Festival Coverage : HIPSVILLE
- Written by Kenneth McMurtrie
Hipsville makes its debut on the Sixties/Garage festival scene this year over the weekend of 10 - 12 May. At time of writing acts including Wild Evel & The Trashbones, The Masonics, Les BOF!, The Shook-Ups, The Norvins, The Stags and Speedball Jr., along with a host of DJs, were confirmed as appearing in Bisley, Surrey over the three days.
Andrew Bennett took the time to answer some questions about how the weekender came into being:-
MG) How far in advance of the event do you start planning/booking acts?
Andrew) Myself and my partner Ade Street first talked about this event back in July 2012, though it had been on both our minds for a few years. Soon after the July discussion we started formulating the plan!
MG) How easy has it been come up with the inaugural line-up?
Andrew) We’re both always listening out for new bands or keeping an ear to the ground as to who's touring or visiting the UK to do shows, it’s like a moving jigsaw puzzle that is continually changing.
MG) Has there been any major act you’ve just had to decide against having appear?
Andrew) The scene we operate in really doesn’t have many ‘top’ acts so we chose our line-up for HIPSVILLE based on bands' (and not forgetting DJs) ability to get people ‘shakin’ it on the dancefloor. We have though had to say no to a lot of bands as our idea for the weekend is to have an equal mix of bands vs DJs so it retains a feel of a ‘party’ rather than a festival.
MG) What’s the strangest rider request any act has ever submitted and were you able to meet it?
Andrew) Yet to happen!
MG) Festivals seem to be more prevalent than ever in the UK – do you anticipate any negative impact from this?
Andrew) We’re aware of how many festivals there are going on over the year but, and it is a big BUT, HIPSVILLE is a niche event that appeals to people who love the 60’s Garage and R’n’B scene, we know there’s a lot of potential ‘hipsters’ out there that are looking for our kinda weekend, as there’s really not anything remotely like HIPSVILLE happening anywhere in the UK at the moment.
MG) If things work out well this year would you consider franchising the festival to other UK or international cities/foreign countries?
Andrew) We are passionate about making this THEE happening event of the year, every year! Though watch this space as you may see HIPSVILLE happening somewhere else in Europe in the future!
MG) How much time do you expect to be able to devote to seeing the acts and getting on the dancefloor?
Andrew) Both Ade & I will make a point of fully enjoying the weekend including watching all the bands and getting on the dancefloor to all the DJs, that’s what it’s all about FUN!
MG) In the months of organisation have you ever had to miss an important life event due to festival related business?
Andrew) I don’t know I wasn’t there!
Lastly we enquired about how the entertainment will go down in terms of the split between classic and modern material -
MG) Do you find current groups go down as well on record when DJing or are club nights, for whatever reason, better recieved when the tunes on offer are 99% from the original era?
Andrew) Yeah you've got it, I put on a monthly club night in Camden (more info here) and myy usual mx is new and current garage/garagepunk bands mixed with DJs spinnin' original 45s from the '50s and '60s.