Durham, NC – Urban music festivals have a tendency to descend upon their host cities and act like a really bad flu bug. Every ounce of unused space is grabbed up by corporate sponsors, and the flashy events, while cool for the foreign agents that come in for the show, are a bane on the existence of the locals. Ask the people of Austin, Texas what they think when SXSW starts. However, Durham, North Carolina seems to have found the vaccination to the urban music festival bug with Art of Cool Fest.
The event was hosted by the Art of Cool Project, a local non-profit that aims to “present, promote, and preserve jazz-influenced music,” and was held this past weekend from May 6-8. Some would scoff at a jazz-centric music festival as an event reserved for people of a certain age, or just plain boring. AOC was quite
the opposite, with an assorted lineup ranging from big brass jazz to hip hop.
Not only was the artist lineup artistically diverse, it was appealing to people of all ages, and had formidable star power. Traditionalists could go see the Jim Ferris Trio, Hip-Hop Heads could go see Pete Rock at The Art of Turntables showcase, the younger crowd was treated to the likes of Anderson .Paak and The Internet, and everyone was graced with an electric performance by Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy winning “secret weapon,” Thundercat.
AOC did a perfect job at creating a lineup that brought people of different tastes together. It wasn’t scary to try something new, which is a big problem at other urban festivals. Sometimes as a badge or wristband holder, you’re faced with checking out an
obscure artist or missing out on one of your favorites. It’s profoundly irresponsible to force these kinds of decisions on music nerds, but AOC made everything accessible. Lines weren’t that long at venues, and the impact on Durham as a city was relatively non-invasive.
Another refreshing change of pace about AOC was the absence of big industry presence. No “Universal Music Presents…” or a “McDonald’s House of Jazz and Rap” type venue could be found in Durham. When festivals do stuff like that it can be fun, but it takes away from the event’s personality. AOC was all about chillin’ and enjoying really good music, so multimillion dollar stages reserved for only the most famous of artists would certainly have been out of place.
The day parties were a major factor in keeping AOC’s vibe going throughout the weekend, and put a deserved spotlight on local hip hop artists. One of the Friday day parties was hosted by 97.5’s (and WKNC’s!) Mir.I.Am, and showcased local heat makers Will Wildfire, Lil Bob Doe, and Defacto Thezpian. The most exciting day party of all was JRowdy & The Night Shift’s Cypher University showcase on Saturday afternoon. This party wasn’t just cool because JRowdy is an amazing lyricist, but because the essence of the Cypher University movement is based on organic
collaboration and involvement. Anyone in attendance was welcome to join in on the music and they did. There were contributions from some of the most talented local MCs like Tuscon and Konvo the Mutant, singing from Will Wildfire, and even an unplanned contribution from Masego wailing on his sax. To say it was epic, would be a gross understatement.
Art of Cool Fest was just cool in general, and if you were in attendance you were pretty damn cool yourself. It says a lot about the vibe of a festival when you can nonchalantly rub shoulders with a Grammy Award winning producer like 9th Wonder, and just exchange a casual, “wussup fam?” After this year’s immense success, it will be interesting to see what comes of AOC Fest in the years to come. Will it remain an unflappable collection of artists, enthusiasts, and media professionals? Or
will it succumb to big corporate temptations? Hopefully, it will remain the former.
– DJ Iron Mic