Welcome to 2026 with Beddy Rays!

It’s a new year and we’re back home in Cairns/Gimuy, with a looming cyclone and the relentless humidity. Tonight, we celebrate the first concert of 2026 and the first stop on their regional tour with Beddy Rays at the Edge Hill Tavern. The intimate venue hosts a hell of a crowd, with those who are still on holidays celebrating and those who are back at work starting the weekend early.

This is what happened at Beddy Rays’ Do What Ya Wanna Regional Run at the Edge Hill Taven on January 8^th, 2026!

THE DIESEL GYPSIES

As the punters in the pub crowded the bar, our first band of the night took their place on stage: The Diesel Gypsies. Their sound is about as grungy and punk as their name suggests, with frontwoman Tahlia Meadows’ sexy, gutsy vocals hooking the crowd. The band is unapologetically rock, with thrashing instrumentals that the musicians are constantly headbanging to. During the set, a bit of spontaneity from guitarist Joe Wilson and bassist Matt Oliver helped break the ice with the crowd, as they jumped off the stage and opened the dance floor, which would be filled as more people flocked to the stage with their drinks in hand. Jesse Cowan’s exciting drumming continued to impress throughout the set. The band incorporated a few covers of fellow Queensland punk-rock bands, but I really liked their gritty and loud originals and am excited to hear more from them soon!

Fave song: Tango With The Devil

VLADS

With the floor filling up quickly, it was the perfect time to get Vlads on to further heat things up in the already boiling tropical north, and heat it up they sure did. The four-piece formed in 2023, bringing together singer Kai Vladusic, drummer Callum Watson, bassist Edin Duke, and guitarist Matthew Norrish to serve some spectacular surf-rock sounds. Going in blind, I was surprised and excited by the band’s summery sounds, their breezy tunes lifting a weight of the audience’s shoulders and rocking us like a board on the waves. Kai is the ringleader on stage and, sometimes, a little bit of a bad influence on the rest of the boys. Their mission is to kickstart a night you won’t soon forget, with their on-stage antics seeing them leading the chant for shoeys on stage and ending up shirtless by the end of the set. But mostly, their music, with thoughtful lyrics and compelling instrumentals, is an instant hit and a must-hear for any sunset soiree or poolside party!

Fave song: Waste It On Me

BEDDY RAYS

I thanked my lucky stars that I had been at the gig early – not only did I get to see two incredible support acts, but I’d somehow managed to retain my grasp on a front row posse, despite the swarms of people squeezing through the crowd to try and claim the same privilege. The crowd tonight was going OFF, to the point even the Beddy Rays looked a little impressed by the effort.

They started their regional run with a bang, ripping straight into an explosive rendition of All I Wanna Do. Jacko Van Issum led vocals with guitar from the front, with drummer Benjamin Wade at the back and bassist Bradley O’Conner to the left. Tonight, in lieu of Lewy McKenna on guitar, friend of the band Matt Cochran joined the group on-stage. Beddy Rays quickly launched into Hold On, which seemed louder than ever in the regional tavern. Although they kept the pace with Wait A While immediately after, I love the duality of Hold On and A Million Times, especially when the latter almost seems to scale back before delivering those punchy emotional blows. Both songs speak to this desperate resilience we cling to, Hold On coming in as the initial adrenaline rush and A Million Times hitting when we’re near the end of our rope and have to just. Keep. GOING!

Beddy Rays’ classic, On My Own, was about when the crowd started to get hectic. With an night full of surf punk that speaks to the people, it was only natural that we would see the mosh pit get rough towards the centre. The band members kept an eye on the crowd, encouraging us to take care of each other without missing a beat in their songs. They roared through with Fender, then reached the sweet, yet vulnerable, Red Lights. The recurring themes of burn out, endurance, and overcoming in the tracks from their 2025 album Do What Ya Wanna add so much intrigue to their overall musical presence. Every song is easy to dance to, with exciting guitar and reliable rhythm that the audience latch onto easily, letting the fun in the sound guide them on the floor. But the repeat value in listening closer and trying to understand the lyrics and meaning behind each song showcase the band’s talent for capturing something true and difficult about human nature, sharing that in a relatable way that helps the rest of us feel less alone in our stress and exhaustion.

With the mosh getting rougher, the Beddy Rays delivered a timely reminder that would have helped a lot of the crowd out the next day in Big Brekky. The midway point of the set saw a no holds barred rendition of Pocket Rocket, which unleashed a raw punk energy on the audience, with the loud crashes of “Do what you wanna do” creating a cathartic musical movement. They kept up the high with Sort It Out after this, the thrashing guitars and aggressive drumming riling up a frenzy on the floor. After a pause with Handful to show off the addictive tension-building pacing, they returned to the full-scale punk rock of Milk.

Every now and then, you need to be able to think about the people you love, including the ones who aren’t around anymore, and understand how important their presence in your life has been. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t want to be crying at the club. But it’s comforting to feel a little less alone in the act of remembering, which is why I’ve come to adore Stay The Same so much. Jacko’s singing is at its most authentic and powerful in this one, moving the crowd emotionally instead of just to dance this time. To raise the spirits back to the ceiling again (literally as we started seeing crowdsurfers emerge), we were treated to this show’s Like A Version. This time, Thelma Plum’s Better In Blak has been (regretfully) retired to make way (gladly) for Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh, which lit up the eyes in the room all around.

Our show almost came to an end with fan favourite, Sobercoaster. The crowd was invigorated, some of them jumping up at the back of the stage, the roughhouse pushing and shoving of the mosh now moving the crowd and bending the barricade onto the stage. With Jacko dropping all the pretence, the band stuck on stage and jumped straight into the ‘encore’, already well aware we were not ready to go to bed yet! They manifested safe passage south through the threat of the cyclone with Better Weather, and ended by having us wish for this night, no no, this Week On Repeat. For Beddy Rays it certainly will be as they travel from town to town on their regional run, showing love and sharing music across the country. Best of luck for the rest of the tour, Beddy Rays!

SOUNDS GOOD?

If the beachy garage rock of the boys from Redland Bay is something you love the sound of, you might also like to rock out to some of these bands too!

Dune Rats – There’s something in the Brisbane water, with another local act unleashing a similar raw punk rock with a coastal flair. Their music is exciting and liberating, with an edgy appeal.

Skegss – This surfy garage rock band delivers some carefree tunes, perfect for a day at the beach or a night at the pub. With a lighter vibe, they serve solid tunes that can turn any day into a great day.

Sly Withers – Sly Withers feel almost nostalgic in their sound, with a sonic likeness to the garage punk greats. If you love to let loose on a dance floor and in a crowd, this head thrashing rock will get you doing so without delay.