Global Pop Sensation Jonah Marais En Route To Australia

Multi-talented singer, songwriter, and musician Jonah Marais, a founding member of Platinum-selling global pop sensations, Why Don’t We is bringing his aptly named The Dreamer Tour to Australia. It promises to be a dream come true for fans of Why Don’t We, as Jonah will be accompanied by WDW co-founding members Jack Avery and Zach Herron. The tour marks the first time the trio are returning to Australia since 2019 and the first time reuniting on stage since the band’s 2022 performance in New York City.

Jonah rose to international fame as a member of Why Don’t We, selling millions of records, amassing 3.1 billion streams worldwide and over 870M YouTube views, and several global tours. As a solo artist, Jonah has continued to evolve with vulnerable, genre-blending music that showcases his distinctive voice and songwriting depth. With a dedicated global fan base, Jonah has continued to tour and release new music.

Expect an unforgettable evening as Jonah, Jack, and Zach bring their signature blend of catchy hooks, heartfelt lyrics, high-energy performances, and tight harmonies to the stage, bringing beloved Why Don’t We hits like 8 Letters, What Am I, Fallin’, Don’t Wake Me Up, Trust Fund Baby, Hooked and more back to life for the first time in years. The show will also feature Jonah’s acclaimed and evolving solo material, along with special surprises from Jack and Zach. Jonah talks to Rob Lyon about the tour.

Must be very exciting getting back to Australia for the first time since 2019?
Absolutely, I’m so stoked to get back there and have so many fond memories from being there before, so it’s going to be a great trip, it really is.

Did it take quite a bit to get the planets to line up to make it happen this time around?
Yeah, I think I’ve kind of had it in the back of my head now for a few years of, man, I got to get back to Australia. So I mentioned that to my manager, and he called a couple people he knew, and all of a sudden we had some good conversations. I also thought, oh my gosh, I could reach out to a couple of the guys from the band I was in and see if they would want to go too, because I knew how bad I wanted to go back. So I asked them, and they were down, so it all kind of lined up, and I feel like it really lined up at the right time for everybody.

What are you most excited for fans to experience on this tour?
Well, the last time we were in Australia in 2019, we were still boys in a lot of ways. We were young, young, young men, and we’re still young men, but I think we’ve all grown a lot, and you’ll hear that in the music. We’ve hired an amazing backing band, so the show is just going to be really well put together. We’ve been doing some rehearsals already, and it’s going to be some new songs, some unreleased songs that we never got to put out from back in the band days, and then some of the big hits as well. So it’s just going to be, I think, maybe the best night of the year. If you can come to a show, it’s gonna be awesome.

Are you leaning more into what you’ve done previously, or is there some of your own solo material in the mix?
We’ve all worked on some solo stuff. I’ve been putting stuff out over the years, and actually I’ve leaned into a little bit of this country direction, which has been super fun to explore. I live in Nashville now, in the U.S, and yeah, it’s just been really fun to explore our solo things. But we also know a lot of the fans are going to be coming to hear those nostalgic hits that they know so well, so we’re going to be singing all those good ones, but also give you a taste of what we’ve been working on individually.

Living in Nashville, is it hard not to get swept up in the whole country vibe?
Well… yeah, I think it was actually kind of a recall to my childhood and my roots. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, next to a lake. I would go exploring with my dog around, and go fishing. So I think I’ve always kind of had a heart for country music, because a lot of the material that is written about is so home‑like to me. After the group, I kind of experimented with a few different sounds, and then I was just like I think I want to go to Nashville and give this country thing a try, because I love the music so much. I’ve learned a lot over the years about song writing, and it’s been so fun to dive into that world.

Having Jack and Zach along for the ride as well, how does that dynamic work?
I think we’re all going to play our own sets, so we’ll all have our own times that we’re on stage, and then at the end of the show, we’ll all get on stage together and give them what they want, you know what I mean? It’ll be a really fun kind of finale of the show, if you will.

With what you’ve done previously, are there songs that feel completely different to perform now compared to a few years ago?
Yeah. I think a lot of the songs have grown on me over the years, too. Like, I really think 8 Letters is such a strong song. I really love that song. Some of the ones that I feel like, in the moment, it came out and it was big and we sang it every night, but it didn’t fully sink in, now it’s going to feel different after these years to get back on stage and do them again. I’m excited.

