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When James Willis’ Malibu home burnt down during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, he couldn’t have known that a surf, art and music festival on Sydney’s northern beaches would emerge from its ashes.
“I completely lost everything,” Willis said. “I was in a pretty bad situation.”
In the days after the fire, Willis was sitting in a café on Venice Beach when, out of instinct, he decided to drive home to beat peak hour traffic. “Then [I] realised I didn’t have a home and I literally was outside at my car standing there, with nowhere to go,” he said.
At that moment, Willis received a call from his mate Adam Flaskas, informing him that he and their other friends had a solution to lift his spirits. “He said, ‘Oh, we’ve got an idea for you. Let’s come home and put some money together and build this surf and sound music festival’,” Willis recalled.
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On Tuesday, Willis and Flaskas announced the inaugural Surf + Sound festival, taking place across three weekends from October 16 until November 1 in Manly. It will include live music performances, local boardriders and “legends” surf contest, as well as art and food exhibitions.
The music line-up boasts newer generation Australian bands, such as Winston Surfshirt and SKEGSS, as well as some formed during the 1980s, ’90s and early 2000s, including The Whitlams, Skunkhour, The Beautiful Girls, GANGgajang and Mudhoney.
“Today, the fact that we’re actually going live with this. You know, it’s mind-blowing – and I’m in Australia. I just couldn’t be happier,” Willis said.
Brett Ramson, the lead vocalist of northern beaches-born band Winston Surfshirt, will perform on a boat for the festival. Having become a “staple of Manly” after playing three to four gigs each week for two years before receiving festival offers, Ramson said the band enjoyed opportunities to play for the community.
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“I feel like you used to think that Manly was a bit of a nanny-state place, [artists weren’t] allowed to do much,” Ramson said. “Even us being able to play on a boat, before we had to do that secretly, and now like I don’t know, seems a little more carefree.”
The event is set to cost more than $1 million dollars to run (and no local or state government funding) with more than half the budget, Willis said, going towards a free immersive public art program led by artist Jeremyville.
Australian surfing world champion Joel Parkinson will spearhead a boardrider battle on Manly Beach, including 17-year-old professional surfer Isabel Higgs, from North Steyne. There will also be a “legends heat” featuring Parkinson, Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo and Layne Beachley.
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Occhilupo said since the pandemic there were no longer many masters events. “When I heard I could compete, I was excited,” he said. “It’s really good for the local community … it gets everyone out and about, and it’s just leading into summer, and the local boardriders benefit.”
For Willis, the festival has turned a “negative situation” into “the most amazing positive thing that I’ve had in a long, long time”.
“Being a part of the Manly community … has been amazing,” he said.
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Kayla Olaya is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement