CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 155: BLESSTHEFALL ON TOURING AUSTRALIA WITH MEMPHIS MAY FIRE
Interview by Brooke Gibbs.
After nearly a decade away, blessthefall are finally making their long-awaited return to Australia — and the excitement is anything but quiet. Known for their high-energy live shows and deep connection with fans, the band have built a lasting legacy in the metalcore scene, with Aussie audiences holding a special place in their story.
In this Creative Conversation, frontman Beau Bokan reflects on what it means to come back, the evolution of the band’s sound, and the balance between growth and staying true to who they are. From chaotic early tour memories to a renewed focus on authenticity and connection, it’s clear blessthefall aren’t just returning — they’re coming back stronger.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: It’s been nine years since your last Australian tour. What does it feel like to bring blessthefall back after so long?
BEAU BOKAN: Oh, man, it is pretty incredible. It's hard to believe that we're actually making our way back over there again. We’ve been there a few times for Soundwave Festival and some other shows and had headliners and things like that, support tours. In interviews, when people ask us what’s our favourite place, we always say Australia. It’s always just so much fun and the fans go apeshit. Just being down there in the culture and being around everybody – it’s always a good time.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: You said Australia is one of your favourite places to tour – what have you missed most about Australian audiences specifically?
BEAU BOKAN: There's just some energy. Whatever’s in the water… I don’t know what it is, what they’re feeding you guys, but it’s always just super upbeat, energetic, and I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad show down there. Even the smaller gigs we’ve played… I remember doing one in Perth or something a long time ago and it was a smaller show, like a couple or few hundred people, but it felt like it was a big, packed room. They just come, and they sing, and they have a good time, and I don’t think they’re afraid of having fun.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Absolutely! Do you feel like there’s pressure coming back after such a big gap, knowing how hyped people are for your return to Australia?
BEAU BOKAN: No, I don’t think there’s pressure. I think it’s just more pent up and built-up excitement. We’ve played some pretty huge shows in our careers, so the pressure doesn’t really feel like pressure anymore. It just feels like excitement. With some of the giant festivals we played last year, some of the biggest shows we’ve ever played in our lives, people would ask if we were nervous – no. I’m just stoked to get on stage and do what we love to do.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Do you have much time to explore while you’re down under?
BEAU BOKAN: We’re pretty busy. I actually haven’t looked to see how many days off… I don’t even know if there are any. But there was one tour we did, Boys of Summer, which was a headliner, and we actually drove to every city besides Perth, but everywhere we drove to… typically you fly between shows and that was the first time we ever drove between shows in Australia. We had this awesome dude, Sam – he sings for a band called Antagonist – and he was like, I’ll show you guys the reason. He was close to our age and stuff, and we’re like, dude, we just want to go cliff jumping, and he’s like, oh, I got you, bro. And so, every day we would find a new spot to jump off a cliff into some water or go swimming at some beautiful beach. So, man, I hope there’s a little bit of time to do some of that stuff, because that’s my favourite.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: You’re teaming up with Memphis May Fire for this tour. Both bands have been a part of the metalcore scene for a long time – how does it feel to be sharing the stage at this time of your career?
BEAU BOKAN: We’ve played Warped Tour with them, we’ve done the All Stars Tour back in the day, and they’re just veterans. They’ve been around almost as long as we have, I think, and they’ve worked really hard to find their identity as a band. And when they found it, man, it just really exploded for them. They’re such a tight band to play with and they’re just so easy to hang out with and get along with, and they’re so chill. A lot of these festivals we’ve played, like Warped Tour and things, they’ve been on as well, so we’ve got to cross paths with them. It’s gonna be nice to share the stage with them again.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Can fans expect any kind of crossover between the two bands during the tour?
BEAU BOKAN: Oh, that’s something we have to talk about. I would love for Matty to come up and do a part on one of our songs. It would be fun. There’s definitely a possibility.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Any particular song you reckon he’d be great at?
BEAU BOKAN: His voice is incredible, so he could sing or scream pretty much anything, so it’d be nice to have him out for… even if we played a really old song or something that was like heavy screaming, it’d be so sick to see him and Jared get in there and do those parts together.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Your shows are often described as raw and emotionally intense. What’s the key to creating that kind of connection with your fans?
