Fans of The Wiggles, get ready: The Tree of Wisdom is coming to North America.
The beloved Australian children’s group will return to the United States and Canada in 2026 with The Tree of Wisdom Spectacular Tour, a traveling celebration featuring the viral sensation character The Tree of Wisdom, played by Dominic Field.
The 13-city tour launches Aug. 12, 2026 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida, with all-ages engagements at stops including the Miller Theater in Philadelphia on Aug. 20, the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Aug. 22 and The Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey on Aug. 23 before wrapping up at Toronto’s Meridian Hall on Aug. 29.
“Children are a very honest audience,” Field said. “If they’re not liking something, they will turn away and want something else. So, you’ve got to keep them entertained, you’ve got to keep the energy up, and I think we do a pretty good job of doing that. And the American crowds, they react so well.”
Field is the nephew of The Wiggles’ co-founder, creative director and sole remaining original member, Anthony Field, and the cousin of current “Blue Wiggle” Lucia Field. His dance style of wild abandon made The Tree of Wisdom and The Wiggles’ performance of the traditional number “Rattlin’ Bog” an online sensation in 2024, which The Wiggles followed up on with the release earlier this year of The Tree of Wisdom, an LP combining folk songs and other favorites with modern dance beats.
Dominic Field spoke with The Pop Break about the origins of The Tree of Wisdom, the secret to the character’s success and more.
Where did The Tree of Wisdom come from? It is such a singular creation, and it’s such a delight.
The song came first. “Rattlin’ Bog” is a traditional Irish song which people have fun with a lot, and we thought we’d do it – we were actually in Newfoundland, in Canada, which is an island off the East Coast. They’ve got a very Celtic culture there and love Irish songs and Scottish songs, so Anthony thought it would be a great idea to do this folk song, and we agreed. But it’s a pretty hard song to sing and it’s a pretty hard song to play, so Anthony and Lachy (Gillespie, the longtime “Purple Wiggle”) were concentrating on that and they went, “Oh, the song’s about a tree. Dom, you dress up as a tree and just do whatever you want,” and so I took that note seriously and I’ve just been partying ever since.
We started to get good reactions, it’s such a fun song, and then we worked the character up a bit more, gave me a few more things to do, and it’s just kind of blown up. Last year it went viral, and it’s been crazy just to see how much it’s grown.
I like how the “Tree of Wisdom” album combines traditional folk music, songs like “Waltzing Matilda,” with techno beats. It’s such an interesting sonic palate in general and in the Wiggles’ canon. Where did the sound of the album come from?
Myself, Anthony and Seamus (Field), and Johnny (Pearce), the “Purple Wiggle,” we worked on it over Christmas time last year. And honestly, the Wiggles have always had such a good combination of childhood songs but also Anthony’s influence of rock ’n’ roll. And now that there are a few younger Wiggles and younger people in the Wiggles we’ve brought all of our different influences there.
So Anthony would pick a lot of the songs, whether it was “Waltzing Matilda” or “South Australia,” songs like that, songs he grew up with, and then myself, Johnny, Seamus, we brought our youthful beats to it and youthful touches to it. So it was a really cool mix. A lot of my friends who love those Aussie songs, “Waltzing Matilda” or “Old Man Emu,” they really enjoy these modern takes on them, so it’s really cool to have that fusion.
My daughter is three and this is her first time hearing “Old Man Emu,” for example. It’s a cool way to introduce international audiences to these songs, too.
Exactly, and the same thing with the “Rattlin’ Bog,” which is the song the Tree is known for. That’s an old Irish traditional song that people wouldn’t have heard before but now it’s getting more plays and plays. The funny thing is I think a lot of my friends think that it’s our song, because it’s the only place they’ve seen it, so they’ll be in pubs around the world and an Irish singer will start singing it and they’ll be like, “They’re doing The Wiggles’ song!” They’re actually doing an old traditional song, but it’s really cool to see.
Can you tell me about your dancing style? I like to call it controlled chaos. Where does your move set come from?
Thank you for thinking it’s controlled. Honestly, I’d love to sit here and say it came from years of disciplined training in the best dance schools in Australia, but honestly I’ve been dancing like this at parties and weddings my whole life, it’s just how I move.
I grew up and went to an all-boys school where dancing was pretty encouraged. Every time I’d go to a party we would enjoy dancing. Me and my mates, we weren’t in the corner, we would enjoy getting up and just partying and doing whatever dances were popular at the time, and so I’ve always just liked moving. There’s no technical side to it, I’m sure a lot of ballet people would look at my feet and think, “Oh, oh no,” but I’m having so much fun, and I think that that resonates with people as well. There’s definitely a place in the world for beautiful technical dancing, but there’s also a place for someone who’s just having fun and partying to the music. I think that’s really resonated with people.
You’re moving how the music moves you, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.
It’s a lot of fun. And the funny thing is my wife is on stage, she’s a performer with the Wiggles as well, and Lachy, the two of them pride themselves on trying to be professional and not laugh or whatever, and so I very much take it on myself to try and make them laugh as much as I can in the show. So I’ll change up a few moves, change up a few things, just to try and break them.
You can see that in the “Rattlin’ Bog” video, you making Lachy crack, it is very funny.
Yeah. The best thing is, like I said, he takes a lot of pride in getting things right, which is very admirable, but I’m the controlled chaos, as you said, so I’m coming in and I just want to ruin that for him.
How amazing is it for you to work with so much of your family in the Wiggles’ operation? I spoke with Lucia and she discussed how meaningful that aspect was for her, the fact that The Wiggles is a family business.
Honestly, growing up I’ve always been known as the Wiggles guy. That’s my family, that’s my life, and it wasn’t until I started working here and seeing the impact the Wiggles have made everywhere for a lot of children, a lot of people, that’s when it really hit home. And being able to travel and work with Anthony, my uncle, and Lucia, and my brother and my dad and of course meeting my wife here, this is where all my life’s memories are. I take a lot of pride in what this band has done, and I wasn’t there for all of it but the impact I’ve tried to make in the last few years, it means a lot to me, and it’s not just a job, it’s my life. So it does mean so much to me.