Is performing under your own name the future for you?
I think no matter what, I’m going to be performing under my name, Jonah Marais, going forward. But that being said, there have been some really fun talks over these last couple months about potentially trying to do something together as a band again. So we’ll see how… if that all comes together, man, I would be so excited and yeah, so we’ll see. That’s all I can really say at this point. But I think no matter what, even if the band fully comes back and everything, I would still probably be releasing some solo stuff here and there, because I just love making music.

How would you describe where you’re at creatively? Are there plans for more solo music, maybe even an album?
Yeah, so before the tour in Australia, I will have released four more singles that aren’t out yet. I have a song called Let It Kill Me coming out, and these tunes are just about real life for me. I’ve gone through the ringer in a lot of ways. After the group, I struggled with the anxiety and depression, and honestly kind of dove into substance abuse for the wrong reasons, after the group, just sort of to distract myself and numb from everything going on. Yeah, I got sober after that, and that’s been a huge part of my journey and my story, the road of recovery and taking care of my health, and putting the right things in place to maintain that.
So a lot of those themes come through in this music, the road back to being the best version of myself.

Congratulations on that, that’s awesome. Is it hard, when you release singles, to know what collection of songs might fit an album, or is it just the way things are now where you keep dropping singles and go where the music takes you?
I think right now, just being able to go into the studio and make a song and put it out as a single, it kind of is the easiest flow for me. But I do think that at some point, I’m going to take the time and really make a body of work that flows together. I do think that’s something that’s missing a lot in mainstream music these days. I would love to really go into the studio and make another album. We did that in the band, obviously, but to do it for my own thing as well, that’s definitely on my radar of things I got to do at some point.

Getting back to Australia, what is it that you’ve missed about touring here?
I think the people. There’s a warmness to Aussies that I just love so much. I love the accents, the weather down there. I think we’re coming down in your guys’ summer, so I’m excited about that and honestly, the shows we played there as a band are some of my favourite. They’re ingrained in my brain as probably the loudest shows we ever played. We have a lot of fun memories, we did the ARIA Awards one year, played a lot of different little gigs in Australia, and it was really fun.

Do you enjoy playing the smaller venues like you are on this tour?
Oh yeah, it’s one of my favourite things to do, because you can really see the faces in the audience and connect with people.
As a performer, to actually see people in person singing back lyrics that I wrote about what I was going through at the time and see that it’s really helping people in the world, it’s a beautiful feeling.

Are there any Australian experiences you’re looking to tap back into, koalas, kangaroos, lamingtons, Vegemite?
Yeah, no Vegemite for me this time around. I tried a little bit of it last time, and I think that was my only amount of Vegemite I need in my life. But other than that, man, we got to see the koalas last time, and I’m really hoping I get to go see them. I made friends with one of them, so… we’ve lost touch, but I want to see him again.

How do you see the next chapter unfolding for yourself?
Man, all I want to do is build it with other people that… you know, there’s just good energy around, there’s a lot of happiness, really do my very best every single day to get better. Ultimately, give the fans the best possible night that they can… that they can have and then at the same time, I’m building my thing, I’m now engaged to an amazing woman. So I’m really looking forward to marriage and sort of building a life with somebody like that as well. I think Australia is always going to be high on my list of places to go, whether that’s for shows or just travel and hang out with the lovely people of Australia.

Might need to extend your stay and take it all in for an extra week.
It’s not a bad idea. Not a bad idea. We’ve been thinking about it.

Are there any Aussie bands or Aussie artists that have really caught your ear?
Man, I’ve met the 5 Seconds of Summer guys before, they’re really sweet guys, and I know they’re Aussie. Aside from that, I’m trying to… he’s not an artist, but I love Robert Irwin. I love that guy. We got to meet him while we were there last time, on the red carpet, I think, at the ARIAs, and he was so nice. I think he had, like a snake or something with him, I’ve always followed his content, so I hope I get to run into him again at some point too.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Jonah Marais on the following dates, tickets from The Phoenix…