Dune Rats

Dune Rats have long embodied the do-it-yourself ethos of punk rock — a tradition deeply rooted in Brisbane’s music scene. From the early days of bands like The Purple Hearts and The Saints, Brisbane has been a breeding ground for rebellious, high-energy music, and Dune Rats are no exception.

Since their formation, the trio — Danny Beus (vocals, guitar), BC Michaels (drums), and Brett Jansch (bass) — have made a name for themselves with their infectious, carefree attitude and their knack for creating raucous, feel-good punk anthems that somehow manage to sound both reckless and refined.

The journey began when Danny, a beach-loving skater from Coffs Harbour, moved to Brisbane and met BC at a local band competition. While neither of their bands won that day, the friendship and musical partnership that followed became the core of one of Australia’s most beloved punk acts. “At first, there weren’t any bands writing for kids like us,” Danny recalls, “so we just started putting on our own shows.” That grassroots approach became their DNA — fostering a DIY scene that helped lift up a wave of Brisbane artists including DZ Deathrays and Violent Soho.

2026 opens at full throttle, with Dune Rats hitting the road as main support on YUNGBLUD’s Australian tour before circling back to where it all began. They’ll follow with the OLD MATES Tour — a run of intimate underplay shows through the pubs, coastal towns and sweat-box rooms that shaped the band’s early years. The tour lands alongside the release of OLD MATES, an album collecting tracks from the band’s first three EPs alongside the brand-new single “Sharks” — celebrating the foundations of Dune Rats while proving they’re still moving forward, louder than ever.

As Danny puts it: “We’ve been around for over a decade now, and the secret’s pretty simple — we love what we do, and we love each other. Every year we push ourselves to go harder, play better, and have more fun. ”