Described by Rolling Stone as ‘soul-baring’, Caravana Sun has been touring the world festival and live-show circuit with joyous abandon, doing 500 shows in five years, and have earned themselves serious accolades in the music industry. Their seamless mix of world-fuelled rebellious surf rock and explosive performances gets their audiences grooving every time. Ant Beard gave us a peek inside the musical mind of a surfer boy.
Do you surf?
Nine to four be the log of choice for myself. Moving to the hills of Broken Head has forced a sudden influx on the quiver front, forever on the search for a new twinny!
What’s Byron Bay been like to you in your career or personally?
When we first started to cut our teeth as a young band on the east coast, the Beachie was the holy grail. I’ll never forget standing there the night before our first show at the venue thinking, ‘Shit, I can’t do this’. We now have such a strong loyal fanbase in Byron and been and gone to Europe five times over the past five years, devoting our lives to finding crowds like the Byron community. We couldn’t be more excited to return!
What does surf culture mean to you?
The band has always gravitated toward the ocean, from seaside Portuguese fishing festivals to post-surf Cornish pasties, barefoot on the rock walls of Newquay, Cornwall. Some of our greatest inspirations have struck in the waves, and while we all choose different crafts to hit the water in, we’re all tied by this ultra-enriching culture!
How would you describe the surf community?
Salt-encrusted bliss junkies! The lot of us crave the same feeling and have the ultimate respect for something bigger than ourselves. This tether has always been the base of so many of my close relationships and continues to drift new mates together.
How do you feel about being here for the Byron Bay Surf Festival?
As much as Byron is a transient town, the undercurrent of community is so strong and has formed the backbone for so many artists across all media. Festivals such as this tie the threads of culture within a thriving community. We couldn’t be more stoked!
Hopefully this means I can get a few more waves out at The Pass as well, earn a little more respect from the locals – haha!
And anything more music related you would like to add?
Hope the Beachie has got some sweet subs. We be grooving on Friday night, that’s for sure.
Opening the Byron Surf Festival this Friday at 8pm, at the Beach Hotel.
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