Twenty-six years into her career, seasoned performer Macy Gray still has a soft spot for Australian audiences.
Macy Gray’s upcoming Encore Tour is a gift in itself, as Melbourne becomes the first city in the world to hear her new album The Trouble With The Truth.
Macy Gray The Encore Tour
- Where: Hamer Hall, Melbourne
- When: 11 September 2026
- Tickets here
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“We love it out there. [Melbourne] is one of our favorite places to play and, you know, it’s just a fun place, it’s just cool, it’s one of those places where you don’t have to ever be bored if you don’t want to.”
She reminisces on her walks back to the hotel after the show as one of her favourite Melbourne experiences, getting swept up in a city she doesn’t really know:
“Sometimes I go and I’ll turn on my audio recorder and I’ll just record my walk home and then… You get home to the hotel and listen to it and people are talking about crazy stuff out there.”
Gray’s authenticity has been a catalyst for her success, and nothing has changed in the creation of this new body of work.
The Trouble With The Truth investigates our relationship with honesty, and what happens once people receive the truth they wanted.
“Once you tell the truth, you have to start explaining things, and the person might not see it that way, that’s another thing. There’s always more than one truth, you know what I mean?”
Gray explains as she delves into the inspiration behind her latest album.
Describing it as “really fresh, something that no one’s listening to right now” – true to the originality that’s always defined Gray’s sound and voice – she discusses the complicated reality of honesty in our modern world.
Existing in an industry that’s changed so much over the past 26 years hasn’t always been easy, but Gray has kept true to herself.
“I know it’s a very different thing [now] than when I was coming up. I Try was just such a song no matter what year it came out. I just got really lucky that that was my song. That’s one of those songs that’s going to be around.”
And over her long career, Gray hasn’t changed where she finds her inspiration.
“The things that inspire you would depend on who you are as a person. So… As long as that remains, it probably wouldn’t change, you know?”
With an instantly recognisable croon since she first hit our airwaves back in 2000, Gray is adamant that screaming, dancing and partying are on the agenda for her Melbourne pit-stop – and her voice can keep up.
“I’m really lucky. I tell everybody I have super vocals, like my vocals should have a cape, you know? They just stayed there for me my whole career.
“They just worked. And it’s not because I do anything spectacular. I mean, I’m careful with my throat, but I don’t really have a routine.”
So cancel any plans you have the next day, because you’ll be dancing all night. And we have only ourselves to beat – Gray teased that her last Melbourne crowd was so good, this one will have to level up to top it.
If it’s your first time at a Macy Gray show, you’re in safe hands too. Now a very seasoned performer, Gray knows how to do what she does, and knows her limits as well.
“It’s gonna be a great show. You know, it’s gonna be… it’s gonna be a platter. Like I said, we’re gonna sing songs and dance and get sweaty and party and you know, people start making out and screaming. Jumping up and down. It’s gonna be one of those nights, you know?”
Catch Macy Gray’s The Encore Tour at Hamer Hall on September 11, 2026.
This article was made in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne.
