In our 10 Musicians to Meet series, taken from 10 Magazine Australia Issue 25 (out now), we meet some of the most exciting, talented musicians rising up in Australia right now:

Since seeing Teen Jesus at the Great Escape festival in Brighton in 2023, they’ve been on heavy rotation. The first non-male recipients of the Breakthrough Artist award at the 2024 ARIAs, vocalist Anna Ryan, guitarist Scarlett McKahey, drummer Neve van Boxsel and bass guitarist Jaida Stephenson are unstoppable. As they step into new sonic territory with their unapologetic lyrics, raw vocals and guitar-led production, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are rocking our world.

When did you fall in love with music? ‍

Neve van Boxsel: Probably when I was in the womb. My mum went to see The Cure when she was eight months pregnant with me and I reckon that had a real lasting impact.

Describe your approach to making music and songwriting.

Neve: I think we all love starting with some inspiration. Whether that’s a cool line that one of us has written, a riff we all love or just a banger that has the vibe we want to recreate. Going into writing with an idea can be great but also just winging it can result in some cool songs.

What’s the one song that will always inspire you?

Neve: For me any song off Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm [2005] is the biggest inspiration for my drumming. Just the energy in that album is something I think we are all inspired by.

What shaped your musical tastes?

Neve: Definitely our parents. They all have such awesome taste in music and we all grew up listening to so many sick ’90s grunge bands. Also, all of us going to a Steiner school and music being such a big part of our education made us pretty open-minded to all music.

Which artist is your North Star?

Neve: We’ve always come back to Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, but we are constantly led by bands we play with and support. We gain inspiration from every band we see, really.

What makes a great song?

Neve: A meaty riff, interesting drums, catchy and chanty vocals and Jaida on bass.

What’s a project you’ve worked on that you’re most proud of?

Anna Ryan: I think we are definitely most proud of our album I Love You [2023]. Being our very first album we really put all of our hearts into it and we think it’s a perfect introduction to Teen Jesus. We love our baby so much!

Dream collaboration?

Anna: We all have so many artists we admire and dream of collaborating with but personally I think a dream collab would be Chappell Roan. She really knows how to write the hits and I think her music is so fun. I just know we’d have the best time ever working with her.

The ultimate venue or festival you’d love to play at?

Anna: Hell, why not Glastonbury? Shoot for the stars, I say! Or Coachella. Because these are just the big festival names you always hear about that seem so incredibly far out of reach, but if we were to play them it would be unreal and living out the rock star dream, right?

What’s next?

Anna: We are so excited for this year. It’s a big one. We’ve spent the time since our last album writing heaps of new stuff, so you can expect more Teen Jesus bops for sure. We were so stoked to head over to the US with our new besties – are you kidding?! – Pearl Jam at the end of May. We played headline shows in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto while we were there, too... the world is our oyster.

Photograph by Michelle Pitiris

@teenjesusandthejeanteasers