Update: read Emma’s Under The Hill Festival 2019 review here
The Under The Hill Festival 2019 line up has been released and once again they have bagged some fantastic acts! This festival came bursting onto the scene in 2017 with a view to put on an intimate two day party that packs a punch, and all for a ridiculously reasonable price: tickets are Tier 1 – £30, T2 – £40 & T3 – £50!
Now in it’s third year, the team have some big plans for 2019 including new areas to explore, more artists playing and some surprises too. The line up spans genres including Brass, Ska, Balkan, Electroswing, Hip Hop, and Gypsy Punk… Basically, everything that gets your feet moving!
Where’s My Tent? will be attending this year’s UTH festival taking place during late May Bank Holiday (24th-26th May) near Evesham, which is around 30mins from Birmingham. We absolutely can’t wait to experience this eclectic, boutique event! We even managed to grab an interview with DJ and Artistic Director, Mista Trick! Here’s a look at the 2019 Under The Hill lineup, with the interview below:
Hi there! Who are you and how long have you been working with/part of Under The Hill Festival?
My name is Richard, but I run the festival as Mista Trick. I’m a leading Swing n Bass producer that has played at festivals all over the world and it’s my passion for great music and festivals that got me involved in Under The Hill. I am proudly the Artistic Director for the festival, curating the line- up and I’ve been working on this baby for over 3 years now, since the first festival in 2017.
When booking your line up, what’s your process? How do you decide who you want to grace the stage?
Good question and what a challenge this process is! I have a few criteria that I try to follow.
Rule number one: it has to fit the vibe of the festival and the crowd. It’s early days, but I have a vision of what this festival can become and it’s important that I stick to that and build on our niche, rather than being dictated by what’s ‘current’.
Rule two: which might be obvious, but they have to be high quality. There is so much great talent out there it’s actually mad, so making sure we have the best artists within the field is so important!
Which leads me onto number three: they have to be available! This festival falls on a busy weekend that a lot of acts are already booked for, I’m already starting to think about 2020!
Rule four: working within our budget. We are a small festival, currently working as not for profit, so the budget is super low. We want to ensure we can run an event without huge costs and continue to have a great ticket price that reflects this.
Rule five: is a little subjective, but most promoters would agree, we have to consider what an artist’s following is like and if they are going to pull in a crowd. And this isn’t just about the individual act, it’s all about the entire festival line-up as a whole, the vibe. At the end of the day it’s the people that make it, so we want to make sure we have a great crowd there. This year I’ve been paying extra attention to getting more female representation on stage, which can be difficult, but it’s important to us to represent everyone within the music scene and I hope the line-up reflects that.
It’s always good to have the artist’s tracks on Spotify as well, that way I can create a Spotify playlist and people can instantly get a taste of what’s to come. Check it out: search Under The Hill Festival 2019.
And how do you go about discovering new artists and performers? (Podcasts? Trawling Spotify? Exploring the local music scene?)
There’s a few ways to spot new talent; Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube are all obvious and easy ways to search, but going to gigs and seeing acts at festivals is key for me – what you see is what you get. I love Attic Bar Bristol, Hootananny Brixton, Remix Festival, Shambala (Chai Wallahs venue) and Boomtown (The Ballroom, TownCentre). The acts you see play at these fit Under The Hill and my vision perfectly. I also have a few industry links that share acts with me and I always respect and trust what they say. I also have a million emails from booking agents looking to book their acts, which is pretty hard to stay on top of! We also accept acts submitting to the festival and this year we had 64 acts apply within 3 months, which is amazing, and of that I have booked three, so we really do try to consider artists from lots of different avenues. We also run a DJ competition, and last year I discovered Rob Why?, who won and put on some great sets. We will be running the competition again this year, due to open soon, so DJs HOLLA!
Last year you had Tankus the Henge headlining, and this year it’s Slamboree, both firm Where’s My Tent? favourites! Who would your dream headliner be for 2020? Maybe tell me one realistic one, and one money-no-object, dead or alive?
Man that’s the golden question: Dream no object one – for me it would have to be Michael Jackson. I had tickets to his 4thnight at the O2, seeing him take to the stage would be pretty magical. But I have about 10 massive acts that I would love to book for future Under The Hill festivals. Hey we can all dream right? So: Dubioza Kolektiv, Deluxe, Frank Turner, Molotov Jukebox, Sheelanagig, Roots Manuva, Roni Size Live, Vula & Shakka, Ms Dynamite, London Electricity Big Band. If any of you are reading this, get in touch!
Who should we not miss on the UTH 2019 line up?
This year’s line-up is immense, but if I had to pick out one I am looking forward to it would have to be Onlyjoe, without a doubt. They are such a great band that make some brilliant high level reggae/dub I’m really looking forward to their set. So too does Timbali he is definitely one to watch his production is CRISPY. Pas De Probleme are coming all the way from Lisbon and I’m really excited about them and if I’ve timed it right (and the crowd are not too knackered from all the previous dancing) it’s likely to kick off! I’m also especially looking forward to Kathika’s (Slamboree) double time flow. GEEZE, too many, don’t miss any of them!
And what are some other Under The Hill festival areas/surprises that we should look out for?
We’re really excited to see UTH growing, and we have some exciting new elements coming for 2019! Expect more walkabouts, more art, more music, more fire, and more beautiful fun loving people. We will also have a completely new cabaret stage – we can’t spill the beans on this just yet, but it’s definitely not to be missed!
If you needed any any more convincing, check out the after movie from Under The Hill Festival 2018:
Tickets for Under The Hill Festival are available now!
Tier 1 have sold out, so don’t miss out on Tier 2!
We can’t wait to experience this fab small festival! Hopefully see you there too!
