With talent, timing, hard work and a touch of luck, dreams can come true.
They certainly did for Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers in 2024. In the second half of the year, Teen Jesus toured the US for the first time, nabbed glory at the ARIAs, and played stadiums with Pearl Jam.
Dreams will come true again in 2025.
After blowing away Eddie Vedder and his bandmates with their brand of joyful, no-nonsense rock, Teen Jesus has secured a support slot on the US leg of the ‘Dark Matter Tour’.
Teen Jesus is announced on the bill for a run of six arena dates, split across Nashville, TN; Raleigh, NC; and Pittsburgh, PA. Indigenous punk band Dead Pioneers are opening in Hollywood, FL and Atlanta, GA.
“It’s so crazy,” vocalist and singer Anna Ryan tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “Pearl Jam giving us their support has had such an effect on us. So many people have seen that now and seen our name with theirs. That’s what every big band could do for smaller artists.”
Pearl Jam isn’t just every band. The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted Seattle legends invited Teen Jesus to perform at their Ohana Festival in September, a three-day feast of live music at Dana Point, CA. The Canberrans completed the long haul to the US, where their 2023 LP I Love You is released through Mom + Pop Music, and turned the experience into a multi-date jaunt, including a show on the east coast.
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From there, the four-piece — Ryan, Scarlett McKahey (she/her; guitar/vocals), Jaida Stephenson (she/her; bass) and Neve van Boxsel (she/her; drums) — shared the stage with Pixies as a warm-up for Pearl Jam on an Australia-wide stadium tour.
With the final straight in sight, Teen Jesus opened at the ARIA Awards, and won the coveted Michael Gudinski breakthrough artist honour.
When the tour reached its climate at Sydney’s Engie Stadium, Vedder delivered the warmest of thanks for Teen Jesus, telling a gathered audience that he’d stayed up to watch their glorious moment at the ARIA Awards.
“I couldn’t think of better people. And well deserved,” he remarked at the time. “For all the people who are yet to see them before and this is your first time, we are very honoured that you will say I saw them on the same stage as Pearl Jam.”
Ryan is looking forward to even bigger, better things in 2025.“We’re honestly super keen to see how the American audience really reacts to us,” Ryan comments.
“And yeah, playing on massive stages anywhere is insane, let alone doing that over in the US with like one of the biggest bands ever. We’re just super stoked that they even wanted to us on board. We’ve just so grateful for everything.”
Teen Jesus dropped I Love You Too on September 20th, a deluxe edition of their debut album, which crashed the top 10 of the ARIA Chart.
