Tom Wolfe celebrates sobriety milestone at Golden Guitar Awards, advocates for alcohol-free rural communities

Holding his fifth Golden Guitar award of the night, Tom Wolfe decided it was time to speak up.

"I'll be nine months sober next week, which is something I'm really proud of," he told the crowd at Tamworth's 2026 Golden Guitar Awards.

"I feel like I've got a brand new lease on life and I'm going to grab it by the horns and give it everything I got."

Six months later, Wolfe said he was enjoying music more than ever before.

"Honestly, it's been the best thing I've ever done," he said.

"I'm enjoying the music more, I'm enjoying touring more, I'm singing better, playing better, I'm a better husband, I'm a better father, every part of my life has improved."

"There's another level of honesty happening now that I think is part of why it keeps growing and connecting."

"We're creatively probably in the best place we've ever been," he added, referring to his band, the Wolfe Brothers.

The Tasmanian duo has taken the country music world by storm, winning a total of 15 Golden Guitar Awards over seven albums.

At the 2026 event, the brothers took home five awards, including Album of the Year.

While there were plenty of people raising a glass to toast their success, Wolfe was not about to join them.

"With the work I do, I'm constantly around alcohol," he said.

Wolfe said he made the decision to stop drinking alcohol for the sake of his health.

"It was really affecting my mental health. It really put me in some dark places mentally and I thought, 'You know what, I don't want to do this anymore,'" he said.

"I'm not afraid to go to AA [alcoholics anonymous] and it really helped me."

"I've found a great crew of wonderful, supportive people who have got my back."

Booze and the bush

The founder of not-for-profit Sober in the Country, Shanna Whan AM, has been a leading figure advocating for alcohol-free options in rural and regional settings for more than a decade.

Ms Whan said despite attitudes around alcohol-free lifestyles changing positively in recent years, a stigma remained in rural Australia.

"There is still an element of rural society that is extraordinary hostile about any conversation to do with choice around options beyond alcohol," she said.

"Sadly, there is still a huge, huge amount of work to be done."

Ms Whan said having a high-profile musician open up about his sobriety could be life changing for others considering the same thing.

"When we see or hear stories from others that we personally relate to, it is an absolute game changer," she said.

Ms Whan said socialisation in rural areas often relied on alcohol, which could lead to isolation.

"There is still an exclusive attitude in some areas around alcohol and whether you're included, welcomed or indeed even catered for," she said.

"We don't take a prohibitionist approach, all we have ever done is say, 'Please can we — as bush communities — make sure we are including and catering for everybody.'

"Let's make sure it's OK to say no [to alcohol]."