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Crosstown Concerts embarks on new era

Four young professionals have joined the promoting team alongside director Conal Dodds, as co-founder Paul Hutton steps back

By James Hanley on 28 Mar 2023

L-R: Danny Morris, Simon Bailey, Hayley Thompson, Richard Walsh


Independent promoter Crosstown Concerts has added four young industry professionals to its team to extend its network of artists and live shows as the firm enters a new era.

Formed by Conal Dodds and fellow director Paul Hutton in 2016, the company has promoted more than 2,000 live shows across the UK with a focus on nurturing a loyal stable of artists and “protecting fans from the excesses of the secondary ticketing market”.

With Hutton now planning to step back to an advisory role, the firm says it is looking forward to a new era bolstered by an injection of fresh talent in promoters Hayley Thompson, Richard Walsh, Simon “Blaze” Bailey and Danny Morris.

“I was keen to introduce new voices into Crosstown that face the future”

“Promoting live music has never been more vibrant, as we rise from the turmoil of the pandemic to shape a new landscape,” says Dodds. “I was keen to introduce new voices into Crosstown that face the future. This new breed of promoters each bring their own passion, individual ideas and ambitions that will bring progression to our business, the artists and fans.

“Paul Hutton is stepping back from front line promoting from the end of March to take up an advisory consultancy role, so our new team is the way forward for Crosstown. We celebrated our seventh anniversary in business earlier this month and we look forward to the next seven.”

Thompson ran her own website, Music Festival News, before joining Crosstown as a freelance digital marketer in 2017 and was upped to head of marketing in 2020 before she began booking and promoting her own shows for Crosstown. Her debut showcase event Do It Without You begins on April 18th at The Lexington in London, featuring upcoming talent including Bekah Bossard, Rosie Shaw and Harriet Rock.

Walsh, who joined Crosstown as a national promoter in January, helmed early releases with Porridge Radio, The Orielles and The Golden Dregs via his own Art is Hard label, before making the switch to promoting in Bristol. For six years, his company, 1% of One, staged shows with the likes of Weyes Blood, Alex G, Bill Callahan, Mitski, Yard Act and Black Country, New Road. During this time, Walsh also founded Factor 50, managing the careers of Katy J Pearson, Happyness and Young Knives, alongside working as an assistant on the Adam Buxton podcast.

Bailey, aka Blaze, brings over a decade of promoting experience, starting his career in the booking team at Wolverhampton Civic Halls in the late 2000s. He has also worked in venue, artist and tour management.

Bailey founded Future Perfect in 2015, bringing artists such as Loyle Carner, IDLES, Tom Grennan, Slowdive, Easy Life, Dermont Kennedy, Courtney Barnett to Oxford. He has worked with Crosstown since 2018 and promotes the likes of Katy J Pearson, Pale Blue Eyes, Kurt Vile, DIIV, Bellowhead, Thea Gilmore, Easy Star All-Stars and The Comet Is Coming. In 2020, he launched Ritual Union Festival in Bristol in collaboration with Walsh and will promote more than 150 shows in 2023.

Morris, meanwhile, started out booking the likes of Idles, Catfish & The Bottlemen and Bill Ryder Jones into grassroots indie venues. Moving over to the Preston Guild Hall as the in-house promoter, booking artists such as White Lies, Bowling for Soup, Pigeon Detectives, Soul II Soul and British Sea Power.

After a brief stint working for VMS Live, he moved over to TEG MJR, where he promoted 300-plus gigs a year, and worked with the likes of De La Soul, Dinosaur JR, Eagles of Death Metal, Kiefer Sutherland, Alfa Mist, Starsailor and Red Rum Club. He moved to Crosstown in 2022, where he promotes UK tours for the likes of The Sherlocks, Badly Drawn Boy, John Cooper Clarke and Max Cooper.

 


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