Photo by Andrew Boyle
When you get the opportunity to interview the frontman of a band that soundtracked your sun-saturated 2018 days, the obvious answer is hell yes (I distinctly remember using Vacations songs as background music in in my aesthetic indie-wannabe YouTube videos that I cringe looking back on now).
Formed in Newcastle, Australia in 2015, Vacations–comprising lead songwriter and vocalist Campbell Burns, bassist Jake Johnson, guitarist Nate Delizzotti, and drummer Joseph Van Lier–have spent the last decade perfecting a signature blend of jangle-pop and lo-fi indie rock. From their early DIY days with the Days (2015) and Vibes (2016) EPs, which spawned massive global hits like the multi-platinum “Young” and “Relax,” to their acclaimed albums Changes, Forever in Bloom, and 2024’s No Place Like Home, the band has skyrocketed to global heights. Now, after a year spent tucked away in the studio, they are finally gearing up to head back on stage.
I talked with Campbell Burns of Vacations about their upcoming album Pursuit of Anything, their new single “Holy Grail,” and the tour that comes along with it. We also dove into their own MATES Festival, as well as the things that have changed (and stayed the same) after a decade of being in the band.
Having previously lived in LA, Campbell now finds himself settled in NYC, navigating the creative process from across the globe while the rest of the band is scattered back in their homeland.
Alana Ash: What is it about New York City and its community that made you fall in love?
Campbell Burns: I feel like I could rant about that forever.
I guess to go backwards, I found that when I was living in Los Angeles–I wasn’t even really living there to begin with. It was kind of more of a transitional period into settling into the U.S.
Jake and Joey also got married while I was living in LA–I mean, not together.. Separately to their wives. Just for context! Because I know that, but you might not know that.. (laughs)
Alana: Really sealing the friendship there.
Campbell: It was kind of more of a transitional period in my life, and I’m grateful for that time. I learned a lot but LA just wasn’t really for me.
I kept doing trips out to New York, and it was more or less what I was looking for–somewhere to settle for, not permanently, but for a very long time. I don’t really see myself going anywhere else because New York provides everything I’m currently looking for.
I have a really good community of friends, musicians, and artists that I really look up to and who inspire me. There’s so much to do and so much that could happen all right on your doorstep. I don’t really get that from my hometown, or kind of anywhere else in Australia, or even anywhere else in general. I just feel really at home here.
Alana: Do the rest of the band also live in the states?
Campbell: No, it’s just me.
Alana: How has living on the opposite side of the world from the rest of the band altered your music process?
Campbell: It’s easier than you think. We’ve been doing this for 10 years now, so I feel like inevitably, transitioning from your 20s to your 30s, there are going to be points where someone’s living further away than everyone else. Nate lives in Melbourne, Jake and Joey are still in Newcastle, and I’m in New York.
As far as the creative writing process goes, I actually don’t find it too different because I do a lot of the foundational songwriting. I’ll get most of the core ideas, structure, instrumentation, everything in place, and then I present that to the guys. Then they add their influences and their taste, which further shapes the track, and then it becomes the best possible version it can be.
The difficult part is anything logistical. In terms of planning music videos, photo shoots, or making certain touring decisions, the time zone difference can make it really difficult to get everyone together on a call. Whereas with songwriting, the guys can get back to me whenever. But with this upcoming tour for the new single, it’s like, “Okay, we all have to agree on the merch designs right now, otherwise we’ll miss the deadline to get everything printed.” So it’s things like that I find tricky.
MATES FESTIVAL
Beyond navigating long-distance text threads and mixing records, the band has taken on the role as festival curators. What started in 2022 as a homegrown, underground gathering in their hometown of Newcastle has since blossomed into a traveling international hub for indie-pop and rock. On Saturday, June 20th, the 2026 edition of MATES Festival is set to take over both the Main Hall and the outdoor Ruins at the Knockdown Center in Queens, New York. Headlined by Vacations themselves, the bi-yearly festival acts as a bridge between scenes, blending homegrown Australian powerhouses like Alex Lahey, Thelma Plum, and Grentperez with brilliant North American indie mainstays like Girlpuppy, Mamalarky, Winter, and Horse Jumper of Love.
Alana: What does it mean to you to now act as the curators and gate-openers for Aussie talent?
