Break Out Australian Band VACATIONS Share New Track “Midwest”; NA Tour On-Sale Now!
June 12, 2023 BY Jason Currell
Today, Platinum-selling Australian band Vacations share their engaging new single, “Midwest,” along with the official video. The track follows the newly released song “Next Exit,” which already has close to four million streams. Both tracks were produced by lead singer Campbell Burns and John Velasquez (Zella Day, Gatlin).
Speaking on the track’s lyrical inspiration, Campbell said: “I’d never directly written a break-up song till ‘Midwest,’ contrary to how people interpret my lyrics, it never felt right to me. My lyrics are usually ambiguous and non-gendered. This wasn’t a choice, it just happened to be a writing style that resonated with me. I enjoy having songs that are universally relatable and open to interpretation, this is pop music after all. Lately though, I’ve been writing about my memories and unravelling them in exact detail. Almost like therapy, except you’re all there in the room with me. Last year, I found myself in different situationships that were almost identical from each other. You’re trying to find a balance but ultimately it feels one-sided and falls apart without you even realising, because you’re still clinging onto the idea of it and trying to process what even happened. For me, every time I came home from tour, it’d be all over. It felt as if I was stuck in this cycle to the point where it became comical. My romantic life was a joke, and the duality between me at home vs. me on tour was further apart than ever. To take it back to our first single ‘Next Exit’ for a moment: ‘Can I trust what I Know? I know nothing”. So with that in mind, I wanted to write something upbeat and fun yet using lyrics I’d reserve for a ballad. A crying in the club type beat, but you’re with your friends, you’re moving on, and everything will be just fine.”
The accompanying video for “Midwest” was directed by LA-based Nicole Lipp with creative direction from Vacations’ bassist Jake Johnson, which is the second time the pair has collaborated. Speaking more on the creation of the video for “Midwest,” Johnson said: “I’ve always felt like dance is one of the best ways to express the inner emotional state and framing that around a phone box, this outdated and difficult form of distance communication, was really fun. The return to long periods of touring has been a really bitter-sweet experience of being apart from loved ones, and trying desperately to make things work despite the distance. That feeling of being in love or a crush is one of the most wonderful, powerful, and terribly confusing emotions we can experience, and we wanted to try and touch on that tempest visually.”
WATCH + SHARE “MIDWEST”
The new track follows the news earlier this week of their fall co-headline tour, TOURZILLA, with fellow Aussies and labelmates Last Dinosaurs, which kicks off with a set at the All Things Go Festival in DC in September. The fall tour follows two sold-out U.S. tours, including performances at Austin City Limits, Elsewhere (Hall), Meow Wolf, and The Fonda (1,200 cap), and a sold-out tour in the UK this past May, including a performance at The Great Escape. A full list of dates can be found below.
A DIY affair from the get-go, the band Vacations formed in 2016 primarily as a songwriting vehicle for Campbell Burns, Burns later adding band members Jake Johnson, Nate Delizzotti, and Joseph Van Lier. Their song “Young” is certified Gold in Canada, Australia, and Poland, and was certified Platinum in the U.S. in early 2023. Their single “Telephones” is also certified Gold in the US, with the band racking up over 1 billion streams globally and over 1.1m Shazam’s.
TOURZILLA Tour Dates (tickets)
9/30 Washington, DC @ All Things Go Festival
10/3 Nashville, TN @ Basement East
10/4 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
10/6 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/7 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Chicago
10/8 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
10/9 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
10/12 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
10/14 Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
10/16 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/17 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10/19 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
10/20 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
10/21 Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
10/23 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/24 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
10/25 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/26 San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
10/28 El Paso, TX @ Lobrow Palace Outdoors
10/29 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
10/31 Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
11/1 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
11/3 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
11/4 Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
11/6 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield
11/8 Las Vegas, NV @ 24 Oxford
11/9 Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
11/10 San Diego, CA @ Soma
11/11 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre
11/12 Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
11/15 Mexico City, MX @ Lunario
