Meg Washington Announces Fifth Album 'Gem', Shares 'Kidding'

Meg Washington has formally announced and detailed her fifth studio album, Gem. The album will mark her first new studio album of original material in five years, following the release of 2020’s Batflowers, and is set for release on Friday, August 8th via Washington’s own Batflower Recordings. To coincide with the album’s announcement, the Queensland-based singer-songwriter has shared the album’s latest single, entitled ‘Kidding’, and expanded her national solo tour with more dates.

‘Kidding’ is the third track to be lifted from the nine-track LP, following the release of ‘Honeysuckle Island’ in July 2024 and ‘Shangri-La’ in March of 2025. In a press statement, Washington described kidding as being “about deciding to reframe your own story”. “It’s about letting go of a common ideal and creating your own context; the masterful feeling of being yourself on purpose,” she wrote. “It’s the first song I’ve ever written with stuttering in the lyrics.” The song’s music video was filmed on location on North Stradbroke Island in Queensland’s Moreton Bay, and can be viewed below.

Washington made Gem with longtime collaborator and co-producer Ben Edgar, whose other session credits include fellow Australian acts Matt Corby and Angus & Julia Stone. The singer-songwriter has described the album as “a message in a bottle”. “[This is] a record detailing the years I spent alone on a deserted tropical island,” she said. “Or was that a dream? It’s about finding something very precious within yourself and refusing to give it up. Insisting on art. Insisting on beauty.” She also revealed that she chose Gem as a title as it is her first name, Meg, spelt backwards.

Gem also features collaborations with American singer-songwriter Kevin Morby, who appears on the track ‘Golden Orb Blues’, as well as Paul Kelly, who features on a re-recorded version of the AACTA Award-winning track ‘Fine’ – which originally featured in Washington’s film musical adaptation of Kelly’s song ‘How To Make Gravy’. The album can be pre-ordered and pre-saved by clicking here.

After playing a run of sold-out solo shows earlier in the year, Washington has expanded the tour around the release of Gem with 16 new dates in total. They can be viewed below.