Christopher BarrettIndependent concert and festival promoter Crosstown Concerts has announced the formation of a young promoter team, with its co-founder Paul Hutton stepping back from promoting to take up an advisory role.
Crosstown Concerts was founded by Hutton and Conan Dodds in 2016 after the duo left Metropolis Music. With offices in Bristol and London it has promoted more than 2,000 live shows across the UK, including major outdoor events the Downs Festival (60,000) in Bristol, Bristol Sounds (20,000) and London’s OnBlackheath (25,000).
Having recently celebrated the company’s seventh anniversary, Dodds said the appointment of promoters to form a new team was the result of a desire to “introduce new voices into Crosstown that face the future”.
The new promoting team is made up of Hayley Thompson who first worked with Crosstown as a freelance digital marketer in 2017. Thompson has been head of marketing at the company since 2020, and this month she begun booking and promoting shows for Crosstown.
Richard Walsh joined Crosstown in January as a national promoter. His background includes founding Factor 50, where he managed the careers of Katy J Pearson, Happyness and Young Knives. For six years, his company, 1% of One, promoted shows by acts including Weyes Blood, Alex G, Bill Callahan, Mitski, Yard Act and Black Country, New Road.
Walsh has previously worked with Crosstown promoter Simon Bailey to launch Ritual Union Festival in Bristol. Bailey, who will promote more than 150 shows in 2023 for Crosstown, has worked with the company since 2018 and continues to promote UK shows with acts such as Katy J Pearson, Kurt Vile, Thea Gilmore, The Comet Is Coming and Warmduscher.
Danny Morris joined Crosstown last year having started his career booking DIY bands for grassroots indie venues before moving to the Preston Guild Hall as the in-house promoter. After a brief stint at VMS Live, he moved to TEG MJR where he promoted more than 300 shows a year. At Crosstown he promotes UK tours for acts such as The Sherlocks, Badly Drawn Boy, John Cooper Clarke, & Max Cooper.
Pictured left to right: Danny Morris, Simon Bailey, Hayley Thompson, Richard Walsh.