Over a million dollars will be dedicated to kickstarting Summer in Manly early, with a series of performances, art installations and surf competitions the focus of the inaugural Surf + Sound festival, starting next month.
“Surf and sound is all about bringing music, surf, food, and art together. You know, it’s a cultural event in Manly Beach and Manly Wharf. Bring everyone, the community, all families down here. It’s something for everyone,” Surf + Sound Creative Director James ‘Jamo’ Willis said at the festival’s announcement.
“There’s just not a better place to have it with the harbour and the ocean just right next to each other… it’s rude not to a little bit.”
Manly Wharf will be the primary site of the art and sound, with a range of prominent and up-and-coming Aussie acts already a part of the lineup. “We need more festivals. We need more music, and it’s going to be fun. And I hope loads of people come and party,” lead vocalist Winston, of funk and hip-hop band Winston Surfshirt, told Manly Observer at the wharf.
“Maybe we’ll just rock up on a boat at some point and play some more music… My people just playing on boats. I’m obsessed with playing on boats. It’s a problem.”
Other performances already announced are Skegss, The Whitlams, Skunkhour, The Beautiful Girls, GANGgajang, and Mudhoney. The bands will play alongside a trail of inflatables, projections and large-scale installations in the harbour and on the wharf, created by leading Australian artists, with the art program led by Sydney-raised and New York-based artist Jeremyville.
The festival is hosted by Artemus Group, the organisation behind the purchase of Manly Wharf in 2024. The group’s Founder, Director and Surf + Sound Co-Founder, Adam Flaskas, says the point of the event is to bring the community together by amplifying the suburb’s greatest features.
“We’ve got the grommets and board riders, and then a legends day with the legend surfers, you know what’s more fun than bringing art, music, food, and surf all together, and that’s what this has been about; mates getting together and celebrating the things that we love,” Flaskas told us.
The festival will run for three consecutive weekends from Friday 16 October to Sunday 1 November, with the last weekend bringing the Surf + Sound Boardrider Battle to Manly Beach on Saturday, 31 October and Sunday, 1 November. The event is spearheaded by World Champion Joel Parkinson and will see boardrider clubs from across Australia compete against one another in a teams challenge.
There will also be a special legends heat featuring world champion surfers including Parkinson, Mark Occhilupo, and Layne Beachley.
