Sydney’s Bag Raiders are no strangers to turning up the heat – onstage or off. The electronic duo of Chris Stracey and Jack Glass are catching up with Rolling Stone AU/NZ to chat all things live shows, summer madness, and, surprisingly, hot sauce. Stracey’s temporarily stateside, dodging LA’s smoke-filled streets, while Glass is holding down the fort back home.
They’ll reunite soon to gear up for a turbo-charged performance at AO LIVE 2025, the festival colliding with the Australian Open on January 25th. Sharing the stage with Kesha, Armand Van Helden, DJ powerhouse Kaytranada, and pop breakout Benson Boone, Bag Raiders are set to bring their signature high-energy sound to Melbourne’s summer.
“Super high-energy,” Glass teases of their full-throttle set. “Starts fast, ends faster. We’ve got that unhinged energy.” Stracey laughs. “Yeah, it’s going to be a rager.”
Known for hits like “Shooting Stars” and “Way Back Home”, Bag Raiders have spent 15 years lighting up raves, clubs, and festivals worldwide. Now, their live shows are bigger and bolder than ever.
We caught up with the duo to chat about their wild summer, evolving live show, and keeping the spark alive. Oh, and Glass is cooking up a hot sauce side hustle that’s heating up – literally.
AO LIVE 2025 features Benson Boone, Kaytranada, Channel Tres, Kesha, Armand Van Helden, Bag Raiders and more. Tickets are avaliable here.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Chris, are you still in LA? Are you okay?
Chris Stracey: I just left because of the fires. I’m in Ojai, about an hour and a half away. It was mental. We grabbed the dogs, packed a few things, and bailed. The air quality was awful. LA’s never seen anything like this before.
RS: Was your place affected?
Stracey: It’s fine, but some friends were affected. They got evacuated and are staying with us.
RS: Glad to hear you’re safe. You’re heading back to Australia soon?
Stracey: Yeah, I’ve got a quick trip to New York, then rehearsals, then it’s AO excitement. Can’t wait.
RS: Jack, are you looking forward to the AO show?
Jack Glass: Yeah, it’s sick. The whole lineup is crazy. If I had tickets to the tennis, I feel like I’d just go straight to the festival.
RS: You’ve played there before, right?
Glass: A few times, but not like this. This stage setup looks huge. It honestly feels like a festival. We’re pumped.
RS: Any acts you’re excited to see?
Glass: Definitely Armand Van Helden. He’s on the same day as us. And, of course, Kesha.
RS: What can we expect from your set?
Glass: Our set’s super high-energy. Starts fast, ends faster.
Stracey: Yeah, it’s a bit of a rager.
Glass: We’ve got a vocalist too, so it’ll hopefully chill at times.
RS: Is this a new live set?
Stracey: Yeah, We did do it at the Night At The Barracks in Manly recently, but it’s still fresh. We’re trying new things.
Glass: It’s exciting. Anything could happen. We’ve got that unhinged energy going.
RS: Who’s your vocalist?
Glass: It’s our buddy Ric Rufio. We know him really well. He sings with lots of different bands and is such a sick vocalist. It’s cool having someone else on stage. Chris and I have been playing live together for 15 years – so it’s good to get some fresh meat in there, you know?
RS: How has your live show evolved?
Stracey: We didn’t even have songs at first. We were basically a cover band – Bloc Party, The Cure, just playing dance versions our faves.
Glass: It was hectic. We played a lot of those Bang Gang parties too. We were all over places like 77 and Oxford Arts Factory. I remember playing at 77 on Halloween one time, and all our gear got covered with fake blood.
RS: How have you seen Sydney’s club scene change?
Glass: I don’t want to sound like one of those people saying, “It was better back in the day,” but it sucks at the moment. There are some green shoots, though – warehouse parties, new venues popping up. There’s that new one near where Universal used to be that everyone says is sick, but I haven’t checked it out yet.
Kings Cross used to be wild, but now it’s kind of bougie. Everything closes at 9pm. There used to be kids everywhere. Everyone was kind of wasted, spilling out onto the street. People were doing laps and hopping out of cars, and every venue was blaring music. It was pretty full-on – and I guess energising. It definitely doesn’t feel like that now.
Stracey: I can’t really talk because I’m barely ever there, but from what I hear, one positive outcome of the nightlife disappearing is the resurgence of underground scenes. Like Jack said, there are these grassroots warehouse parties popping up, with crews and DJs really passionate about keeping it alive.
RS: You’ve got some crazy upcoming dates, like Japan’s Snow Machine in March.
Glass: Yeah, we’re super excited. It’s been years since we’ve played there. Japan’s such an awesome place.
RS: And New Zealand’s Electric Avenue?
Glass: Yeah, we were just at Rhythm & Alps, and everyone was talking about Electric Avenue and saying how sick it was.
RS: What’s the rest of your year looking like?
Glass: After this madness, I just want to chill (laughs). But we’re always up for Europe in the summer, so we’ll see what happens.
RS: Any new music coming this year?
Stracey: Always. We’ve got the next two or three releases lined up. We had a solid writing period in December. There’s a remix dropping next week.
RS: What’s your collab process like?
Stracey: Nothing beats being in the studio together. We start ideas on our own, but the magic happens when we’re together – bouncing off each other. Then, when we’re apart, we finish things remotely.
Glass: Yeah, when we’re together, we chase the spark. When we’re apart, it’s more about doing the grunt work.
RS: What’s the secret to staying excited after 15 years of making music?
Glass: We’re both easygoing, neither of us is a super diva. The distance helps too – Chris in LA, me in Sydney, it keeps things fresh. It’s also just fun – we love making music and performing together. Plus, all those airport lounges and hotel lobbies – it’s nice to have someone to talk to.
RS: And day-to-day, is it still music full-time?
Stracey: Yeah, it’s all music, but Jack’s also making hot sauce.
Glass: Yeah, I’ve got a side hustle going. My apartment turns into a no-fly zone when I make it. It’s actually so hectic.
Stracey: Everyone needs goggles and gas masks (laughs).
