Wave Raiders’ new song, ‘Tear Me Down’: OUT NOW
Introducing Wave Raiders, a trio of alternative rock disruptors from the Sunshine Coast. Fuelled by a love of alternative rock and surf culture, they’re forging a genre they call ‘Neo-Surf Rock Psychedelia’. They’re loud, unpredictable, and impossible to ignore.
Wave Raiders have just made television history as the first rock band to ever perform with full instruments live on The Voice Australia. They shocked a national tv audience of over 1.5M people when they lit up the stage with their original song, ‘Don’t Wanna Be Late’, in their Blind Audition. The coaches were singing their praises as they advanced all the way through to the Quarter Finals, where Richard Marx declared “the music industry and the world needs Wave Raiders!”
This next generation of stage shredders have skyrocketed from their local RSL to major festival stages across the country such as Good Things Festival, Airlie Beach Festival of Music, and Bluesfest Byron Bay. They’ve had viral festival moments, including being called onstage by Spiderbait to perform ‘Calypso’ in front of tens of thousands of fans. They’ve toured with The Screaming Jets and supported The Superjesus on tour. And as if that’s not enough, they’ve also shared stages with the likes of New Found Glory, Amy Shark, and The Angels.
Wave Raiders released their debut EP ‘Nothing Better’ in 2025, gaining international radio airplay, playlist support, and raving reviews. Production was overseen by the internationally acclaimed, ARIA-winning, and Grammy-nominated Steve James, known for his work with Cold Chisel, The Angels, Skunkhour, and The Screaming Jets.
In 2025, Triple J selected Wave Raiders for their 2025 Unearthed High Yearbook, noting their recent single ‘My Way’ as a head-banger “most likely to headline a seaside festival”.
In early 2026, Wave Raiders shocked beach goers with a pop up gig on Australia Day, which they performed on the back of utes, on a remote beach in South East Queensland. It was a moment that went viral on social media with over 1M views, cementing their place as influencers in the scene.
In April 2026, the Berlin Music Video Awards awarded Wave Raiders a Badge of Honor for their ‘Don’t Wanna Be Late’ music video, in recognition of their originality, quality, and diversity.
So what is ‘Tear Me Down’ about?
At only 14 – 16 years old, the band members of Wave Raiders – Pete, Tom, and Jayden – explain:
“This song is, in part, our response to all the haters out there that gave us crap for going on The Voice as a punk rock band and for performing our original music. We copped all sorts of comments, like ‘we can’t sing’, ‘we’ve sold out’ and ‘we’re only ever going to be a pub band’.”
“It’s a call to arms for anyone who is discouraged by comments on social media or by bullies in general, to keep doing your thing”.
“None of us are perfect but that’s what makes us unique. Don’t change who you are”.
“Our overall message is pretty simple really. Don’t listen to the haters and never give up”.
What was the thought behind the ‘Tear Me Down’ music video?
Pete, Tom, and Jayden explain:
“When we went viral on social media for doing a pop up gig on the back of utes on a remote beach on Australia Day, we thought why not do a bunch of pop ups in our music video”?
“We filmed in places that people would not expect us to go. We played on trains, the top of a car park in the middle of Brisbane city, Queen Street Mall, and in the middle of a cross walk”.
“Our choice of locations in our music video was another way of us saying: we don’t care what people think, we’re going to keep doing things our way, and we’re not going away anytime soon”.
‘Tear Me Down’ Credits
Written by: Peter De Waard, Thomas De Waard, Jayden Georg, and Pete Robinson (The Screaming Jets)Performed by: Wave Raiders
Produced, mixed and recorded by Steve James at Red Engine Recording Studio, Brisbane
Mastered by Leon Zervos at Studios 301, NSW
Videography: Logan Pearce, Dojo Media
Cover Art: Tammen Wilmott, Ark Eleven, Sunshine Coast
Photograph: Tony Mott