Billy Rowan, a.k.a. The Undercover Hippy, releases his new single Boyfriend. A single guaranteed to wake you out of a winter slumber and put a wry smile on your face for the Spring.
The Undercover Hippy is definitely not your average singer songwriter. His music brings together acoustic guitar, soulful vocals, infectious reggae rhythms, and the lyrical delivery of a skilled mc. After 7 years spent DJ'ing and MC'ing on the Drum & Bass circuit, Billy swapped the decks for a guitar and started out as a solo act. He now plays with a full 5 piece band, mixing guitar, keys, drums, bass, congas and backing vocals to create a high energy, interactive and highly entertaining live show. Combining intelligent, amusing, and often politically charged lyrics with dangerously catchy hooks and a feel good groove, this is music for the thinking man to shake his arse to. Think Jason Mraz meets The Cat Empire...on a protest march...at the Edinburgh Fringe.
His amazing vocal delivery captured live promoters attention, resulting in Billy and his band performing at some of the UK’s best festivals, including Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Green Man, The Secret Garden Party, Sunrise Celebration, Ireland’s Electric Picnic, and many more. 2014 was an epic year for the band, with a jam packed summer of festival appearances and shows across the UK and Europeculminating with the much anticipated release of the album “Monkey Suit”. Highlights included playing to a packed Chai Wallah’s stage at Shambala Festival, playing the Mainstage before Ben Howard and Bombay Bicycle club at Jersey Live, creating the most frenzied dancefloor yet in The Bimble Inn at Glastonbury Festival, and touring across Europe playing festivals in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
The new album “Monkey Suit”, was released on Sept 1st with a sold out launch party at The Attic in Bristol. The album fuses multiple genres, from reggae to hip-hop, folk to pop, but all held together by Billy’s signature style of vocal delivery and lyrical content. BBC Introducing DJ Andrew Marston described the track Boyfriend as “about as real as music gets”, putting it in his top ten tracks of the year, and Due South West’s review of the album called it “ten tracks of exellence… nothing short of a triumph!”. With over 300,000 Youtube views and over 5k Facebook fans, The Undercover Hippy’s following just keeps growing, and with 2 tours and numerous festivals booked for 2015 already, it looks set to be another busy year for Billy and the band.