Tropical F... Storm (TFS) will bring a whole new meaning to the term 'meatspace' when they headline the 2026 Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival.
Since launching their debut album 'A Laughing Death In Meatspace' in 2018, TFS have become one of Australia's leading proponents of experimental rock.
Their kaleidoscopic style of genre-bending music has taken them all over the world and to every type of festival imaginable.
Yet, for TFS frontman Gareth Liddiard, a festival based entirely around the premise of beer and barbecue is an unexpected first.
"This whole thing, the beer and barbecue, is that new or old or what? I don't even know," Gareth says. "Dude, it's heaven. I'd never heard of a festival with a name like that, so that's good. It's even better than your regular festival. Heaven."
Running since 2015, this year Beer & BBQ Festival takes up residence at The Drive over two days (10-11 July), marking a new chapter for the much-loved event.
TFS are scheduled to headline the Saturday line-up alongside SPEED, Party Dozen, Public Figures and more. The Friday festivities will see prototypical edge-lords TISM take to the stage as well as Ben Kweller, Ratcat, and The Mavis's among others.
Though no strangers to the standard festival atmosphere and fare, TFS will find themselves in a very different type of meatspace at Beer & BBQ. "Festivals are almost like being on holidays," Gareth says.
"It's going to work when you don't have to wear your uniform or going to school on uniform-free days, that's what it feels like. You don't have to play quite as long and it's not all about you, because it's a festival line-up rather than your own headline show.
"So, the pressure is off; backstage is usually fun and it has more of a holiday vibe. We generally approach them a bit looser, see where they go; and you have to play it by ear because it's not your crowd, so you don't know how they're going to react and you have to change course here and there as the mood takes you, but it's always fun."
Nevertheless, once Gareth and his bandmates hit the stage, the only acronym on anyone's saucy lips will be TFS.
"A TFS show [is] a bit of chaos, a bit of a party action, a bit of emotional trauma action, a bit of everything in between," Gareth says.
"We just get up, do our thing, you get your money's worth and that's what we do," he laughs. "It's a whole gamut of emotions. We'll put you through everything before we're done."
In the list of humanity's greatest achievements, the pairing of seared flesh with a cold brewski ranks right up there with the discovery of fire, creation of the printing press, and erasers on the ends of pencils.
The backyard barbecue is synonymous with Australian culture and remains one of our most revered traditions.
However, it's a social practice shared all over the world, where people come together to share a casual meal over the fire, exchange stories, and enjoy each other's company.
From the asado of Argentina/ Uruguay and the churrasco of Brazil/ Bolivia to the yakitori of Japan, the jerked meats of Jamaica, mangal in the Middle East, mouth-watering slow-cooked brisket for which Texas is famous, or the simple pleasure of a few snags and steaks on the grill somewhere in suburban Australia – no matter where you go, barbecue (and beers) are ubiquitous.
"Barbecue and beers, I love it like anyone does," Gareth proclaims.
"If we're not travelling straight away, we always get time to hang out at festivals, and we walk around and check them out.
"So, we'll definitely do it with this one because it's so different. Usually, they're just music and that's it. There's booze but not barbecue, so we'll check it out."
TFS released their fifth and latest album 'Fairyland Codex' in 2025. Since then, the band have toured heavily on the international circuit and returned to their home base in regional Victoria where Gareth says writing new material is already underway.
At the same time, Gareth and Fiona Kitschin are also preparing for The Drones' upcoming national tour – the band's first in ten years.
"Me and Fi are getting ready for this Drones tour that we've got, so we're busy with that but when we're not organising that we're trying to write songs," he says.
"We’re playing all over Australia. We go from top to bottom, from Darwin to Hobart and everywhere in between."
If you ever find yourself invited to a barbecue hosted by TFS, Gareth recommends you come prepared with your drink/s of choice, maybe a potato or pasta salad for the table, and to join in on some truly inventive, if not downright torturous, party games.
"We do a thing called Training Wheels, which is you have all the equipment for a band then you have a person with a laptop and Spotify or iTunes, whatever," he explains.
"It's always gotta be hits – Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Michael Jackson, sh.t everyone knows – then the person with the computer plays, say 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson for one minute.
"The people with the instruments have to quickly learn how to play it and the music is coming through the PA. At one minute, the person with the computer yells 'training wheels off!', then stops the music and leaves the band to finish the song. It's disastrous in the most hilarious way."
Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival 2026 is on at The Drive 10-11 July.
Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival 2026 Music Line-Up
TISM
Ben Kweller
Ratcat
Tropical F... Storm
SPEED
Tim Rogers
Kirin J Callinan
The Mavis’s
Party Dozen
The Loud Hailers
Public Figures
Sonic Reducer
Sandy Dish
Stupid F... The Silly Clown
Brad Chicken & The Bootstraps
Bromham
El Coyote
Hesh
Jon Ann
Young Offenders
Drew Akin
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Silverchair
Food Line-Up
Big Box BBQ (ACT)
Carolina Smoke (NSW)
Smokey Uppercuts
Bread & Bone Wood Grill
Leon's Smash Burgers (VIC)
Wings World (Aurora, Illinois)
Baltic Fine Food
Braz Oz Brazillian BBQ (VIC)
Eggelaide
Franklin Harbour Oyster Co
From Blammo
Jamaican Mi Eat
Lion's Roar BBQ
Ninin's Indo Street Food, Smokin Grillers
Taco Cartel Vs Nugg Lyf
Drinks Line-Up
Bowden Brewing
Bridge Road Brewers
Coopers
Crafty Robot Brewing
Deep Elite Brewing
Elix-Elite
Heaps Good Spirits
Heaps Normal
Little Bang Brewing
Lobo Cider & Spirits
Loophole Brewing Co
Mountain Culture Beer Co
Muffy Malone Brewing
Mxtology
No Eye Deer Brewing
Noodledoof
Penny Red Beer Co
Pikes Beer Co
Range Brewing
Shapeshifter Brewing Co
Sixtwelve Brewing
South Coast Brewing Co & Chubby Unicorn Brewing
Sure Brewing
The Suburban Brew
The Uraidla Brewery
Tiny Fish Brew Co
Tops
Watsacowie Brewing Company
Woolstore Brewery
