The Sentinel-Record - HER - Hot Springs
10 Years of VOV
The 10th Annual Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival celebrates a milestone this year, a decade of bringing cutting-edge acts from all over the world to Hot Springs.
The VOV scheduled on March 14-18 showcases workshops, visual art, music and the original works of today’s rising stars of the underground rock world at Low Key Arts, 118 Arbor St.
“We have a lot of returning bands this year. They want to come back every year,” says co-founder Bill Solleder.
“It’s kind of an alumni year since its our 10th,” says cofounder Shea Childs.
“We are lucky to be so close to Austin, Texas to be able to pick up some of these bands heading to the South by Southwest Music Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the world where thousands of bands are playing there officially and unofficially,” he said.
“It’s not out of the question that some of the bands who have played The VOV, and who will play The VOV in the next years to come, will go on to be rock ‘n’ roll’s most famous and innovative artists.”
The festival has evolved from Childs and Solleder initially organizing every aspect of the event, to them teaming up with a crew of 40 people who pull it off and log more than 700 volunteers hours.
The VOV welcomes all ages who gather for smoke-free events throughout the week at the handicap-accessible venue.
The festival draws attentive, enthusiastic crowds and musicians have expressed their gratitude.
“We hear from musician, after musician, after musician, how impressed they are that everyone in the crowd is paying attention to them. Everyone is listening, watching, clapping. If it’s a dancing song, it can get really wild in there, because we have some people in town who like to dance,” Childs said.
The intimate venue also encourages an exchange between the traveling musicians and festival-goers, since there are no barriers at the venue and performers must walk through the crowds to get on stage. “It almost forces a conversation,” Solleder said. “We have had bands from China, Japan, Iran, the Sudan, South America, Canada and all over the country. They are curious to know what makes us tick as Arkansans.
“And, of course, we are curious to know, ‘How did you end up here from China in our town playing rock ‘n’ roll?’ That’s the cultural exchange that’s very important,” he said.
For the festival founders, an exchange behind the scenes is another high point of the event as they relax with their children and the musicians for food and fellowship.
“Our own personal gratification comes from opening up our home to the traveling musicians. Our children have gotten to grow up around them. We have a piano in our dining room and so five days out of the year, or sometimes 10 days, people from all over the world will be sitting there playing a breakfast concert for our children,” Childs said.
As the festival’s mix of styles has attracted larger crowds, The VOV has branched out into new venues, an experiment with listening to music in different surroundings.
New venues have included Trail Shows, for the musician and festival-goers to hike into Hot Springs National Park for an unplugged, acoustic performance, and Secret Shows, with the location revealed on social media close to the time of the concert and held in unconventional places like a school bus.
With new sounds, new dance steps and new people taking part in the event each year, The VOV must look ahead, Solleder said.
“Rock ‘n’ roll has always been a very youthful thing. Everyone who has been there (at The VOV) for 10 years has gotten older. We always understood that you have to look and see what is new and cutting and what is innovative. Sometimes when you grow older, it’s harder to keep your finger on the pulse.
“One of my goals looking forward is not so much the new dance moves but the new culture and the new people who will lead The VOV for the next 10 years.”