Review: Beer & BBQ Festival Night One @ The Drive 10/07/26
Beer & BBQ Festival 2026 kicked off with plenty of booze, BBQ, and bands, and featured an unbelievable headline set from Aussie legends TISM.
Words Brad Pine // Images Candice Hu
Review: Beer & BBQ Festival Night One @ The Drive 10/07/26
Venturing into the new home for the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival, The Drive, I was met with a feast for the senses. After receiving a complimentary stubbie holder, I headed to the main stage where Brad Chicken & The Bootstraps were already playing, delivering smooth country rock vibes, preparing everyone for the night of good tunes. The smell of BBQ smoke enveloped the arena, with people already sampling the vast number of beers on offer.
During a lap of the venue to get my bearings, I stopped by Underground Records and Crackle & Pop to do some crate digging. The more adventurous were getting tattoos to remember the night; a decent line was forming this early into the proceedings.
Back to Brad Chicken – his southern rock flair kept up the energy, especially with the cover of ‘Life Is A Highway’, having everyone singing along (either out loud or to themselves). Utilising the screen behind him, Chicken had a playthrough of Red Dead Redemption 2 at one point; a nice touch to the country roots for the set.
The main thoroughfare for the food was outside the Kevin Bacon stage, with various BBQ cultures on offer. I settled on Baltic Fine Foods for a Leberkäse roll and a gourmet sausage before finding a seat for The Mavis’s. After success in the mid-’90s, they disbanded in the 2000s, only to return to touring in the last few years.
Vocalist Becky Thomas burst onto the stage, pink and silver adorning her cheerleader-esque outfit. In contrast to the bright outfits on display, the set was a blistering rock vibe at times, leading up to the main single, ‘Cry.’ They also played their tribute to Ollie Olsen, ‘Heaven’, during their highly engaging set.
In between acts on the Kevin Bacon stage, there were covers performed by a sparkly-jacketed singer, as well as a yidaki performer before Ratcat took to the stage. Similar to The Mavis’s, Ratcat had success in their early career, only to reform and garner a new following with their live performances.
The trio started with a rocking instrumental before filling the set with songs ranging from 12-bar blues grooves to indie rock anthems. ‘That Ain’t Bad’ was a crowd pleaser before their main hit and closer ‘Don’t Go Now’ had the packed crowd wanting more.
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The other stage for the night was The Secret Pickle, on the second level of The Drive. My first glimpse of the stage was with Melbournians Sandy Dish. Their DIY punk/Riot Grrrl stylings delivered the short-fast-loud formula perfectly. Although there was a microphone hiccup early on, vocalist Brook Storti still spat her lyrics to the crowd, who were having a blast. High-energy and definitely ones to check out again.
The penultimate act for the Kevin Bacon stage was Ben Kweller – the American singer-songwriter coming to the end of his first tour of Australia in over a decade. With a notable entry of Chris Mintz-Plasse (yes, McLovin!?) on bass, the band brought the power pop to the audience as the cool breeze started to flow.
Although Mintz-Plasse was the showman of the band – even doing a Shoey – they were a well-oiled rock machine. ‘Family Tree’ had a masterful sing-along orchestrated by Kweller, but the footage of Kweller’s late grandma dancing to the live performance of ‘Penny On The Train Track’ was a brilliant, sentimental moment.
Ducking quickly back to the Secret Pickle Stage, I was able to see a moment of Sonic Reducer. The band seemed to be brought up on a steady diet of indie sleaze and post-punk revival from the mid-2000s.
Vocalist Cormac McKahey sauntered onto the stage with the air of aloofness and flirtatiousness. This, combined with the couches strewn with empty bottles and cans, gave this a real house party aesthetic. I’m all for it.
“What are they going to be wearing?” was the main thought passed around before TISM made their long-awaited entrance. A drum n bass instrumental grew as the members entered the stage. Grey tracksuits with David Byrne-type shoulder pads and stiffened, exaggerated legs. A three-spiked silver headpiece covered each member’s head, continuing the anonymity of the group. As a fan of the American experimental band The Residents, this is the closest experience I will get.
The set was non-stop with staccato dance moves, various props and placards to introduce each song. The packed crowd grooved along to everything; listened intently to their poetry and held them up when they continuously stage-dived into the pit.
Throughout the set, a giant replica of their mask was created in cardboard. For ‘Greg! The Stop Sign!!’, the mask lit up as TISM danced around it. ‘(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River’ was the ultimate crowd pleaser until the giant mask was thrown into the crowd, only to be destroyed. Death to art.
Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.
