SUNSTATE SOUND COLLECTIVE 2026

25 May

The Sounds Of The Sunshine State!

Saturday 9th May 2026

Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

We’re stressed out. We’ve been held up on the way to SUNSTATE SOUND COLLECTIVE, and it looks like we’ve missed the opening band,

but fortunately they were late getting started, so we enter the Mansfield Tavern’s main arena as SAGNAR are dropping the hammer and proving that they are much, much cooler than I was when I was a teenager! The Hervey Bay three-piece clearly worship at the altar of NOFX, and their Californian punk sound is played tight as a drum. Their last song is still ringing in our ears, and they’re already on us to buy merch from other bands on the bill. It’s nice to see people with the right priorities! After this show, they can stand as tall and proud as their drummer’s mohawk.

Ipswitch thrashers NEMISIDAL warned us once not to spell their name backwards. Then they warned us twice. If only they’d warned us three times, then we’d be spared from knowing that their name spelt backwards looks like “LADISIMEN”, and we don’t know about you, but we’re richer from the experience. (Also, in editing this gallery, Rashid figured out that SAGNAR spelt backwards is RANGAS, and we can’t decide which one we like more!) NEMISIDAL’s stomping mid-paced thrash gives the punters a neck workout, serving up sick riffs with a self-depreciating sense of humour, and they make sure to thank the Mansfield and the bands that have travelled a long way to be here.

Watching CHEMICAL PRISONER set up, I remarked to Rashid that I have absolutely no idea what kind of sound is about to erupt from the speakers, but when the Brisbane trio kick off, one thing is clear: I like it! There is a baseball cap of Animal from The Muppets hanging on the drum riser, and drummer Ziggy is living up to it perfectly, looking like a tornado of hair and drumsticks. Their angsty grunge sound would have made them a perfect fit for the riot grrrl scene of the early 90s, and they get extra points for a cool shout-out to THE CRANBERRIES classic Zombie.

The schedule is a bit abstract throughout the day, so we accidentally miss the first half of Bundaberg crew BLUNT’s set. I’m sans photographer as the three-piece belt out some massive grunge anthems, Matt Neilsen’s voice unfurling over our heads as Rafe and Tobias keep the groove locked in (seriously, their drummer is a beast!). I get my social media paparazzi on as they introduce the last song and mention that it took them a while to get here today because they rode camels from Bundaberg. Now that’s dedication!

Pictured: BLUNT photographed by Tom Wilson

I’ve been seeing the name on posters for years, but tonight is my first time witnessing Ipswitch skate punks TOMOHUNG do their thing. Bouncing back from some flog nicking a bunch of their merch in the lead up to the show, they have beaming smiles as they take the stage. Hopefully their guitarist has better luck selling his Washburn, which he is playing tonight with a “4 SALE” sticker on the body. Their singer is soon bored of the stage, and ends up running around the venue while singing. You can run, you can hide, but there is no escaping TOMOHUNG.

Confession time: I don’t know enough about rock music to accurately review CUSTARD PONY, but I’m going to give it a red-hot go, because they were one of the most fun bands of the day. It’s not often that I go to a show where the guitarist is wailing on a Gretsch like THE LIVING END’s Chris Cheney (I’m not kidding, I had to Google what a Gretsch is) (It’s actually an Ibanez Artcore that White Chocolate is playing, but I did say that it was a ‘Gretsch-style‘ guitar at the gig - Rashid), but their groove and enthusiasm are both infectious – their bassist swigging a can of pre-mix and sending it sailing over my head. Rock solid music played by funny buggers – more please!

I am going to attempt to review COPECAINE without making a reference to the overalls they like to wear. Ready? Let’s do it. After starting late, the bands have been hustling to bring things back on schedule, and they’ve done such a good job that by the time COPECAINE come onstage, they’re actually ahead of time! What to do? Well fortunately, their singer is also the event organiser, so they make a decision on the fly to chuck in some covers of NIRVANA and THE PIXIES alongside their own tracks. An outstanding set overall.

Wait. Damn it!

It was only in February that SEVEN ENEMIES announced that their singer Joel was leaving, and as fate would have it, it was in the comments of that social media post where they would find their new voice in Davey Round. Fast forward to today, and the dreadlocked beast is stalking the stage as they hammer out tracks from last year’s Artificial Reality EP. With the thick, almost nu metal riffage and Davey’s vocals, they reminded me of hearing ONE MINUTE SILENCE for the first time as a teenager. Ace.

The same drum kit has been used all day, and it simply can’t withstand BURN THE KINGDOM’s metal assault, when a disobedient cymbal keeps falling over and a roadie has to come out and sit on it for the rest of the show! I recently saw them for the first time when they opened SHREDFEST, and they seem to have only grown more intense since then. They bring out PRODUCT OF NEGLECT guitarist Pierce Thompson to lay down some brutal guest vocals, and finish with a rally call to come to the Battle of the Bands to compete for a spot on the Necrosonic Festival, which may bring them back to this venue in August.

Today has all been a bit high-brow, so there is only one solution, and that’s Bundaberg misfits THE BROWN SIZZA. The trumpet player appears to have a BDSM submissive kneeling beside him as an instrument rack, and the stage is covered in dildos, blow-up dolls and other adult store novelties as they bust out a set that would make MACHINE GUN FELLATIO proud. MGF were the first “mainland” band I ever saw growing up in Tasmania, and it feels like THE BROWN SIZZA share a lot of the same sensibilities (which is probably why they’re facing an uphill battle against censorship on social media). They’re naughty, they’re risqué, but they also didn’t forget to write good songs. Awesome.

What do you KRAVE? If you Krave three people improvising when everything goes wrong onstage, you’re in luck … certainly luckier than they were! Bassist/vocalist/whirlwind Siana Davis blows out her bass strap mid-song, and across the stage, guitarist Ryan White has a member of the crew hurriedly buzzing around him fixing something with his rig. Do they miss a beat? Please, this is KRAVE we're talking about! They’re here to unleash the beast, and unleash it they do – Siana’s massive voice threatening to take the roof off the Mansfield, even after she gives up on her strap and finishes the set with her bass on one knee.

There is a buzz in the air when PRODUCT OF NEGLECT are playing, because they know that in a few short days they’ll be opening for cyber metal legends FEAR FACTORY. Guitarist Pierce must be a horror fan, because he loves a jumpscare, waiting until his bandmates are head-down-bum-up before sneaking up behind them, all without missing a single riff of their slamming deathcore assault. Their performance is so captivating and powerful that I’m too distracted by their brutality to realise that Pierce has come offstage, and next thing I know, he’s standing right behind me like a caveman Michael Myers! Well played.

HEAVY SUNDAY’s singer has gone to the trouble of dusting off his finest VB tracksuit for the occasion, and now we feel a touch underdressed as the Brisbane punks hammer out Warcry. Sonically they remind me of a band like BODYJAR, and they’ve got the sense of humour to match, especially with a track like Catfished. They thank the audience and toss a free shirt before busting out a new number called Dying Slowly, and end where they began, rounding out their set with the first song they ever released, Social Unjust.

Who do you get to close out a lineup like this? How about a band with two singers and no drummer? Bundaberg brutalists STROIDZ don’t need anyone perched on a drum stool to deliver a ferocious battering, and the twin vocal attack rattles our eardrums. As STROIDZ drop the hammer for the final time, it’s time for us to say goodbye. Huge thanks to the organisers for putting together a great lineup!

Photos by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

Gallery

Click above to view the GALLERY

Tom Wilson

SUNSTATE SOUND COLLECTIVE 2026

The Sounds Of The Sunshine State!

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU

© Sense Music Media, 2025