The Undercover Hippy makes his long-awaited return in 2023.

After a few years off-grid, the alias of Billy Rowan is embarking on a fresh operation for the new year ahead, briefed with a brand new album release Poor Little England (out 7 April), and an extensive UK Tour unlike any he has done before. The Undercover Hippy has also released his first music from the new record - the single Hey Boy.

It dates back to a time in 2019 in which Rowan found himself relying on his phone with the unnerving dependency of a life support machine. Emerging with a upbeat and motivational song about a miserable experience and how he overcame it, he explains: “I wrote this song about my own unhealthy relationship with my phone and how I used it to self-medicate when I was feeling depressed.

“I was living alone at the time, and when I was in a negative headspace, I would escape into the world of social media scrolling, only to emerge two hours later feeling 10 times worse! So I wrote this song to remind myself that the best way to get out of a funk is to get up off the sofa, leave the house and seek out some real face-to-face interaction with other human beings.”

Billy Salisbury aka The Undercover Hippy has been performing at festivals since 2008, working his way up from being a solo singer-songwriter playing in small marquee stages, to now having a full band of incredible musicians and playing main-stages at some of the UK’s best independent festivals.

The band have been regulars at Glastonbury, Boomtown, Electric Picnic, Eden Festival in Scotland and Beautiful Days, plus many more around the UK and Europe. The music is best described as politically driven acoustic roots reggae folk-hop, with feel good vibes and a sly sense of humour. The live show is high energy, interactive, and always leaves the crowd begging for more.

With support band State of Statta, the Undercover Hippy comes to Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday, 6 April, at 8pm.