Campbell: I think there’s a lot of great Australian music that easily stands toe-to-toe, for lack of a better expression, with anything from the UK or the U.S. and so on. I just want to highlight and represent that, but also mingle Australian artists with international artists and build this community or festival that’s not really chasing trends or focused on who just released a record. This is music that I like, and I think it pairs well together, and I want to showcase that.
It kind of goes back to our DIY roots because I used to be part of an artist collective in my hometown. It was a lot of my best friends and a big community of people, and we were always putting on events like house shows, warehouse parties, and all kinds of stuff. It was really important in those early years and responsible for a lot of my outlook on music and how I approach things. So I owe a lot to everyone who was a part of that.
I just miss throwing events. Eventually I want to take Mates to London and engage with some of the scenes there, or bring it back to Australia. I think next year I’d love to do it in Melbourne and bring over some U.S. artists to Australia. I think that would be really fun.
Alana: It’s like making your own dream festival.
Campbell: Kinda! I mean, you get a lot of no’s because of conflicting schedules or people saying they’re recording an album right now. But it’s exciting seeing it all come together. It’s only the third time it’s happened as well because it’s currently bi-yearly. I would like to make it yearly, but there’s a lot of planning involved, and it’s still very early days. We’re a very small team that’s still growing.
Alana: What matters most to you guys when putting a lineup together?
Campbell: Honestly, I just want to put on artists I enjoy–artists that I think go well together. For instance, I intentionally wanted Winter and Horse Jumper of Love on the bill because they have a song together on Winter’s new record Adult Romantix, where Horse Jumper does a feature on one of the verses. I like both of these artists individually, but having them both on the bill is fun.
Alana: Other than bringing Australian artists through MATES Festival, if you could bring another piece of Australian culture–food, slang, habit–into American audiences, what would it be?
Campbell: That’s a good question..
I think Australian beer. Just hear me out! I’m not the biggest drinker or anything, but I find it interesting how culturally, right now, Irish culture, Irish pubs, Guinness–all of that–is very on trend.
And so why are there no Australian pubs? I’m seeing Guinness everywhere and lots of Irish pubs, but I don’t really see Australia represented. There is one Australian pub in New York called Old Mates, and I think they stock Australian beer. But when I go overseas, all I see is Fosters, which is not even an Australian beer. It’s brewed in Texas! No one in Australia drinks it.
It feels weird because I think the rest of the world still exists with this caricature of 80s Australia: the bronze surfer male archetype that drinks Fosters. But no one drinks Fosters! There are so many good beers in Australia that people would really enjoy, or at least Australian pub culture, which has its own points of difference compared to the UK or Ireland. I’d like to see more of that.
Alana: What’s the best Australian beer?
Campbell: Oh I could get crucified for this. I really like Tooheys Old. It’s a dark beer from my state, New South Wales. I love it. It’s Guinness-adjacent, probably darker honestly, and a little more syrupy. My dad drank it, my granddad drinks it as well. It’s what all the miners in Newcastle would drink too. I think it was referred to as “black gold,” at least that’s what my dad tells me.
It’s not everyone’s favorite because it is a dark beer, so it’s pretty heavy, but I really like it. Honestly, it’s the reason I started drinking Guinness anyway because there’s basically no dark beer in the U.S. I swear everyone here just drinks Bud Light, and I’m like, this is awful.
Alana: I’ll have to try it the next time I’m in Australia.
LOOKING BACK
Alana: This year marks a decade of the Vibes EP. When you look back at the band who wrote “Young” or “Relax,” versus the group who just finished Pursuit of Anything, what do you feel has stayed completely untouched, and what part of your creative dynamic has shifted the most?
Campbell: I think part of the creative dynamic that’s shifted the most is that I actually put thought into what I’m doing… When I was first writing–especially songs like “Off Days” or “Vibes” those were genuinely some of the first songs I ever wrote. It’s kind of funny that they became as popular as they did, and it’s also a bit alarming that they can be under so much scrutiny.
People either really love it or really hate it, which I think is kind of fun because I like when things are divisive. Back then, I’d write a song and think, “Cool, I wrote a song today. I’m going to put it on SoundCloud!” I’d be really proud of that, but I wasn’t thinking deeply about the lyrics, the intent, or the emotional depth. I wasn’t thinking much about production or how to make moments stand out. I was just genuinely stoked that I wrote a song.
