GFM Spotlight Interview: Concert Promoter Jeremy "J.D." Hill

Jeremy “J.D.” Hill is a 20-year military veteran turned promoter who’s produced signature shows such as the Legends of Southern Hip Hop tour (Scarface, 8 Ball & MJG, Trick Daddy, & more), Keith Sweat Music Fests, Back 2 the 80s tour (Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, & more) as well as the 22-city NuSoul Revival Tour (Musiq Soulchild, Lyfe Jennings & more), Fox Soul Series, and ATL Soul Life Music Fest, the largest annual soul music festival in the SE region with over 10,000 attendees, and the Wolf Creek Jazz Series which turned into a three-day jazz festival in 2016.

A self-professed “country boy from Milledgeville, GA,” J.D. Hill began promoting events in small-town Georgia while still in the military. Now, he promotes shows in large cities across the United States including Kansas City and Atlanta. In 2017 alone, he promoted over 65 shows.

#GoodMusicStillLives

With the desire to produce events that take music lovers back to their younger years as his motivation, Hill feels good about carrying the torch for good music and believes he filled a gap in the Atlanta concert market with his old-school shows and with Soul Life Music Fest. He says, “Before we started doing stuff, especially in Atlanta and at Wolf Creek [Amphitheater], there was really only like one old-school show a year that was going on in Atlanta. That was the KISS 104.1 Flashback Festival over at Lakewood [Cellaris Amphitheatre at Lakewood]. I saw a void in the marketplace with those fun shows that take people back to whatever time in their lives. To see people respond to that and come out and support it and see them having a good time– it does everything for me.”

Crowd Shot at Wolf Creek Amphitheater, Atlanta, GA. Photo Credit: Connecting YOU to PR Firm

Show Line Ups

Hill says he puts together artist line ups for his shows that he would pay to see himself. Also, selling tickets sometimes isn’t always the driving factor behind what artists make. An artist who is easy to work with is key. He says, “There are some artists that I’ve worked with that sell tickets and have even sold out shows, but they’re just difficult and haven’t worked with them anymore. Then, there are some artists that don’t sell tickets, but I still try to work with them and put them on a show– maybe with a stronger artist that does– because they’re just so easy to deal with. I really want to give them an opportunity to make some money. Obviously, nobody wants to deal with the diva-type attitudes. We’re all there to do what we need to do and go on about our business.” He says he prefers those artists who are, “Really humble… get in, get out, not difficult, on time and do what they’re supposed to do.”

Stop, Watch and Respect

One artist Hill says he stops what he’s doing backstage to watch perform is Keith Sweat. About Sweat he says, “Within the last four or five years, I’ve probably done 30 shows with Keith Sweat. To be honest with you, I wasn’t the biggest Keith Sweat fan personally. But, Keith’s show warms the crowd every single time I see regardless of how many times I see him. He has hits that can’t be disputed. Also, I respect him as a business man. He’s one of the few artists that came out in the late ’80s that are still on top of their game. When I mean on top of their game– I’m talking financially… I’m talking [he can] still be a headliner. Those are the things I respect. I don’t just respect artists who are good performers. It’s a lot of broke artists out here. You’d be surprised. People think they’ve got this or that, but they are literally broke. Keith is a businessman. I’ve learned a lot from just being around him. He’s a true businessman.”

Moving Forward

Even with his success so far, Hill feels he hasn’t accomplished all of his goals and he continues to make new ones. So, he doesn’t take time to smell the roses. He’s still pushing forward to create events– he’s got his sights set on destination music events and cites with the one and only Sade as a dream artist he’d like to promote a show for. That dream is not far fetched– J.D. Hill is promoting Anita Baker’s three sold-out shows in Atlanta for her farewell tour. To find out more about J.D. Hill’s upcoming shows, click here.

Some of J.D. Entertainment’s upcoming shows:

An Evening of Smooth Jazz (May 5, 2018)