Live @ the Town Hall is closing out an extraordinary 2026 season with a five-band punk-rock blowout, headlined by one of Australia’s most unmistakable musical exports: The Chats.
Born on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and launched into global consciousness by their 2017 banger ‘Smoko’, The Chats have built a worldwide following on ultra-raw rock ’n’ roll, razor-sharp observations and the simple belief that music should be fun. From ‘Pub Feed’ and ‘Identity Theft’ to their more recent high-voltage releases, their songs are fast, funny and gloriously unfiltered, and their live shows turn rooms into full-throttle pogo parties.
Joining them is Melbourne grunge-punk duo Mannequin Death Squad, bringing the infectious live force that has carried them across Australia and around the world. Boorloo hardcore outfit Sooks will deliver immediate, loud and rage-filled punk; Grand Casual bring their genre-bending sounds and anything-but-casual stage presence; and Albany’s own PACKHOaRSE will set the pace with a raw, hard-hitting collision of skate punk, hardcore and doom.
The 24 October show is the fifth and final Live @ the Town Hall event in a huge year made possible through Revive Live. This support has enabled the program to expand significantly, bringing national acts to Albany whose touring routes might otherwise bypass the region, while creating valuable opportunities for Great Southern and WA artists and helping strengthen the live music ecosystem and regional touring circuit. We’re incredibly grateful, and this feels like the perfect way to finish.
Fast, loud, funny and totally off the leash. Don’t miss it.
Tickets: Standard $60+BF / Concession $50+BF / Group of 4-6 $55+BF / Group of 6+ $50+BF (group discounts will be applied automatically at checkout)
*Food truck and vintage clothing market outside in the Town Hall courtyard from 5pm*
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THE OCTOBER 2026 LINEUP...
Hands down one of the world’s greatest post-millennial punk-rock groups, The Chats reconnect popular music with its roots in ultra-raw rock ’n’ roll, injecting their own fresh perspective and making an instantaneous connection with youthful fans across the globe.
Formed on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the trio first broke through with their 2017 banger ‘Smoko’. But that was only the party-starter: an entrée to a high-volume, full-throttle world where intoxication, excitement and laughter rule supreme. Their 2020 debut album, High Risk Behaviour, delivered further rowdy classics including ‘Pub Feed’ and ‘Identity Theft’, before the pandemic brought their rapidly growing international momentum to a grinding halt.
Undeterred — and overflowing with frustration and fury — The Chats struck back with their second album, GET FUCKED: an incendiary, hyper-adrenalised blitz of all-killer-no-filler punk-rock that captures the band’s explosive live energy. Featuring singer/bassist Eamon Sandwith, drummer Matthew Boggis and guitarist Josh Hardy, the record is faster, tighter and every bit as funny, tackling everything from the cost of cigarettes and ticket inspectors to macho surfer culture, being paid late and getting drunk in every pub in Brisbane.
Steeped in punk culture but driven by an instinctive feel for what rocks, The Chats deliver hyper-melodic punk-rock-’n’-roll bangers with the carefree attitude that music should be fun. Expect raw energy, sharp observations, big laughs and the kind of pogo-party euphoria they simply don’t make enough of anymore.
Mannequin Death Squad (MDS) is an instrument swapping, rock/grunge/punk band from Melbourne, Australia. The independent duo has left a trail of enthusiastic and passionate fans in their wake across the globe. Mixing catchy pop melodies with punk rock riffs, and an infectiously energetic live show.
Touring worldwide completely DIY, MDS have shared the stage with many including: Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Kennedys, Hollywood Undead, Soft Play, Soulfly, DZ Deathrays, NENA, Frenzal Rhomb and WAAX.
Their sophomore album ‘Wise and Dangerous’ released April 4th, 2025 independently. It was toured around Australia with a sold-out Northcote Social Club in Melbourne and a close to sold out second show added at the Tote. The album charted at #3 on the Indie charts (AIR) and is currently nominated for the Australian Music Prize.
MDS are currently touring the album recently selling out headline shows in Europe and touring with DZ Deathrays and Press Club. They performed at BIGSOUND Festival in September.
Previous years featured appearances at Rebellion Festival (UK), six Europe tours, SXSW Sydney twice and a headline set at Ziro Festival in the scenic foothills of the Himalayas in Aranachal Pradesh, India.
2023 was capped off with being handpicked by Mike Muir to support Suicidal Tendencies on their Sold-Out Australian Tour. The band’s debut album “Super Mental Psycho” was co-produced with Australian producer Mark Opitz (AC/DC, INXS, The Angels, Divinyls).
Three lads escape the mundane on a pedantic search for spicy sounds, Grand Casual are an eclectic bunch. From the anxious organised frontman to the resourceful guitar mechanic, and the exuberant comedic drummer, this is something else. Known for an exceptional live presence and genre-bending sounds, it’s no surprise the catchphrase “There’s nothing casual about these guys” has left the lips of more than one delighted audience member.
Nannup Music Festival Main Stage 2024 was a career highlight for the lads thriving in the arena. Their performance coinciding with the release of their latest single Fine. A short break lead hard into a ludicrous tour of North West WA taking in Karrajini National park followed by a solid run of shows down the Coast. Bullara Station and Finlays Kalbarri, tour highlights.
Sooks are a four-piece hardcore punk act from Boorloo (via Brasil). Forming in early 2022, Sooks have 3 releases (Demo ‘22, the full-length LP ‘Moral Decay’, and 2025 EP ‘Taste the Leather’). Each release marks an evolution in sound without compromising the ethos of immediate, loud and rage-filled at the heart.
Sooks have been described as “raw, phrenetic and charged”, writing “anthems for the disenfranchised” that span topics from women’s healthcare, techno-feudalism and trans rights to inherited wealth, sleep aids and leaf blowers. Sooks are “hardcore punk of the nastiest order, shifting between mid-paced stomps and full-speed attacks built on piercing riffs and buzzing rhythms” capped off with “intense and cathartic paint-peeling vocals”.
Catch Sooks live witness the squeals and guttural yells of a hell raising banshee.
Holding it down in WA’s deep dark south for the last 6 years or so PACKHOaRSE are a hard hitting, super high energy, trashy, skate-punk 4 piece.
Sets can flow from traditional punk sounds and snappy hard-core belters, through to face melting doom metal grinders. PACKERS put a strong emphasis on lyrics and write songs that are relatable but clever enough to keep you listening and believe an energetic live show is where the focus should be. PACKHOaRSE with its strong affiliation to The Shed are all about the D.I.Y. approach, designing and printing their own merch and recording live in-house whenever possible.
An inspiration to young and old in the Albany community, PACKERS crew leave the pretence at the door, keep it super raw and will get heads moving every time, whether they're punk heads or not.
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Saturday 24 October 2026
Albany Town Hall, Kinjarling
18+ event
