. Now, with another Australian tour approaching, Fortune is looking forward to seeing familiar faces and stepping back onto stages in what he describes as his “second home. I cannot wait to just be in front of the crowds again,” he says. And if he could give his 2005 self one piece of advice? Better footwear; after a champagne-fuelled stage mishap once left him waking up in an ambulance.
Rock and roll, indeed.
JD FORTUNE October 2026 Australian Tour Dates
Thursday 1ST October QUEANBEYAN, The B
Friday 2nd October THIRROUL, Anita’s Theater
Saturday 3rd October MARICKVILLE, Factory Theatre
Wednesday 7th October, NEWCASTLE, Nex Newcastle
Friday 9th October, TWEED HEADS, Twin Towns
Saturday 10th October, BRISBANE, The Triffid
Friday 16th October, DONCASTER, Shoppingtown Hotel
Saturday 17th October, MELBOURNE, Max Watts
Tuesday 20th October ADELAIDE, The Gov
Saturday 23rd October PERTH, Astor Theatre
