Sunday, July 27, 2014 Workshop: Marmalade Skies (Lake Stage, 11AM) The Hillside Sunday Gospel Session has the power to make even the staunchest non-believers believe in something, anything. This year’s country-blues lineup of Elephant Revival, Red Moon Road, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, and Spirit Family Reunion was hard to pass up, but we instead […]

Saturday, July 26, 2014 Workshop: The First Days are the Hardest (Island Stage, 11AM) The first days can be the hardest, but not when they begin with a workshop featuring Winnipeg’s Royal Canoe and Seryn from Denton, Texas. With six people in each band, the stage was overflowing with musicians as they joined in on […]

Friday, July 25, 2014 We’ve been going to Hillside Festival in Guelph for three years now, and while this weekend didn’t have the greatest ending (Sunday night’s schedule got rained out), it’s still a weekend we look forward to all year! There are certain things about the festival that never change: the excitement felt getting […]

Sunday, July 28, 2013 Sunday Gospel Session (Island Stage, 10:30AM) Whoever is concerned that church attendance is dwindling, should have seen the sight on Sunday morning. Despite the early hour and grey skies, the Island Stage tent was packed with festival goers in need of a little Sunday gospel – Hillside-style. A non-traditional “bring your […]

Saturday, July 27, 2013 “Nashville Skylines” Workshop (Lake Stage, 11:00AM) We started Day 2 at the Lake Stage for the “Nashville Skylines” workshop, featuring Escondido and Lindi Ortega. Bringing their Nashville-flavoured alt-country to Guelph, both acts actually have Canadian roots – Escondido front woman Jessica Maros is originally from Vancouver, while Ortega hails from Toronto […]

Friday, July 26, 2013 After attending Hillside last year as spectators, we jumped at the chance to go back this year to celebrate their 30th anniversary. From the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, to the amazing – and healthy! – food options, and green initiatives, it has quickly become one of our favourite out-of-town festivals. It’s true […]

“There isn’t another festival like this…” – Max Kerman (Arkells) “Everywhere I go, people say [Hillside] is a pillar of how it should be done…” – Joel Plaskett I’ve heard the praises for Hillside before and I heard them all weekend long. The charm of this “hippy” festival is undeniable, a festival which is impressively […]