Photos by Sharon Steele -Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin has long excelled at examining intimacy, heartbreak, and personal agency with sharp wit and undeniable vulnerability. After building a acclaimed catalog with her previous records—Don’t Let the Kids Win (2016), Crushing (2019), and Pre Pleasure (2022)—Jacklin entered 2026 at a transformative turning point in her career. Finding herself out of contract, parting ways with her previous management, and freed from industry timelines, she embraced total creative control, culminating in a major global record deal with the legendary indie label 4AD.
The centerpiece of Jacklin’s monumental 2026 is her fourth studio album, The Gem, released in September. Named after the Collingwood pub in Melbourne where she grounded herself when first moving to the city, the record explores the recurring tension between the desire to love and be loved while remaining fiercely free. Recorded in the studio directly above the pub alongside a tight-knit band of friends, the album birthed standout tracks like the lead single “Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon),” capturing Jacklin’s signatures of raw emotional honesty and uninhibited indie-rock grit.
To celebrate The Gem, Jacklin spent the latter half of 2026 launching an extensive headline world tour. Hitting stages across North America throughout October and November—with stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto, and Chicago—the tour highlights her transition into a fully self-directed era. As she prepares to take the tour to the UK and Europe through early 2027, 2026 stands out as the milestone year where Julia Jacklin backed herself completely, delivering her most liberating work to date.
