HOT SPRINGS — Growing up in Hot Springs in the mid-1990s could be frustrating for those with aspirations to see live bands or be the next Nirvana, as a result of age restrictions at most venues and bars.
A native of Hot Springs, David Hill — the new executive director for Low Key Arts — said that as a teenager, he and his friends would make the trek to Little Rock or other cities to see musical acts.
“I went to high school here in the ’90s,” said Hill, who graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1995. “We had bands, and we were into music, punk rock or whatever it might be.
“But we had a chip on our shoulder because the bands we like would play in Little Rock, or wouldn’t stop in Arkansas at all, and would play at Memphis.
“So we would pool our gas money and bum rides to see bands we like.”
Hill said he felt a lot of resentment back then because “if you were under 21, you couldn’t play in a bar, and you couldn’t go to a show in a bar.”
“There weren’t a lot of places very hospitable to young people back then,” Hill said. “Years later, when I came back and saw what Bill [Solleder] and Shea [Childs] had done, it was impressive.”
Solleder and his partner Childs co-founded Low Key Arts, the organization responsible for the Valley of the Vapors music festival, the Hot Water Hills festival, Arkansas Shorts: a Night of Short Film and KUHS 97.9.
Hill said bands started choosing to play in Hot Springs or Little Rock instead of driving through to Texas.
“They would stop here and play a show, and even in the beginning, I could tell there was something cool about it,” Hill said.
Hill and Bobby Missile were recently hired as the executive director and the artistic director, respectively, at Low Key Arts, to replace
Solleder, who left to take the special-events-manager position for Visit Hot Springs.
“David has a lot of experience as a writer and is a hometown guy,” Childs said. “He has some relationships built already that are important to the growth of Low Key.”
Hill said Low Key Arts has provided a venue for musicians to express their artistic talent and for fans to get front-row seats to concerts that otherwise might not be available.
“If you treat music like art, as something that needs to be nurtured, valued and showcased in the right way, that’s the real difference,” Hill said. “So if it’s music, film, theater, whatever it is, create the space for people to celebrate it.”
The Hot Water Hills outdoor music and art festival will take place Friday and Saturday. Headlining the event are Sad Daddy on Friday and Sinkane on Saturday. The cost to see the headliners is $5 each day.
“The music is different each night,” Hill said. “On Friday, the music will be more folksy and mellow, whereas on Saturday, it is going to be much more hip hop, dance, funk and pop. It will be a more upbeat, poppy night. It is going to be a lot of fun.”
From noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Busker’s Corner, there will be acoustic performances by Sergio Ugeda, Sarah Hastings, Gino Del Ray, Notice to Quit, Andrew Anderson, Turtle Rush and Ryan Sauders.
“These really cool acts from all over are different than what you might see,” Hill said. “Low Key has really worked hard to [bring] a bunch of styles to the city and expose people to cool stuff, and to expose it for just $5.
“That’s the real cool thing about a nonprofit — you are getting to see top-quality talent for next to nothing.”
Hill said that when he came aboard a month ago, he felt like he was already behind on Hot Water Hills.
“Hot Water Hills is a big project and has a lot of moving parts,” Hill said. “It is on both city and federal property at the same time.
“It is a music festival and art festival, and there is stuff for kids to do, too. There will be vendors that are selling arts and hosting rummage sales.”
Hill said there is a lot of planning and permits to fill out, as well as contacting artists.
“I had a lot to catch up on in a short period of time,” Hill said, “but I’m super excited, and it’s all I’ve been thinking about the past month.”
For more information on Hot Water Hills, visit www.hotwaterhills.com.
Missile, who has lived in Hot Springs for 10 years, is the former owner of Ballistic Missile Booking and was involved with Low Key Arts as a curator and talent buyer for Valley of the Vapors 2016.
“Now I’m learning how to call and get porta-potties, all the logistical details people don’t think of when they think of festivals,” Missile said, “or calling the city and asking for permits or paying a $25 power bill for an electrical pole for the weekend’s use.
“I’m just really looking forward to all this stuff.”
Missile’s band Ghost Bones was one of the headliners for Hot Water Hills last year.
“It was hard to imagine that one person could do Bill’s job on a part-time basis, so instead, we have two people, both trying to do different spheres of the work that Bill and Shea have done,” Hill said.
Hill said Missile handles the programming, talent booking and the artistic output of the organization.
“My job is to make sure the trains run on time,” Hill said, “managing day-to-day tasks, raising money and growing the organization.
“To me, it gave me an excuse to get out into the community and meet people — to get to know people at all levels, including artists and young people who are involved in Low Key and people who work for the city.”
Hill said that if he was just here on his own, he would be working on his book and living a hermit style of life.
“It is a lot of work and hard work,” Hill said. “I think everybody involved, including Bill himself, underestimated just how much Bill did for this organization.”
Hill has been living in Brooklyn, New York, since 1999 and was in the process of moving back to Hot Springs when he heard Solleder was stepping down at Low Key.
“I’m writing a book that is about my grandmother, and I have been working on that book for about year,” Hill said. “It was getting difficult to write from afar and research it from afar.”
So Hill persuaded his wife and three children — including a newborn — to move back to Arkansas where “life is a little bit slower, easier and cheaper.”
“One of the many things about coming back to Hot Springs that intrigued me was just how much Low Key Arts has grown,” Hill said. “I was at the first Valley of the Vapors festival when it was very small, and I have watched from afar as it grew to a really impressive organization.”
Hill and Missile said taking over for Solleder has not been too overwhelming because of the support they have received.
“The reason I think Bobby and I will be able to pull this off is because it has always been bigger than Bill and Shea,” Hill said. “There is a huge group of people who make things happen and do it totally for free.
“We have volunteers, donors, board members who contribute money, time, services or whatever they can give to make sure that projects Low Key takes on will be successful.
“It makes my job a little easier.”
For more information on Low Key Arts, visit www.lowkeyarts.org.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at 501-244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.