Whereas these days, I really sit down and think, “What am I trying to say? What’s the sonic palette? What can I limit myself to?” Like, “Am I going to use a Justice drum machine and Justice-style reverb?” Then I build up from there. I try to stay informed by what I did previously. I’ll think, “Okay, I can kind of see what I was doing on a song like ‘Next Exit’ from the last record. What if I wrote a part two to that? What would that sound like?” I kind of leave myself clues along the way.
Alana: Has anything stayed untouched about the band?
Campbell: I don’t think anything has (laughs).
Actually, now that I think about it, our friendship has only become stronger over time. We’re still four best friends who are incredibly goofy together. We’re huge nerds who just happen to make music, and that’s really beautiful.
That said, so much within the dynamic has changed because we’ve matured, gotten older, and become wiser through experience. We know how to communicate ideas with more understanding and care toward each other. I feel like constructive criticism used to be a lot blunter when you’re 19 or 20.
Alana: You’ve also been flaunting the “Australia’s greatest boyband” tagline for a while now. You’ve mentioned your fans treat you all like a classic boyband, where every single member has fan art, a dedicated following, they bring signs of their favourite member… Looking back to when you were barely out of your teenage years, did you ever anticipate that a four-piece indie rock band from Newcastle would gain that specific kind of pop-culture fandom?
Campbell: Not at all, no. Originally, the project started as a solo endeavor. I was just writing songs and thinking, “Alright, this is my thing.” Then it slowly transformed once the lineup solidified into a band. I was a little resistant to it at first, but over time I was like, “Wait, no, I like this. This makes a lot of sense.”
What made it feel like a boy band, I guess, was noticing that when we go on tour, everyone gets their own spotlight or moment of attention. The fans are like, “Oh my God, it’s Joey!” and Joey’s the drummer. I can’t think of another band where that happens.
Most indie rock bands, growing up and even now, are mainly associated with the frontman. That’s usually as far as it goes. It’s rare that bands are really thought of as a group. So I have a lot of fun with that. I think it’s really special.
TOURING
Alana: You guys are kicking off the “Holy Grail” tour with three sold-out shows in LA. Huge and congrats. But beautifully, the tour wraps up right back in your hometown of Newcastle. Was ending it there an intentional choice?
Campbell: You’d have to ask my booking agent (laughs). I try to stay out of routing conversations, but I think the plan was for the tour to end somewhere in Australia. The fact that it ends in Newcastle is great because I get to see my parents, go to my doctor’s appointments, see my friends, and see my dog. It’s special. Whether that’s coincidence or intentional, I have no idea.
Alana: How does it feel like to bring this new, more mature era back to where it all began?
Campbell: It feels really exciting. I hope people like it. But honestly, I already get a lot of emotional and cultural whiplash when I return to my hometown because I’ve seen it change so much. It’s at a point now where I barely recognize it.
Alana: You’ve mentioned that Australia is one of the hardest countries in the world to tour, both geographically and culturally, prompting you to chase your ambitions in the US. Does Pursuit of Anything feel like a reflection on that disorienting, contradictory experience of leaving home to find yourself?
Campbell: A lot of it comes from reflecting on the past 10 years as a band, but also individually. I’ve been very inspired by my bandmates because we’re at a point where we’re living parallel lives. We’ve gone down completely different paths, yet we still come together and make music. That’s kind of what the whole thing is about.
Alana: Okay, I know the album is still out in October but can you say anything about new music being played on tour?
Campbell: Yeah, I fully intend on playing new music. If we were only playing one song, I’d be so bummed. I want to road-test new material. These shows are meant to be special and intimate, and I want to treat our fans to something special.
Alana: Has your relationship with touring changed over the years?
Campbell: I still enjoy touring, but it’s definitely not something I want to do for the rest of my life because it takes so much out of you and takes you away from so much too.
I think my place will always be in the studio, making music with my friends or with musicians I look up to. I really enjoy being in the studio, and I can see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I mean, some musicians only want to tour, but I’m kind of on the other side of that.
PURSUIT OF ANYTHING
A decade into their journey, Pursuit of Anything catches Vacations at a pivotal turning point. Mixed by the meticulous Beatriz Artola (Geese, Caamp), the upcoming record turns inward, moving past the glitz of double-platinum singles to deliver a richer, more emotionally resonant collection of songs. It’s a true labor of love written across parallel lives–touching on everything from weddings and growing families to the disorienting, contradictory experience of leaving Australia to chase ambitions in the US. As Campbell puts it, the album explores “happiness as a feedback loop, how you keep chasing the next thing.”
