CKY On Coming Back To Australia After 14 Long Years

CKY are officially heading back to Australia this month, and honestly? It’s been too bloody long.

After a run of cursed cancellations, near-miss tours and more than a decade of false starts, the Pennsylvania rock anarchists will finally touch down for a whirlwind 72-hour east coast sprint in January – three shows, three cities, zero chill.

CKY – ’96 Quite Bitter Beings’

“It’s been over ten years, right? At least?” drummer Jesse Margera laughs when we chat ahead of the tour. “More like fourteen? That’s inexcusable. But I’m just stoked it’s finally happening. We’ve had a string of bad luck the past couple of times we were meant to come down, so yeah – I can’t wait.”

CKY haven’t toured Australia since Soundwave 2012 – their first run here without original frontman Deron Miller – and every attempt to return since has somehow gone pear-shaped, including the now-infamous Sing It Loud! package tour and their aborted 2025 run with Alien Ant Farm. But this time, it’s locked and loaded.

And tbh? The timing couldn’t be better.

“We just wrapped a UK run and it was amazing,” Jesse says. “What’s really cool is seeing OG fans bringing their teenagers now. Sometimes the kids bring the parents, sometimes it’s the other way around – it’s a full generational thing. That’s really special.”

That inter-generational energy feels perfectly aligned with CKY’s legacy. These are the guys who helped soundtrack skate tapes, surf compilations and the entire Jackass era, with bruising anthems like 99 Quite Bitter Beings, Flesh Into Gear, Escape From Hellview and Familiar Realm still rattling speakers two decades on – and still being name-checked by modern heavyweights like Polyphia.

After releasing comeback single Can’t Stop Running last year, CKY are also quietly stacking new material.

“The reception’s been amazing,” Jesse says. “We’ve got a ton of new songs basically ready to go – just putting the finishing touches on them now. You learn not to rush things anymore. You’ve gotta live with these songs forever.”

Fans heading to the January shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane can expect a healthy cross-section of the band’s catalogue, plus newer cuts.

“It’s hard to pick with so much material in a 70 or 80 minute set,” Jesse admits. “But you learn what really hits by playing so many shows. Some tracks go off in certain places, some don’t – it’s always interesting seeing what people connect with.”

There’s also renewed chemistry in the band, thanks to long-time friend Mike Leon stepping in on bass, after stepping away from his long-time gig in Soulfly last April.

“I was starting to think we were the Spinal Tap of bass players,” Jesse laughs. “But Mike’s awesome – we’ve known him forever. He’s so solid it makes my job easier as a drummer.”

Beyond the stage, Jesse is equally keen for the cultural essentials.

“I’m really looking forward to your seafood and chasing it with a Victoria Bitter,” he grins. “We’ve got jet lag days though – I’m 47 now, that jet lag hits hard.”

And when it comes to how CKY are still standing nearly 30 years after forming as a school band?

“We took a hiatus for a few years, and that’s when you realise how good you had it,” he reflects. “That break lit the fire again. You miss it – and it makes you want to do it properly.”

After fourteen long years of waiting, Aussie fans finally get their shot to tear the roof off with one of the most influential rock bands of the early 2000s – and this time, finally, nothing’s getting in the way.

You can suss all the dates and grab your tickies down below.