We've been waiting since the summer of 2019 for our Hillside fix. It's been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth it. It felt sooooo good to be back on the Hillside grounds with a community I've missed over the past years.
Here are links to each artist's post featuring photos, a few quick thoughts and music from the artists.
"Are you ready to chill?" was the greeting from Afie Jurvanen as Bahamas took to the Hillside 2022 main stage for their Saturday-night headlining set. Not exactly your typical rock show greeting.
Well, the crowd loved them. Bahamas' chill tunes were the perfect cap for a hot day in the sun.
Montreal rock band NOBRO were one of the bands that I most wanted to see at Hillside 2022.
They seriously rocked! To say that their set was high-energy would be a huge understatement. NOBRO take control of the stage and do not let up. The crowd loved the set, and even proved heroic when some audience members got beer for the band. This set was a definite Hillside 2022 highlight for me.
Sadly, due to the schedule changes caused by King Hannah's travel woes, some fans showed up at NOBRO's scheduled time to find they were done and King Hannah was getting ready to perform. Too bad the app wasn't updated in real-time with a notification so fans would know when to catch their favourites.
Edmonton-born, Toronto-based rapper, producer and writer Rollie Pemberton is Cadence Weapon. They were a Saturday night Hillside 2022 headliner. They got great crowd energy going and had everyone bouncing along.
I caught Cadence Weapon's performance at Hillside 2018. Those photos are here.
Post-pandemic travel seems to be quite a nightmare. The media coverage highlights the delays and challenges that air travel brings with it these days. Unfortunately, Liverpool duo King Hannah were the victims of some travel troubles. They had to delay their Hillside 2022 set and switch set times with NOBRO.
I try not to lean on bios too much in my coverage, but King Hannah's seems too accurate not to quote. "At times, it’s like listening to dusty jukebox 7-inch singles from the late 1950s played at half speed, and at others like Cowboy Junkies forced to play The Trinity Sessions at knifepoint with a pounding whiskey hangover." I only came up with moody and brooding to describe the music that I heard.
Montreal-based seven-piece band TEKE::TEKE put on my favourite performance of Hillside 2022 and now I have just crowned TEKE::TEKE as the band of the pandemic!
I saw their KEXP at home video when it was released and I didn’t know what was happening during the first few minutes. It was bonkers. Their bio says the band "blend classic Japanese balladry, surf rock, and psychedelia" but you'll have to check it out for yourself to get the full impact. To me, the band's music contains surprise after surprise and it all brought a huge smile to my face. Just trust me, give that video below a play and enjoy these amazing artists.
Their live show lived up to all my expectations; it was everything I hoped for. They opened the show with the same tunes that they opened the KEXP set with. I was locked in joyful bliss as I tried to both photograph and be fully immersed the show. And I wasn't alone. TEKE::TEKE's set got a huge reaction from the crowd, too.
I always come away from Hillside with some personal highlights. Well, TEKE::TEKE's set was the highlight of the highlights for me this year. For me, this tops at all!
TEKE::TEKE, thank you for the incredible music you create and the live show that goes along with it.
Toronto indie rockers Monowhales are a powerful, highly polished band with tunes to match. They put on a high-energy rock show as only they can. The Hillside 2022 crowd loved it.
Wesli and his band brought their sunshiny grooves and feel-good tunes to the Hillside 2022 main stage. They got everyone dancing along, and those horns drew me in. Great stuff!
