Xavier Rudd was born in 1978 and is a multi-instrumentalist musician and surfer from Australia. He grew up in Torquay, Victoria, near the famous surfing location of Bells Beach. Rudd showed a keen interest in music and learned to play the didgeridoo by practicing on a vacuum cleaner hose. Xavier considers his wife his best friend, a Canadian he met while she was backpacking in Australia. He carries his son's sock with him on tour as something to remember him by. Rudd has a management company named Teamworks based in Vancouver.He developed a strong reputation for playing live performances at musical festivals and concerts in Australia and then in North America. Xavier Rudd has recorded and released three live albums in Canada - Live In Canada released in 2001, Live At The Grid in 2003, and Good Spirits in 2005.Rudd has become a fixture at roots music festivals including the Falls Festival (2002, 2003 & 2004), Woodford Folk Festival (2003), the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival (2003 & 2004), the Melbourne International Music Festival (2004), Womadelaide (2004), and the FloydFest World Music Festival.He has also worked extensively in North America including a support slot for Ani DiFranco, a support slot at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, 2 consecutive years at the Cisco Systems Ottawa Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario, and a Moonshine benefit at Laguna Beach, California with Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce.His first studio album To Let was released in 2002.It was self produced along with Chris Thompson, who also recorded and mixed it.Solace was released in Australia on March 28, 2004 and debuted in the top twenty in the Australian album charts. Solace is now available in the U.S.His latest album, Food in the Belly, was released on October 27, 2005.