Investigating what it is that tugs at people’s heartstrings
For more than three decades now, Guelph has been the home of a very special festival – its name is Hillside. Andrew Cooper, a Guelph resident who has been visiting Hillside for the past sixteen years, recently sat down for an interview with the Ontarion to celebrate the Hillside Music Festival’s 31st year. This festival is more than just a music festival, however; it has something for everyone and allows locals and out-of-towners a weekend in a magical land – a place where memories are made and never forgotten.
It all began for Cooper in 1998: “my friend’s band [Honeysuckle] won a competition. Winning the competition gave them the opportunity to play at Hillside […] They invited me to go, and I did. I haven’t missed one since!” Cooper keeps coming back because it has become a tradition. “I have to go, I want to go. […] I really enjoy finding [and] seeing new up-and-coming musicians [and] bands that no one has heard of quite yet,” said Cooper.
For the past twelve years, Cooper has shared the experiences of the festival with his wife, Michelle. “We have been lucky enough to get to see many of these musicians who eventually turn out to be big,” Cooper said of their years of experience at the festival. Cooper went on to share that “more recently, it has become a family affair. Over the last few years, both my sisters, my brother-in-law, and my niece and nephew have joined Michelle and I at our annual music festival.”
When asked about his fondest memory of Hillside, Cooper said it “will always be the music, the bands, the Island Stage with The New Deal, House of Velvet, and dripping sweat from my elbow watching The Sheepdogs […] The Lake Stage with Matt Anderson, Kim Churchill, and The Bright Light Social Hour [… and]The Main Stage with Arcade Fire, Ivanna Santilli, and Xavier Rudd.”
But Hillside isn’t just about the music; it’s about comes along with it, Cooper shared. “We camped with friends of ours; walking back to the GRCA sites in [the] pitch black […] is something I will always remember, [they are] such good memories,” he explained. Cooper expressed that there are too many memories to pick just one of his favourites. “I know I have had a great time over the past sixteen years, [and I] look forward to many more years of Hillside,” Cooper shared, but there will be some changes for the Coopers, as they are expecting a baby this coming September. “How that will change our Hillside experience, it is for us to find out at Hillside 2015,” said Cooper. “I can’t wait!”
Hillside isn’t just a music festival. It is something that is part of people’s lives; experiences they continue reliving when thinking back to fond memories. This may be just one story, but the magic of Hillside spans over thousands of people that feel just as fondly about the annual summer festival.