Pranafest returns for its fifth year to celebrate the best of music, movement and connection in early June.
This year, Pranafest is bigger than ever, with a headline performance from Xavier Rudd and a move to a new home at the iconic Woodfordia. Xavier stops by for a chat after the first night of his Freedom Sessions tour in the Sunshine Coast.On this tour he's supported by his son, Finojet, which Xavier is thrilled about. "Mate! It's such a treat," Xavier beams. "The music that he's made, the stuff that he's released – it's beautiful!
"It's really good music; for a 19 year old it's really good writing and I'm just stoked, I'm really stoked. He's better than me in terms of interacting with the crowd and all the rest. You know, he's got much more of a confident sort of stage presence."
It's not the first time Xavier has performed at Pranafest; he was there in 2023 and loved the family and wellness focus of the festival. "It was awesome, sort of a real family kind of vibe and wellness and all that good stuff.
"It's great. I'm happy to get out there and do it again this winter. It's really rare that I'm around at that time of year. It's a real hippie vibe and I've definitely sort of moved in and out of those circles over the years.
"It's a good space for people to come and immerse themselves in if life's throwing curveballs. It's one of those kinds of events where people get more than just music, they can get wellness in different forms. It's one of those vibes which I think is really important these days in this crazy world we live in."
Although music is a big part of Pranafest, it's also an opportunity for people to explore holistic living and dip their toes into these practices with yoga teachers, breath-work facilitators, meditation experts and inspiring community leaders all present at the festival.
For those looking to start their own wellness journey, Xavier recommends the intention of being kind to yourself as the first step. "Making sure you're kind to yourself, you're not too hard on yourself when you feel like you're not doing what you should or you can be better.
"Any steps towards making those changes, even if it's one day in a week where you feel like you've had a good day and you've been kind to yourself. Whether that be what you put in your body or you go for a run, or whatever you do. I think that's the best way to start, I think.
"Remembering to get behind yourself as you would get behind someone that you love or a friend or whatever, who maybe you're trying to encourage. Just doing that for yourself, I think, is a lot harder than it seems."
Xavier's new single 'Where To Now' came from "a pretty raw place" and was written at a tumultuous time in his life. The song was the first thing he wrote after his recent cancer diagnosis, which he revealed when talking about the inspirations behind the song.
"A bit of the state of the world [inspired the song] and. . . I got diagnosed with lymphoma in January and I had a moment where I was just, I didn't even know if I could pick up an instrument again.
"I was really flat and feeling a bit lost. ['Where To Now'] was the first thing I played when I picked up a guitar. It sort of poured out of me, it's sort of how I was feeling at the time."
Pranafest runs at Woodfordia (Sunshine Coast) 6-8 June.
