Festival overview and reviews of select shows
The 35th edition of Guelph’s not-for-profit Hillside Festival went off without a hitch at Guelph Lake Conservation Area from July 13 to 15. Featuring a variety of top mainstream and Indigenous performers, the festival on an island was once again a proving ground for Canadian local and independent talent.
Even with a little help from some incredible weather, keeping a festival running for three and a half decades is no easy feat. Just ask the organizers of the now-defunct WayHome Festival, which managed to survive a mere three years before shuttering its doors despite bringing massive star-studded lineups to music-hungry Southern Ontarians.
Hillside’s success lies in its community roots, commitments to sustainability, and not-for-profit nature. Run by a massive community of dedicated volunteers (many of which return year after year) and fueled by die-hard dedicated return attendees, the three-day culture festival provides a space for music, self-improvement and skills workshops, spoken word, and stand-up comedy.
With no corporate sponsors and logos plastered all over the festival ground, the event feels much more breathable and relaxed than any other musical gathering. And this shows in the performances from the festival’s artists, who are clearly at ease and legitimately enjoying themselves playing intimate sets underneath the tents of the Lake and Island stages, or the green-roof equipped sunny mainstage.
For seven-time Hillsider Daniel Coutts, a University of Guelph alumni living in Toronto, this year was of particular significance. Coutts brought his partner Torie Foley, a California resident, to her first Hillside Festival. “This is a big weekend for me and I wanted Torie to experience all of what I’ve been raving about,” said Coutts.
“We met on the beach in Greece while attending a wedding and all he talked about was this festival that he was missing back home,” said Foley. “Fast-forward a year and we just spent the weekend camping at Hillside Festival and well, I get it, it’s pretty darn magical.”
Hillside even manages to pull off all of this magic while being virtually waste-free. There are no single-use dishes or mugs available; all plates and cutlery are reusable and dropped off at various points around the island for an army of dishwashers to collect and be given another life to serve a plate from local independent vendors. All drinks are served in collectable Hillside mugs. Even the festival’s spoken word stage is solar-powered.
With so much conscious effort put into the well-being of both performers and artists, Hillside Festival is an experience not to be missed. The only downside of attending Hillside is that every other festival you go to just won’t compare.
Select show reviews
Little Junior (Toronto, Ont.) — Upbeat, young, and full of energy, Little Junior kicked off the festival with an active five-piece garage-rock set. Big full-chord strumming and pounding rhythms would have certainly kicked off a mosh pit, had only more people arrived in time to witness it.
Adrian Underhill (Hamilton, Ont.) — Creative, chilled-out rhythms underlie the distinct island-indie vibe of Hamilton’s Adrian Underhill. Like an R&B version of Andy Shauf, Underhill delivered a laid-back set for the audience under the Island tent. The set featured the great addition of Anna Horvath (Merival) on back-up vocals, adding a great soul vibe to the barebones production.
Iskwé (Winnipeg, Man.; Hamilton, Ont.) — One of Friday’s most impactful shows was delivered by Cree and Dene electro-pop singer Iskwé. With soaring vocals delivered over big electric guitar power chords, the Indigenous singer’s lyrics featured traditional Anishinaabe language and themes of current First Nations’ struggles in Canadian society. “If we don’t know where we came from, how the hell will we know where we’re going?” Iskwé challenged the audience. In addition to the potent lyrics the band’s synth player also threw down some incredibly tasty synth and piano solos.
Cadence Weapon (Edmonton, Alta.) — The highlight of Friday evening came from spoken word turned hip-hop artist Cadence Weapon. Closing out the night on the Island stage, Cadence brought thought-provoking and poignant lyrics (in addition to a fun tribute to Edmonton’s beloved Connor McDavid) with such conviction that the entire front of the stage was jumping and moshing to the rapper’s words. Cadence himself seemed taken aback by the positive response and it only further fueled his commanding delivery and presence on stage.
faUSt (Wümme, Germany) — For those looking for an alternative ending to their Saturday evening, Germany’s faUSt provided an incredible instrumental throwback to the heyday of ’70s krautrock. The band was both jammy and tight, with decades of experience clearly shining through during their psychedelic avant-garde set. Considered influential pioneers of the weird, the band even featured local Guelphite Emma Bortolon-Vetter knitting in the spotlight at the front of the stage throughout the set.
Nick Zubeck (Guelph, Ont.) — Playing for a hometown crowd, Guelph’s Nick Zubeck delivered the perfect set for a sweltering afternoon, transporting the audience to much cooler places. A connection to the natural world comes through Zubeck’s jazz-pop/art rock blend creating a whole new sound that could be described as ‘landscape rock.’ Reminiscent of some of Mark Knopfler’s softer material, the set was both simple and intriguing.
Haley Heynderickx (Portland, Ore.) — An absolute stand-out performance of the festival came from U.S. west coaster Haley Heynderickx. Presenting a hauntingly fresh take on folk in the vein of Shakey Graves à la the Velvet Underground. Performing mostly with her three-piece band, the singer-songwriter also played a few solo numbers which highlighted her songwriting ability, often throwing in just the slightest quirky note to a finger-picked chord to bring things briefly into the unfamiliar before placing the audience gently back on the ground. Dazzling in the evening sun, Heynderickx’s voice is absolutely incredible in its ability to float casually over the crowd without needing to announce its utter beauty.
A Tribe Called Red (Ottawa, Ont.) — There was no better way to end Hillside 2018 than with an absolutely explosive performance from electro-dance/ethnotronica from Indigenous band A Tribe Called Red. The band succeeded in delivering their message of indigenous social issues, bringing folks of all stripes together, and simultaneously providing the biggest and wildest dance party of the weekend.
