After leaving
Newcastle high school, Campbell Burns began writing and recording "sad boy songs" and posting them to his
Tumblr account. His friend Jake Johnson heard the tracks and the two started creating music alongside Nate Delizzotti and Joseph Van Lier, forming Vacations in 2015. They describe their sound as "woozy guitar pop", combining
indie pop with elements of
jangle and
lo-fi. With the release of their EPs,
Days in 2015 and
Vibes in 2016, Vacations started gaining a following on
SoundCloud and
YouTube. In 2018, they released their debut studio album
Changes. The single “Telephones” is certified Platinum in the US. The band recorded and published their first two EP’s and their debut
studio album by themselves with no management nor
PR. Their sophomore album,
Forever in Bloom, was released in 2020. In April 2022, their
single "
Young" from 2016 went viral from a
TikTok trend, when fans used the song to soundtrack scenes from series
Skins, featuring the character Cassie. "
Young" was
certified gold in the United States, Canada and Poland. It has over 420 million streams as of June 2023 and placed the band on Australia's most-played artists on
Spotify. In 2023, Vacations embarked on a 30-date co-headlining tour of North America with fellow Australian indie rock band
Last Dinosaurs. In mid-2023, Burns moved to
Los Angeles, saying that "[t]here's a lot more going on in the [United] States for the band right now compared to Australia". The move as well as his diagnosis with
obsessive–compulsive disorder, influenced the themes of the band's third studio album,
No Place Like Home, released in January 2024. In 2024, Vacations was named as one of
Pandora’s "Artists To Watch" in rock category. They made their American television debut on
CBS Morning’s Saturday Sessions in 2024, performing “Next Exit,” and a few weeks later, on
Jimmy Kimmel Live. “Next Exit” has 2.6 million views on
YouTube. Vacations performed “Midwest” on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Vacations curated the festival MATES, which featured Puma Blue, Claud,
Yot Club,
Ian Sweet,
Kacy Hill,
Jaguar Jonze, and
Waax. Vacations have performed at festivals like 2025’s Harvest Rock BottleRock,
Kilby Block Party, 2024’s Portside Festival, Outlandia Festival,
London Calling, 2023’s
All Things Go,
All Points East, 2022’s
Austin City Limits, and in 2018,
SXSW. ==Discography==