Since 2005, Bill Solleder and his partner Shea Childs have been promoting independent music and art in Hot Springs through Low Key Arts, a 501c3 arts 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, a solar-powered community radio station. 

We receive word today that two new directors, David Hill and Bobby Missile, will be stepping in to fill Solleder’s shoes as he transitions to a role as Special Events Manager for Visit Hot Springs. Solleder says of his departure:

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“It’s bittersweet. I am deeply as sad, as I am excited, to entrust the culture of Low Key Arts to a new generation, all the while, being entrusted to lead our mainstream culture to fun, fresh and exciting new places.”

 
Missile, a touring musician himself (Ghost Bones) and former owner of Ballistic Missile Booking, has already been involved with Low Key Arts as curator and talent buyer for VOV 2016, and says of the new venture, 

“I’m very excited to be taking this position with such a great organization. The city of Hot Springs and the art community here are both unique and special. There’s no limit to what we can accomplish with Low Key Arts.”

Hill, Vice President of the National Writers Union, returns to his native Hot Springs to help run Low Key Arts and to complete work on his book about The Vapors nightclub.

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 “Growing up in Hot Springs, the arts community always fit into a small and well­-defined box. Bill and everyone involved in Low Key Arts have done so much in such a short time to expand those definitions and invigorate the arts community in Hot Springs. It’s a privilege to help carry that torch forward.”

The Hot Water Hills outdoor music festival takes place at the end of September, and will mark the first event for Low Key Arts under the new leadership. For more information about that or about Low Key Arts, go to lowkeyarts.org.

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