Nothing captures that exhausting, cyclical chase quite like the music video for their lead single, “Holy Grail.” Directed by Patrick Linehan, the video cleverly satirizes the demands of the music industry by framing the band inside a chaotic, high-pressure Zoom call with a corporate label executive. While the suit talks numbers, the members are physically checked out, multitasking through their real lives–riding dirt bikes, working out, and escaping the screen into a sweaty, DIY basement moshpit. It’s a perfect visual representation of the tension between professional exhaustion and the pure, chaotic joy of making music with your best friends.
Alana: Does this new era allow you to say anything that previous Vacations records maybe couldn’t?
Campbell: I think there’s a through line. All of these records touch on similar themes or concepts, but I think this was the record I wanted to make when I was 20-21. But I just didn’t necessarily have the life experience, technical know-how, musicianship, or production chops to make it back then. But now I do, which is great.
So, I’m really excited to see what people think of it. I do think it’s probably the most refined and intentional record we’ve ever done.
Alana: You guys worked with Beatriz Artola right to mix the record?
Campbell: Yes, she’s incredible!
Alana: What did she bring to the studio that helped you unlock more resonant sound?
Campbell: She knows how to mix, and I don’t (laughs).
We work together really well. We’re very good collaborators, and I loved spending days on end in her studio, just going over sounds and songs.
I appreciated how direct, blunt, meticulous, and caring she was with the record. She could turn mixes around in literal days. I also learned a lot from working with her. It almost felt like being mentored.
She would be kind enough to let me tag in for a bit. We’d switch places, and I’d sit in the chair and say, “Hey, I’m thinking maybe more of this style of reverb,” or, “Can we try this for the guitars?” And she’d finesse it a bit more and it would all just come together.
Alana: The single “Holy Grail,” It was born out of a stressful Zoom call and basically traps the burning desire to create new art alongside the exhaustion of an unsustainable cycle. How do you find joy in a craft that demands so much of your life that it can occasionally feel like you’re just in “pursuit of anything” to make it work?
Campbell: I often have moments where I’m like, “Well, what am I doing here? Do I even still want to be doing this?” Not necessarily music itself, but continuing Vacations in this direction. Not that there’s really any pressure. I think a lot of pressure is self-created or shaped by circumstance rather than anything actually real.
When you take a step back we can take all the time in the world to make the next record. But when you finally figure things out or reach that next milestone, it reminds you why you started in the first place.
Especially because it’s such a group effort. When you reach a point of success or feel like you’ve achieved something meaningful, you’re like, “Oh, this is actually incredibly fulfilling and brings me a lot of joy.” Even though you have to struggle to get there, it’s worth the struggle.
Alana: Was it important for you guys to show both the fulfillment and exhaustion that can come with pursuing music professionally?
Campbell: I think it’s very real. I think it’s important to highlight that.
The amount of times I’ve been in an Uber and someone asks, “So what do you do?” and I say, “I’m a musician,” and they respond with, “You never have to work a day in your life.” I’m like, that’s not true at all. I love my job, but the idea that it’s easy is one of the biggest misconceptions about music.
I think if you asked any musician, performer, or anyone in the creative arts, they’d tell you the exact same thing.
Alana: Definitely. It takes a lot of work, effort, and energy behind the scenes.
Something else I love about the single is the music video. It was so fun to watch. How did the whole concept come together?
Campbell: We had a lot of back and forth. For a while we were struggling with questions like if we were shooting this in Australia or America..
My loose concept was why don’t we just shoot the whole thing on Zoom.. Like it felt on-brand and it made creative sense. Logistically it also meant we could just do it immediately by recording our screens.
But there was a director based in New York, Patrick Linehan, whose work I really love, especially the stuff he’s done with WHATMORE. His work is really visually evocative and beautiful.
So he took the Zoom concept and started suggesting different approaches, and it all came together very quickly.
While the musical foundations for Pursuit of Anything came together with surprising speed, Campbell admits the hardest part of the record wasn’t the music, but the writing. He found himself stuck in cycles of self-editing, constantly rewriting lyrics out of fear he was repeating old themes, phrases, or ideas.
Alana: What’s your favorite lyric from the record?
