Hillside Festival has been around for almost thirty years (2013 being their thirtieth anniversary.) For those who have not heard of the music festival, it takes place at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area over the course of three days at the end of July, and has many green initiatives.
Hillside has been known to feature a variety of musical acts from rock to folk to electronic, and everything in between. This year Hillside had a fantastic line-up which included YouTube sensation Walk Off The Earth, folk legend Valdy, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, and Canadian rocker Joel Plaskett.
I was lucky to be able to attend the festival for the whole weekend and saw many great acts perform over the three days at this unique festival. Hillside has a great environment and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Guelph.
One of the first bands that I saw at Hillside, was the British group Bombay Bicycle Club, playing early on at the Main stage.
Bombay Bicycle Club were one of the few international bands at the festival, drawing a large crowd for their amazing performance. Their one-hour set was packed full, with the band playing a variety of songs from virtually all of their releases, including material from their folk/acoustic album Flaws.
It was great to be able to see this band perform live, and they were definitely my favourites of the Friday night at Hillside. Hopefully I will have the chance to see them again, and I definitely recommend Bombay Bicycle Club as a great live show to see!
Walk Off The Earth were the next highlight of the Friday night. For those who are not familiar with the band from Burlington, Ontario; they became famous due to their cover of Gotye's hit, Somebody That I Used To Know, where all the band is playing together on one guitar. Which they ended their Hillside set with (as pictured above.)
Walk Off The Earth drew a large crowd, meaning that the Island Tent - one of the three side stages - was packed full. Their set is energetic with the band running around and playing a large variety of instruments. The three front people of the band, switched guitars and mics often throughout songs, as well as coming out into the crowd. The band's roadies were also involved in the performance, throwing and catching instruments from the band, and also joining in on guitar and percussion for some of the songs as well! The band played many of their most popular covers, and also included some of their own original songs.
Walk Off The Earth are an awesome band and a great show to see, even if you are not familiar with their covers of popular songs.
The final highlight of the first day of Hillside, was The Arkells' performance. They were essentially the headliners for the day, filling up the field in front of the main stage for their ten o'clock set.
The Arkells put on a good show that was energetic and polished. Besides playing many fan favourites, the band also performed a couple covers, my favourite being their version of Hall & Oates' You Make My Dreams. Earlier in the day I saw Dan Griffin & The Regrets, which Dan Griffin is a member of The Arkells, he later joined them onstage for a couple songs, as well as fellow performer, Kathleen Edwards. Another member of The Regrets, also joined The Arkells on stage; Aaron Goldstein, the pedal steel guitar player.
The Arkells are a great live band and definitely live up to the ever growing hype about them. For those in the Toronto area, the band will playing at the CNE this summer with support from The Darcys, whom I've also had the chance to see before. This is sure to be a great show, with both bands being such strong performers.
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