Our ‘Whatever Happened To’ series exploring the status of once-popular West Michigan bands catches up with members of Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, which played its last show in 2018.

Fond Memories of Shows Gone By: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus on stage at Bell’s Beer Garden in 2016. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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During its ballyhooed heyday several years ago, Michigan’s Ultraviolet Hippopotamus reveled in its role as a music festival headliner and as a multi-genre jam band sure to pack venues such as The Intersection to capacity with ebullient fans.
Indeed, a July 2013 Local Spins feature on the band (known affectionately as UV Hippo after forming at Ferris State University in Big Rapids) noted that the band was playing upwards of 200 shows a year across the country and preparing for an Independence Day homecoming show in front of 20,000 or so devotees.
“We’re pretty stoked. We’re pretty psyched to be able to do it,” guitarist Russell James Olmsted said at the time, just six months before the band’s “Translate” album was named Local Spin of the Year by this very publication.
But not long after that, the band took an “indefinite hiatus” from touring in hopes of re-charging its batteries. Even after a much-buzzed-about return to the stage in late 2015, the signs of wear continued to show. Olmsted left the band in 2016 and UV Hippo played its last show at Cowpie Music Festival in 2018.
The years of silence have led to plenty of fan inquiries about a possible band revival.
“UV Hippo is no more. We didn’t fail, we quit. It was a tough call,” said drummer Joe Phillion, who now lives in Nashville. “We all had a lot of personal reasons; really it came down to life. Being in a band is like having six girlfriends: You can’t make everyone happy forever.”

Hundreds of Shows, Tons of Memories: UV Hippo (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Percussionist Casey Butts, meanwhile, described the band’s status as “inactive” since that 2018 Cowpie festival performance.
“There was never a conversation about how long it would be or if it was the end of it all, though there was a sense of finality playing that show,” he conceded.
“Our lives started moving in different directions for at least a year prior to that and it was something that had been coming to a head for a while. There were some decisions made earlier that year that drew a bit of a hard line in the sand between the members, so it made sense to step away when we did.”
While there have been numerous offers for a reunion gig, Phillion insisted the band “will not reunite with the original members.”
“Get us in the same room first. I would love to play shows with the boys. Make new music and bring everyone together. It was SO much fun. I still talk to every single member of UV Hippo. They’re my best friends. Friends never lose touch, they just pick up where they left off.”
THREE BAND MEMBERS PLAYING SAWMILL SALOON IN APRIL
While there’s no UV Hippo reunion in the works, one-time band members Phillion, bassist Brian Samuels and guitarist Sam Guidry — along with Andy Kirby of The Turnips and UV Hippo — will perform Wednesday, April 5 at the Big Rapids club where it all began: Sawmill Saloon, for its open-mic night.
“If anyone wants to see a makeshift reunion, this would be it,” Phillion said.
Band members who responded to Local Spins inquiries about the status of UV Hippo all reminisced fondly about the group’s heyday, from playing “such amazing music” on stage to the laughs and memories of “touring everywhere” as friends.

Local Spins 2017 Calendar Band: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
“We had so many adventures together and it all truly shaped who I am now and who we’ve all become. I love that and will cherish it for the rest of my life,” said Olmsted, who owns and operates North Coast Guitar Co. in Grand Rapids.
“It’s seriously very humbling to hear that people still think of us and our music. I know what that entire experience – writing music, performing, recording, touring – meant to me personally and us as a band, but I’ve never known what it means or meant to other people. … Truth is, I’m still close friends with all of them. Never trade a moment of it or the experiences we had.”
Here are more recollections and observations from band members:

In Nashville: Phillion (Courtesy Photo)

Casey Butts (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

Guitar Repairs and Custom-Built Instruments: Olmsted at North Coast Guitar Co. (Courtesy Photo)
Read more historical Local Spins coverage of UV Hippo.
VIDEO: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, “Tugboat”
VIDEO: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, “La Marea” (Live at Asheville Music Hall)
VIDEO: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, “Giants” (Acoustic, Local Spins on WYCE)
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