Now that we’ve all been able to recover from the weekend, it’s time for a recap of this year’s Moogfest. 15 miles of walking around Durham + at least 5 meals consisting of free sandwiches from the media lounge + 17 shows = one unforgettable weekend.
The first show I went to was Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Maybe it was because I had gotten several free drinks at the opening party beforehand but I left Carolina Theatre absolutely sobbing, which was a good start to the weekend.
Next we checked out Madame Gandhi. Her performance was dynamic and multifaceted, ranging from drum solos to rapping to reading poetry.
I only caught a bit of Jamila Woods’ set but I enjoyed what I was able to hear. I really loved her recent album HEAVN and highly recommend it.
I ended night one on a high note with Kelela, who put on a captivating performance. I was a little bit concerned when I heard she’d be playing Carolina Theatre- a seated venue- but they opened up the pit so people were able to dance.
On Friday afternoon I stopped by the Raund Haus local producer showcase (check out my interview with Raund Haus a little further back on the blog!) Pictures is Double Barrel Benefit alum RGB.
I headed back to Carolina Theatre for Jon Hopkins, which I wasn’t really feeling to be honest, but had a great light show.
After quickly realizing I had lost my phone and retrieving it from the nice people at the Caroline Theatre front desk, I saw Suicideyear, a producer best known for his work with Yung Lean. This was honestly a weird show, complete with very unsettling visuals, but pretty fun.
I LOVED Yves Tumor’s performance- it was the perfect kind of abrasive and weird. My friends all complained about their ears hurting afterwards and didn’t want to stay for the whole time but I highly enjoyed it.
Next up was Shabazz Palaces. This was a really fun set and the crowd was absolutely loving it. I didn’t witness this myself but apparently there was a man in the front row dancing like crazy and swiping left on Tinder enthusiasticall during the set, which rocks.
I actually ended the night by checking out new Moogfest venue Fruit and Company and then going to an afterparty, but I didn’t get any pictures because both locations were too crowded.
I was THRILLED when Moses Sumney was added to the Moogfest lineup mere days before the festival. I’m honestly a bit of a stan of his.His show was the first I saw on Saturday and it was a beautiful one. Very different from when I saw him at Moogfest in 2016- this time he had a full band with him!
Pete Rock was another artist added last-minute (and as part of the free programming).
I was really excited about Psychic TV! None of my friends wanted to go with me to this show but I still enjoyed myself. Their bassist was wearing one of their own T-shirts, which absolutely owns.
Jenny Hval killed it as per usual. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen her three times and each time has been amazing. She always incorporates weird performance art into her sets, and this time it consisted of a gigantic inflatable clam and a few inflatable pears that she had her collaborators blow up while she performed.
Later in the night I caught excellent sets by Fatima Al Qadiri and DJ Stingray but unfortunately didn’t get photos due to poor lighting.
Overall, I had a great time and caught some sets by artists that I wouldn’t expect to be in North Carolina for any other reason- even if some of the bigger names dropped off the lineup this year.