Wheatus will return to Australia and New Zealand in January 2026 to celebrate 25 years of their debut single Teenage Dirtbag with an 11-date tour.
Watch the Noise11 interview with Brendan B. Brown of Wheatus:
The shows will see Wheatus perform their entire self-titled debut album from start to finish, alongside requests from fans spanning their three-decade career. Audience requests have been part of the Wheatus experience for nearly 20 years, ensuring that no two shows are ever the same.
The run will include dates in Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle, Tamworth, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Fremantle, Duncraig and Auckland. For fans, it is a chance to revisit a defining anthem of the 2000s performed live in full force, and for a new generation who discovered the song through social media, the anniversary tour is the ultimate way to experience Teenage Dirtbag.
Released in June 2000, Teenage Dirtbag became an unlikely outsider anthem that continues to resonate with audiences a quarter of a century later. Written by vocalist and guitarist Brendan B. Brown, the song was inspired by his childhood growing up on Long Island, New York.
In 1984, when Brown was just 10 years old, a local teenager named Ricky Kasso committed a drug-fuelled murder while wearing an AC/DC T-shirt. The media frenzy painted heavy metal fans as dangerous and deviant. For Brown, who idolised bands like AC/DC, Metallica and Iron Maiden, it was an early lesson in stigma and judgment. He channelled that sense of alienation into the defiant chorus of Teenage Dirtbag.
The single was a global success. In Australia, it spent four weeks at number one and became the country’s second-highest selling single of 2000, earning triple-platinum status. The UK embraced it too, with the track peaking at number two and going on to achieve quadruple platinum certification. To date, it has sold over five million copies worldwide.
Despite censorship battles over its lyrical references to guns and violence, the song endured as a rallying cry for outsiders. Its blend of self-deprecation, humour, and sing-along catharsis made it one of the most enduring rock singles of the 2000s. Triple J listeners voted it into their “20 Years of the Hottest 100” in 2013, confirming its long-lasting place in Australian music culture.
Wheatus 25th Anniversary Teenage Dirtbag Tour – Australia & New Zealand 2026
Australia
Thursday, January 15 – Crowbar, Brisbane
Friday, January 16 – UC Hub, Canberra
Saturday, January 17 – King St Band Room, Newcastle
Monday, January 19 – Tamworth Country Music Festival, Blaze Showroom, Tamworth
Tuesday, January 20 – Manning Bar, Sydney
Thursday, January 22 – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Friday, January 23 – Wrest Point, Hobart
Saturday, January 24 – Freo.Social, Fremantle
New Zealand
Sunday, January 25 – The Carine, Duncraig
Tuesday, January 27 – Tuning Fork, Auckland
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow us on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
