My Travel CV: I think every musician dreams about these festivals

Aussie musician Holly Rankin (aka Jack River) travels the world performing, but she still has two stages on her bucket-list.

Travel has taught me that there’s always magic to find if you look.

Australian musician Holly Rankin (aka Jack River) seeks creative inspiration and cultural connection while exploring the world. This is her Travel CV:

The place I would most like to perform is...

Glastonbury or Coachella would be amazing. I think every musician daydreams about these elusively large festivals. They are the mecca of musical dreams.

I got my first passport when...

I was around five years old. It was for a family trip to Fiji in 1996. We went to Castaway Island. I mainly recall the beautiful people. In particular, an older lady whose name was Mary. She was one of the women who ran the kids’ club. We developed a cool little unspoken bond and she ended up giving me this beautiful shell box she made. I have it to this day and I’ll always remember her warm kindness and the curiosity of making friends with strangers from foreign parts of the world.

My favourite travel memory is...

Travelling to Morocco as an 18-year-old with my two best friends fresh out of school, galloping on horses on the beach in Essaouira, exploring magical alleyways in dusty medinas, meeting people from completely different worlds and being appropriately culture-shocked.

My favourite place to holiday in Australia is...

I have so many. My partner, Brett, and I recently took our four-month-old daughter, Maggie, to Dorrigo (NSW) for the weekend, to see her first waterfall. We stayed at Dorrigo Mountain Holiday Park, ate at the Dorrigo Hotel at night, and did the 6.5km Wonga trail. It takes you to two amazing waterfalls – Tristania Falls and Crystal Shower Falls.

The place I would most like to perform is at Glastonbury or Coachella.

The place that surprised me the most was...

Visiting Darwin for the first time and sensing the great depth of story there. The culture of First Nations Australia defines the energy up in that region. It’s a place that’s less overrun with the colonised world. In the sprawling national parks and rushing waterfalls, you can feel the sense of self we could feel as a nation if we paid First Nations culture the deep respect and awe it deserves.

The most surprising place I visited during Covid was...

I got to visit Darwin at the tail end of the lockdowns, when our own borders were shut down. After years spent travelling overseas, I felt silly to never have travelled deep into my own country.

The place I visited most often is...

New York. I’m one of those suckers who feels most at home in that city. Something about New York feels more akin to a mecca of nature, or a deep-forest jungle than a city. It has a flow and a rhythm that other cities just don’t have.

New York has a flow and a rhythm that other cities just don’t have.

The items I never travel without are...

My diary, a felt-tip pen, and my Patagonia jacket. It’s made with recycled plastic bottles and can be rolled into pocket size.

The best hotel I’ve ever stayed in is...

I’m not sure of the best, but I’ve made a habit of staying at the Pullman Sydney Airport Hotel. It has incredible food, parking, beaut rooms and lovely staff. I love the breakfast buffet.

My best travel hack is...

Add all travel info, locations and timings into your calendar before your day of travel. Knowing everything you need is there lets you let go and be present instead of constantly sifting through your phone.

My favourite travel memory is of travelling to Morocco as an 18-year-old with my two best friends.

My tour plans this year are...

We played Splendour in the Grass and will be at some other wonderful Aussie festivals. There’s still a post-pandemic touring crisis so we are slowly navigating how to take the album on the road and not go broke.

When I’m on the road I’m...

Writing. I need movement and changing environments to write songs. I use voice recordings on my phone to make notes.

Travel has taught me...

To leave everything I know at the door and to think locally. There’s always magic to find if you look. We’re living on a once-in-a-billion-years planet. We all want the same thing: to be free, to be loved, to be safe, to be respected, to be known.

Jack River’s second studio album, Endless Summer, is out now. jackrivermusic.com

Originally published as My Travel CV: I think every musician dreams about these festivals