Interview: Beddy Rays on playing Live at the Bowl and making their mark in Melbourne
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28.03.2022

Interview: Beddy Rays on playing Live at the Bowl and making their mark in Melbourne

Beddy Rays
Words by Ben Lamb

The Aussie rockers are hitting the Sidney Myer Music Bowl stage for an all ages Live at the Bowl show alongside Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers and Dune Rats.

This addition to the stellar Live at the Bowl line-up is a drug, alcohol, and smoke free event that will bring music to a very diverse crowd, many of whom may be attending their first gig.

What you need to know

  • It’s at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl as part of Live at the Bowl
  • It’s an all-ages event co-presented by The Push.
  • It’s happening on Sunday April 10. Tickets are $20

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.

Beddy Rays have been on the up and up in recent years, their 2020 release ‘Sobercoaster’ rocketed them into the Aussie music world, where they’ve been a part of many festival line-ups and supporting slots, joining acts like Tones And I, Hockey Dad, and Live at the Bowl mates Dune Rats on tour.

They’ve gone from strength to strength, recently taking part in the coveted Like a Version franchise on Triple J, covering fellow Aussie Thelma Plum, which has since garnered a great deal of attention.

The group hail from Redland Bay in Brisbane, and after recently spending some time in Melbourne and seeing Live at the Bowl posters around, the boys have been blown away by the attention.

“We were driving around Melbourne, and saw this big poster on the wall with our name on it, and I was just like ‘What the fuck?’,” front man Jackson Van Issum (Jacko) adds with a laugh. “We’ve only been to Melbourne maybe four or five times, we don’t really know the place well at all, so seeing some poster with our name on it wigs us out, but it’s exciting, everything’s exciting.”

The Sidney Myer Music Bowl stage is arguably one of the biggest, having housed some great international and national performers over the years. Soon Beddy Rays from Reddy Bay will be added to that list, where if history’s any guide, they’ll play a killer show.

“I’m sure it’s bigger than the average cereal bowl, I’m keen to compare it,” guitarist Lewis McKenna (Lewy) laughs, pondering the size of the stage.

“We’ll just be doing the same thing, play some songs, and talk a bit of shit between the songs.” Jacko adds, noting that the energy of Beddy Rays’ music will carry in this iconic stage. “There’ll just be a few more people, and we will probably be a bit further apart from each other. So hopefully we can hear each other on stage.”

Rock doesn’t end with Beddy Rays. Audiences will be treated to music from the incredible Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, everyone’s favourite party animals Dune Rats, and The Teethers. Beddy Rays have crossed paths with their festival mates over the years, which’ll mean some great energy on April 10.

“We played with Dune Rats in 2019 over in Thailand at the Pink Cloud festival, and that was awesome, we got to hang out with them,” Lewy adds.

“We went to Yours and Owls festival last year and ran into Teen Jesus there. We weren’t playing, we were just there as punters, and ran into them and had a great time. We’re very excited to play with them.”

An often-unfortunate reality in Melbourne and wider Australia is the liquor licensing of venues, and the subsequent limitation of who can come and catch a gig, usually 18+.

Jacko notes that this means groups like Beddy Rays can’t come out and play shows to some of their most loyal fans. But in recent times, groups like The Push have come together to bring music to fans of all ages.

“We don’t get to do all-ages shows very often. There’s always kids hitting us up asking us to play underage shows, and some of the venues have a smaller room upstairs where we can do it, but it gets too hard sometimes. So, it’s good to be able to play to a bunch of kids (at Live at the Bowl), and it’s only $20 as well, which is awesome.”

Catch Beddy Rays at Live at the Bowl on April 10. Grab your tickets here.