General News
19 September, 2026
Local band features at Rebellion Festival
LOCAL punk rock band Convict Class has returned home from a nine-date tour of the UK that saw them feature at the Rebellion Punk Music Festival.
Rebellion is the world’s biggest punk rock festival and this year celebrated its 30th anniversary (and the 50th anniversary of punk rock in the UK).
The festival was held in Blackpool, a coastal city of 150,000 people that is famous for its theme parks, beaches and punk rock.
The Rebellion Punk Music Festival attracted an influx of 30,000 punk rockers from all over the world, keen to see over 300 bands perform on eight stages over four days at the iconic Winter Gardens in the city centre.
Convict Class featured on the final day of the festival, playing in front of a packed-out Arena Stage.
“We played to a crowd of 1,150 people and the doors had to be locked very early into the set as the hall had reached capacity,” band member Ben Lakey said.
“We were later told that quite a few people waited outside in the hope of getting in to see us, which is disappointing for our fans but also very humbling to know how much support we have.”
This was the second time Convict Class has played at Rebellion Festival, having first played there in 2024.
They received rave reviews from their performance at this year’s event, on the back of launching their second full length album “Not the Enemy” through Randale Records on July 3.
Randale Records is one of the biggest and most well-known punk rock record labels in the industry and is based in Germany.
“The sheer amount of people coming to see us, getting our autographs and having photos with us was very overwhelming,” band member Shane Godfrey said.
“We had a lot of people in the industry mention to us that they were blown away by the support shown for us, and that was seen firsthand by all the people wearing Convict Class shirts in the festival and around Blackpool”.
Convict Class started its UK tour in London and moved on to Bristol, Newport in Wales, Northwich, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and finished at Gateshead (playing at iconic punk music venues along the way that are steeped in history).
They were also lucky enough to play with some of the best and biggest bands in the punk scene over the course of their tour.
“Every show was packed and we went down a storm,” member Alistair Wilby added.
“People just couldn’t get enough of us. They loved our new music and would sing along to our songs like they had seen us perform them 1000 times before.
“One of the highlights of the tour for me was headlining the fringe festival the night before the festival started. There would have been at least 250 in the pub and about another 100 outside that could not get in.
“The venue had no stage so we played on the floor and we soon became part of the crowd. It was electric.”
According to fellow band member, Shane Stenhouse, the tour exceeded their expectations.
“We also made enough money from merchandise sales to fund our next trip to Europe and the UK in 2028,” he said.
Since returning the boys have fielded offers to play at other festivals in the UK and Europe in 2027.
“The interest in us from oversees promoters, festival organisers, podcasters, reviewers and radio presenters has been immense,” he said.
“But we also want to create new music and play shows around Australia, including Perth and Tasmania. We met fans in England that said it was easier for them to come see us perform at Rebellion Festival than it was to see us in Australia.”
Convict Class will now work on promoting its new album in coming months, with shows planned for Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide.
They also hope to have their third album ready in time for their 2028 tour of Europe and the UK.
