Tahlia Borg & Cahli Blakers - Teenage Joans 'A Unifying Catch Up'

It is no secret that Adelaide duo Teenage Joans are an act to watch this year.

Their insanely fast rise in popularity has managed to land them a spot on the UNIFY Forever lineup, so I simply had to get ahold of the Tahlia Borg and Cahli Blakers to quickly pick their brains about their addition to the festival, 2022 plans as well as everything else that is happening in the background.

Hi girls, thanks for taking the time to chat. Congratulations on your number 84 spot on the recent Triple J hottest 100, how is everything going on your end now that you have had time to process this achievement and where you are currently at in your music career?

Cahli: Thank you so much. It was very cool to reach 84. We reached 87 last year so to get an even higher spot this year is honestly a dream come true. other than that things are going really well. We have been touring a little bit, played our first shows of 2022 just recently with The Chats which was fun. Things are going in a good direction right now.

You have experienced a super fast rise in popularity. How have you managed to navigate that while also stepping into adulthood and going through the motions of becoming and adult?

Tahlia: I started university last year and trying to balance touring with that was a bit difficult but luckily we are only playing shows on weekends so we have the week free to be able to work, study and do anything else we need to do. We have a really good support network that we reach out to whenever we need help or advice.

So with UNIFY coming up next week, what should we expect from Teenage Joans in Tarwin Lower?

Cahli: We are so excited for this festival. Being able to fit in on the UNIFY Forever lineup after having just toured with the likes of Amy Shark is really cool and we are super grateful for the opportunity. We're glad that other can notice the diversity in our music. We haven't had much of a chance to play with some of the heavier bands that we love yet so we can't wait.

Is UNIFY a festival that has been on your radar for a while?

Tahlia: Yeah for sure! When I was younger I would want to go to the event every year so going there for the first time as an artist is really cool.

Which artists are you most keen to watch perform at the festival?

Cahli: We really want to watch Yours Truly play but they are performing on a different day than us so hopefully we will be around for it. We are also friends with the bands Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers and Bugs so it is look as if their won't be any dull moments.

What else can we expect from you in 2022?

Cahli: You can definitely expect new music, we have been working on material behind the scenes. We are hoping to finish off a few tours that we started last year, particularly the headline tour in support of our EP, that would be fun. So basically we want to wrap up everyone that COVID cancelled on us plus a whole lot more.

I'm so keen to watch you kill it at UNIFY Forever! Good luck girls.

Interview by Adam Rice