The Undercover Hippy at The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham on Sunday 10th April
Drum n Bass MC turned singer songwriter Billy Rowan aka THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY is on a mission tomake people think, laugh and dance simultaneously. Described by Tom Robinson as “beautifully produced agitprop reggae flavoured rap”, his music brings together powerful messages and infectious rhythms. Combining intelligent, provocative lyrics with dangerously catchy hooks, masterful delivery, and feel-good grooves, this is music for the thinking person to go wild to. Think Natty meets Eminem … on a protest march … at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Renowned for the electric atmosphere at their shows, Billy and his band have performed at some of the UK’s best festivals, including Glastonbury, Boomtown Fair, Green Man and The Secret Garden Party, as well as many European festivals. As the music clocks up over 11 million Spotify streams, the band have been clocking up motorway miles, touring relentlessly across the UK and Europe each year. Of course, Covid has been tough for the band, with their Spring 2020 tour for the release of the FOOL BRITANNIA single – one of their most highly charged, political songs – rescheduled three times before finally going ahead in Autumn 2021. But the comeback was worth the wait, with sold out shows across the country.
“Like the love child of Steel Pulse, Kate Tempest, and The Sleaford Mods …”TOM ROBINSON | 6 MUSIC
They head to The Actress & Bishop on the 10th as part of their Spring tour.
Tickets here: https://undercoverhippy.com/gigs
Listen to FOOL BRITANNIA: https://undercoverhippy.bandcamp.com/track/fool-britannia
Since the release of their second album, TRUTH & FICTION, the band have been hard at work on the follow up. The first single, Fool Britannia, a polemic on the divisiveness of Brexit and populist politics, was released to coincide with the original UK tour in 2020 although Covid clearly had other plans.
The new album, scheduled originally for October 2020, is now set for release in October 2022, with the second single THESE DAYS to be released in June. Originally written as a call to arms to those who have given up partying due to getting older, the song found an unexpected new meaning when lockdowns confined us all to our homes, with the chorus – “You all know what I mean when I say, I don’t get out a lot, I don’t get out a lot these days” – being true of pretty much everyone around the world.