BEAU BOKAN: I think just being authentic and being yourself. I still struggle with the stage voice, like, some people get up there and there’s some bands that can really pull it off. I saw Parkway Drive recently, and I used to listen to Parkway way back in the day when they sounded like a garage metal core band. And we watched them at this festival, and there’s fire and there’s freaking… it’s just the craziest set. And he just has this, like, commanding crazy and I know Winston’s such a chill dude, and it’s like, man, that’s something that I need to work on because I think I’m just more down to Earth. Like, try to connect with the fans and let them know they could be doing what I’m doing. It’s nothing crazy if they just put their minds to it. So, I feel I connect in that way. But I think they enjoy doing that and you could see that it brings that out in them. You know, it lets the guard down a bit. They don’t have to act too cool or something in the crowd. It’s like, we’re all here to have fun. Let’s just not pretent we’re too cool.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Absolutely! Do you approach live shows differently now compared to how you did in your earlier days?
BEAU BOKAN: In a way, yeah, I think just trying to sound better live. I think that kind of was secondary back in the day. It was more like; how do we just do the craziest possible… Like, I remember doing a front flip off the speakers at Roadhouse in Sydney and was surprised I didn’t break my neck. Like, I literally thought I was… I was like mid-air, like, I’m gonna break my neck. Why did I just do this and ended up being okay? So, I think like, obviously putting on a good show and having the energy, but focusing on just sounding good. We take a lot of pride in how we sound and how we come across. We don’t want to put on a shitty show. I think especially now that everything goes on the internet. It’s like you have a bad night or you sound like trash, like you’re gonna get roasted. So, I think just trying to sound as good as possible but keeping the energy. I think that’s the balance. You know what I mean? I think some people sacrifice sounding good for losing some of that energy, and I just love to see a band go off on stage. That’s my taste.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: You’re coming back with a brand-new album — how does that differ from what fans heard before?
BEAU BOKAN: I think again, it’s just growing and maturing. And I know that’s a story for a lot of us bands that have been around for a minute is just trying to grow but grow with our fans and not lose that identity that we have and not lose whatever that thing is our fans have connected with in the first place. You don’t want to throw that all away, and at the same time, you want to show growth and maturity in a way. I think that comes with the songwriting. I think it comes with performing and all that stuff. So that’s, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I think we’re doing a more updated version of ourselves. And we saw some of those… it’s interesting, like some of the comments and people will be like, I don’t know how they did it. It sounds like nostalgic, but it sounds modern. So, I think that was the best compliment because we were like, how are we gonna update our sound without bailing on who we are as a band and what got us to this point? And, you know, it’s fun to write those poppy and radio-ish songs sometimes, but it’s not who we are. We won’t ever put out a whole album of that, and that’s just us. There’s no offence to anyone who’s done that, and awesome bands that are very successful with that formula. But, we only do what we enjoy and what we think our fans would enjoy.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: I actually think it’s a good mix because there’s something in there for the older fans, but something for any new fans discovering you for the first time through this tour.
BEAU BOKAN: Yeah, I agree.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: What’s the main thing you hope Aussie fans take away from you’re shows while you’re here?
BEAU BOKAN: That we love doing what we do. I hope people leave the show going like, damn, that band loves to play shows, because it is awesome. We are very lucky that we can still do this, this far into our careers. We don’t take it for granted. I just hope people can leave, just feeling inspired and knowing it’s never too late to start doing something and chasing a passion or dream.
FUTUREMAG MUSIC: Anything else on the horizon?
BEAU BOKAN: We do have a music video coming out. We have a song called Venom, and we’re gonna put that out before we come out there. We filmed it a while back, but it’s finally coming out. We had to wait for the right time. We’re like, well, we better drop it before this tour, because we’re going to be playing that one on the tour.
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE and BLESSTHEFALL April 2026 Australian Tour Dates
Friday 24th April MELBOURNE, Northcote Theatre
Saturday 25th April SYDNEY, Manning Bar
Sunday 26th April BRISBANE, Princess Theatre
Tuesday 28th April ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory
Wednesday 29th April PERTH, Magnet House