Teenage Joans, Tour De Force
Ahead of their Unify Off The Record festival tour, Teenage Joans’ guitarist/singer Cahli Blakers reflects on the band’s journey, making music and the duo’s new sound.
Image by Kane Hibberd
Teenage Joans’ Cahli Blakers (21) and Tahlia Borg (20) are a force to reckon with. Since winning Triple J’s Unearthed High competition in 2020, the self-described ‘juice-box punk-pop’ duo have been taking over the music industry. They’ve toured with Amy Shark, Ball Park Music and Sly Withers, released their debut EP Taste of Me (which won seven awards at the 2021 SA Music Awards – the most ever in the event’s history), and recently jetted over to Austin for the annual South by Southwest festival.
But the sudden ascent to the top hasn’t left the pair feeling spun out. Back on home turf, the young Adelaide stars are taking time to reflect on everything the last three years have thrown at them. That is, before they hit the stage again for Unify Gathering’s first roving festival, Unify Off the Record, in May.
“We were going Level 100 for a while there,” says Cahli, speaking with The Note from her bedroom via Zoom. “We’re reflecting as we go. Tahlia and I both do scrapbooking, collecting things from our trips. I feel like it’s the best way to take everything in because it’s all happening so fast. But it’s cool. We’re not overwhelmed or anything. We’re having fun.”
Cahli and Tahlia became best friends and bandmates in late 2018 through their involvement with the Northern Sound System (NSS), the youth-focused music and creative arts facility that has mentored the likes of TKAY Maidza, TOWNS and George Alice. “The day we met we just clicked instantly – like a soulmate bond type of thing. It was like we were meant to be there together in that room, on that day.”
The following year, Teenage Joans played “60-something” gigs around Adelaide. Tahlia was still in Year 11 and neither bandmate had their driver’s license, relying on supportive parents to shuffle them between weekend gigs and school night shows. “I think out of those 60 gigs, we only booked two of them. One was our single launch and the other was a show we put on so my brother’s band could play their first gig,” says Cahli.
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“Back then, playing at the local pub for, like, 100 bucks or something, there was no pressure. It was a new thing. Those first gigs in that first year – it was the first time I broke a string onstage, the first time we played in all these venues, the first time we had more than five people come to a show… It’s a lot bigger now.”
Despite having several national tours and an overseas stint under their belts, Teenage Joans is certain that Adelaide is the right place for them to make a music career. “People think you can’t do it. It’s nice to prove those people wrong,” Cahli says. “Of all the places we’ve travelled, Adelaide is still my favourite place. It’s home.”
Currently, the band is working on the upcoming release of their debut album, which will drop at the end of the year. The first single, ‘Superglue’, was released earlier this month, and Cahli says the track is the first born of Teenage Joans’ bigger, tougher and more mature sound.
“It was one of the earliest songs we wrote for the album. It builds the bridge from our last era to this new one. It was fun to be a teenage band, but we’re definitely adults now.”
And while only at the start of their careers, the pair are keen to bend music industry lore. Cahli and Tahlia are always the ones to call the shots, whether it’s deciding what songs to release as singles, what topics to cover in their lyrics or writing their set list ten minutes before they hit the stage.
“Who’s telling us it has to be a certain way? I think that’s what sets us apart. “We love taking risks. We’d still be doing all of this if there were only ten people showing up to a gig. We want to show people that we’re doing this for real. It’s not just a side thing, it’s our whole life.”
See Teenage Joans play at Unify Off The Record alongside Thornhill, Yours Truly, Ocean Grove and more this May 26 at Hindley St Music Hall.