Campbell: I do like the line from “Holy Grail” that goes, “Happiness, the Holy Grail, a quest to keep till old and frail,” because that line almost didn’t make it. But I really wanted that reference in there so badly.
Alana: I was gonna ask you about that line!
Campbell: We’re all really into medieval fantasy, video games, movies, books, and all of that, so I thought it was a fun homage. The line made me laugh. I think you can’t take lyrics too seriously or it just becomes boring.
I’m glad it made the final version. I honestly can’t even remember what the original lyric was, but I don’t think that matters anyway.
Alana: Do you have a personal favorite song from the record?
Campbell: I have a few. The second track, “Yesterday,” has some of my favorite synth work and guitar work.
Then the closing track, “Lucky, Forever” is probably one of the best songs we’ve ever written.
That’s the one song where I hear it and think, “Yeah, this is perfect.” I genuinely have no regrets with it. It feels timeless to me. Which probably sounds a little up myself, but it reminds me of songs like “Vibes” or “Changes,” where I feel like you could play it for almost any age demographic and they’d connect with it.
Alana: You should play that song on tour then.
Campbell: Well, you’ll have to come and find out.
Alana: I am! I’m coming to your Jakarta show.
To celebrate the new record, Vacations are hitting the road this summer for the “Holy Grail” tour, taking their new material across the U.S., Asia, and Australia. In a deliberate shift away from massive festival main stages and cavernous halls, this run is all about stripping things back–showcasing the band in intimate, tightly-packed venues where fans can experience the new era of Vacations up close and personal. The massive global trek kicks off with a three-night stint at Los Angeles’ iconic Troubadour before crossing through North America, making a stop at their own MATES Festival in Queens, heading over to Asia, and ultimately wrapping up right back where the whole journey began: their hometown of Newcastle.
Vacations Tour Dates:
- Tue. June 2-4 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
- Mon. June 8-9 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s
- Wed. June 10-11 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
- Sat. June 13-15 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
- Sat. June 20 – New York, NY @ Knockdown Center (MATES Festival)
- Wed. June 24-25 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
- Fri. July 3 – San Juan City, PH @ Music Museum
- Sun. July 5 – Kuala Lumpur, MY @ Voxlive
- Mon. July 6 – Singapore, SG @ Foo Chow Building
- Thu. July 9 – Jakarta, ID @ Bengkel Hall
- Sat. July 11 – Perth, AU @ Freo Social
- Sun. July 12 – Adelaide, AU @ UniBar
- Thu. July 16 – Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
- Fri. July 17 – Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
- Sat. July 18 – Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
- Sun. July 19 – Newcastle, AU @ The Act at Earp Distillery
Alana: If the new album was a movie, what movie would it be?
Campbell: I want to say some kind of coming-of-age rom-com. Maybe Frances Ha (2012) because it’s a coming-of-age story, but she’s like 27 in the film, which feels a lot more relatable. Most coming-of-age stories are about teenagers in high school.
Alana: Okay, final question! If Pursuit of Anything captures the feeling of constantly chasing fulfillment, what’s something in your life right now that genuinely makes you feel present instead of chasing the next thing?
Campbell: I think all the new people who’ve entered my life over the past year since moving to New York. I feel really blessed to have so many good friends and such a strong community.
It’s helped me feel settled and grounded to the point where I’m not anxious about going on tour anymore. I’d say that’s the thing that’s made me feel most present.
Talking to Campbell, it becomes obvious that despite the cross-globe logistics, the grueling reality of touring, and the intense creative pressure of following up multi-platinum hits, the heart of Vacations remains entirely untouched. They are still just four best friends and self-proclaimed “huge nerds” who managed to build a global community from their hometown roots in Newcastle. Whether they are subverting industry expectations via chaotic Zoom calls, bringing a slice of Aussie talent to Queens, or slowing down to appreciate the new faces in New York, the band is navigating their most intentional era yet by staying grounded in the people who anchor them.
As they prepare to trade the studio chair for the stage and head out on the intimate “Holy Grail” world tour, the chase for fulfillment seems to have finally given way to a profound sense of presence. And for the fans–whether you’re catching them at their very own MATES Festival, singing along in their Asia shows, or waiting for them to wrap things up back in Newcastle–the wait for the next chapter is almost over.
Pursuit of Anything is out on October 2nd. Until then, you can stream “Holy Grail,” catch them on tour this summer, and keep searching for your own timeless track.
Pre-save the new album HERE.
