After completing a mammoth tour circuit since the release of their third record, ‘Limit Of Love’, Boy & Bear have been taking some time to wind down.
Undoubtedly the Sydney folk-rock quintet’s break was a well deserved one, after they spent the past year following their 2015 album’s release relentlessly touring not only on home soil, but around the world.
Boy & Bear are now getting back into the swing of things though, with recent headline appearances at small-scale festivals down south including Tasmania’s Day On The Lawn and Victoria’s A Weekend In The Gardens.
Boy & Bear will next plug in their amps when they headline the Sunshine Coast’s second annual Sea N Sound Festival, this June, alongside festival favourites Busby Marou and Tijuana Cartel. Just across from the beautiful Mooloolaba beaches, Sea N Sound brings together the best in Australian music.
Sea N Sound is the kind of event that originally kicked off the success that Boy & Bear have found since the release of their debut EP back in 2010.
Perhaps that’s why vocalist and guitarist Killian Gavin feels incredibly passionate about the smaller festivals that continue to emerge around the country. “I think it’s a really important step for all bands that are starting out to land one of those local shows… it’s a learning curve,” he says.
“[In Australia], we went through a period where there was a shit-load, excuse my French, of festivals, then they all fell apart. But I really like that there's all these new festivals popping up with more of an emphasis on local music and maybe one or two acts from out of town… I think people are appreciating the smaller, local vibe.
“Some festivals can get bigger than Ben Hur. There’s a lot of people that want to go down for a day, bring a rug, chill, then get up and dance and have a good night but still feel like it’s their own, home show.”
That’s the vibe emanating from the Sea N Sound Festival, which saw a couple of thousand of punters enjoy the likes of Pete Murray, Sahara Beck and Ash Grunwald at the inaugural event last year.
The 2017 festival will not only bring stellar bands like Boy & Bear and Busby Marou together with up-and-coming talents such as Selahphonic and Timberwolf, but will also bring the very best in local cuisine and craft beer on offer.
With the mention of craft beer, Killian’s ears prick. “When you get some local craft beer in, there will be probably be a couple of heads from the Boy & Bear end popping up, a number of the boys love a good, local craft beer! I think it’s an awesome thing,” he laughs.
“It’s something that we all have a passion for in the band. The American style of micro-brewery has really kicked off here in Australia. There’s a whole range of little breweries out now, not just your standard XXXX and Fosters.
"People get together over wine and it seems it’s a new thing that people are getting together over craft beer.”
Boy & Bear headline Sea N Sound Festival (Sunshine Coast) 10 June.
