A young Australian guitarist from Newcastle has lived every music fan's dream, performing on stage with British rockstar Yungblud after a spur-of-the-moment challenge to play a song upside down.
The Sign That Started It All
Jayden Webb, a 25-year-old metallurgist now living in Wollongong, found himself amidst tens of thousands of fans at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, January 10, 2026. Hoping to catch the artist's eye, he held a handmade sign with a bold claim: he could play Yungblud's song 'fleabag' upside down.
The gamble paid off spectacularly. Yungblud noticed the sign and pulled the fan onto the stage, leading to an impromptu and unforgettable performance.
A Race Against Time to Learn
The entire adventure began just hours before the concert. While heading home from lunch, Mr Webb's wife, Lyndsay, jokingly suggested he learn 'fleabag' in case the singer, known for inviting fans on stage, called for someone.
Faced with the fact he is left-handed and most guitars are strung for right-handed players, his wife proposed a unique solution. "She said, well, learn it upside down then, you've got basically an hour to get it sorted before we hit the road," Mr Webb recalled.
He spent the next sixty minutes first mastering the song the conventional way, then borrowing his wife's guitar to learn it held upside down. Despite his wife's skepticism, Mr Webb remained optimistic.
An 'Unreal' On-Stage Moment
After battling to the front of the crowd, the couple waited. As Yungblud began playing 'fleabag', Mr Webb thought his chance had passed. "Then all of a sudden, he stops playing and looks over," he said.
The musician was hauled onto the stage and proceeded to play the full song with the guitar flipped, a feat that drew a witty remark from Yungblud about the appropriateness of playing upside down "while down under" in Australia.
"I got pulled up on stage, and pretty much went crazy from there, it was unreal," Mr Webb said. "Being up on stage, I felt like I was in my element, it wasn't even nerves, it was pure adrenaline."
A Lifelong Passion for Music
The moment was the culmination of a lifelong musical journey. Mr Webb, who grew up in Newcastle and attended Cardiff High School, has been playing guitar since he was eight years old.
His talent previously earned him a spot performing at the Sydney Opera House as part of the HSC showcase Encore. Today, he prefers to keep music as a passionate hobby alongside his career in metallurgy, believing it preserves the joy and fun of playing.
Reflecting on the insane experience, Mr Webb simply stated, "It was awesome." His quick thinking and skilled playing turned a regular concert into a legendary fan moment that he, and the Sydney audience, will never forget.
