A Quick Chat with Jon Ann
Congrats on the release of Kings Cup! For those who don’t know, what is the song about?
Christie - Dragging yourself to that house party even if you don’t feel like it! Being surrounded by your mates. Music is loud, now you’ve found yourself with the Kings Cup in hand fortunately and unfortunately. You’re finally feelin' free from that toxic ex. Come on in but make sure to grab yourself a drink/s on your way through, They’re in the kitchen sink and the bathtub covered in ice! I’m living in the moment and surely so are you! We wanted Kings Cup to serve as a big F U to any buzz kill or pretentious individual at a house party. Simply put if you’re not here for a good time you can walk straight out the door.
How did Jon Ann form?
Christie - Originally, it was just myself and my twin brother Brendan, writing and releasing softer indie rock as a duo. It was introspective, a bit dreamy, and rooted in the kind of personal storytelling that felt right at the time. But then Covid hit, the world turned sideways, and so did we.
Isolation, frustration, getting older, getting angrier—it all started to creep into the songs. The soft edges got sharper. The lyrics got louder. The sound followed. What started as indie slowly morphed into something more raw, more urgent, more honest.
Bringing in Gianni on drums, Cameron on bass, and Kyle on lead guitar was a huge turning point. It gave us room to expand and experiment, to push the sound further and make it hit harder. Grateful to have Gianni, Cameron, Kyle and Brendan a part of this band/music family.
What’s your favourite show you’ve played so far?
Christie - Any gig at Cranker is a lot of fun especially LOLA’s single launch.
Brendan - Hot Mess Festival in the Riverland, our most random gig but full of amazing people and plenty of beers. Appreciative that the band could camp at the venue overnight.
Cameron - I’d say Hot Mess festival in Murtho, great turn out, great atmosphere and everyone was just having a great time even despite the nonstop rain pouring down.
Kyle - Definitely the Lola launch at the Crown and Anchor, our energy as a band was at an all time high, which fed off the energetic crowd.
Gianni - Probably the festival in Murtho at the woolshed brewery. Great food/drinks, great crowd and great stage. Was a hectic morning getting up there but the gig was so worth it.
Which album do you have on repeat right now?
Christie - Legal Speed by Radium Dolls.
Brendan - Murder Ballads by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Cameron - A whole album I’ve been listening to on repeat would be Silverchair’s Freak Show.
Kyle - If That Makes Sense by Spacey Jane.
Gianni - Been thrashing Vol 1 by the Traveling Wilburys. Awesome harmonies and catchy pop rock melodies.
What show are you bingeing at the moment?
Christie - The Haunting of Hill House.
Brendan - Severance.
Cameron - All of The Witcher Netflix series… again…
Kyle - Stranger Things and Peep Show.
Gianni - Been watching heaps of Archer. Love that show for when I just wanna zone out and be done with the day.
What was the first gig / concert you ever went to?
Christie - Ed Sheeran Multiply Tour
Brendan - The Amity Affliction in 2014 at Thebarton Theatre.
Cameron - Pierce the Veil concert, with Storm the Sky, Silverstein and Beartooth supporting at the Thebarton Theatre.
Kyle - Molly Rocket – Kiss You Dead launch at UniBar.
Gianni - Green Day at the Entertainment Centre, was a life changing show.
What’s planned for 2025?
Christie - 2025 is the year we go all in. Kings Cup is our well awaited follow up to our previous single F With Me which lit a fire for us—it’s been wild seeing people across Australia and around the world, especially Europe connect with something that came out of our messy, chaotic world.
This year, we’re taking that momentum and running with it. Bigger shows, bigger stages, louder crowds. We’re aiming to hit the road interstate and will work our hardest to somehow get to our fans in Europe. There’s something building and we can feel it.
We’re already deep into writing new music, with an EP worth of songs ready to record and release. 2025 will be a big year of recording for us and we hope to connect with the right people to help us make an EP release as big as possible. The EP will have the same vibe and themes of our singles Kings Cup and F With Me. We will keep getting heavier, sharper, more pissed off—but still very Jon Ann. Everything we put out will carry that same raw, feminist fire that’s always driven this band.