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Artsplosure this weekend
Category: Blog
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Moogfest 2017 Preview
After a brief hiatus, Moogfest found a new home in Durham, North Carolina, a growing, progressive, artistic oasis in the middle of North Carolina nicely complemented by Raleigh and Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Returning for its second year, Moogfest is sure to bring an abundance of festival-goers this upcoming weekend to enjoy the many sights, sounds, and tastes the city has to offer. There is something for just about everybody at this year’s iteration of Moogfest; here are a few that WKNC is especially looking forward to.
The Music
As a college radio station, the first thing that is undoubtedly going to draw our eyes to any festival will be the music. Moogfest has delivered a solid lineup with the big names of Flying Lotus and Animal Collective, but what lies beneath those names is equally as impressive. Hailing from Brooklyn as a resident DJ at Red Bull Music Academy, electronic producer Octo Octa will be bringing her eloquent take on house music to a dance-ridden Armory, Saturday night at 8pm. Experimental artist Pharmakon takes the stage at Motorco on Saturday night at 10:15 with her devastating composition of noise instrumentals mixed with her harshly terrifying, yet beautifully anguished yells. This is an act that is sure to confound, but also amaze, those that are new to Pharmakon’s music.
Moor Mother is quite the decorated artist, having her work featured at many museums and touring around the world. Her first album, Sacred Bones, released in 2016 via Don Giovanni Records, has received many accolades. With her eclectic sound ranging from harsh noise with spoken word over top to more hip-hop focused tracks, Moor Mother is one of the most intriguing acts this festival has to offer, which is even amplified more by the vagueness of her performance at the festival. Listed as a Durational Sound Installation at the American Underground Storefront on Thursday from 3-7pm, she is a definite must see as Moor Mother will definitely be bringing something to Durham worth every second of your time. For a downright good time, Moogfest has brought some great hip-hop this year. New York’s Princess Nokia and Raleigh and WKNC favorite ZenSoFly are destined to lead some of the most fun shows at this year’s Moogfest with their bouncy, relaxed take on hip-hop.
The Many Other Things
With all the exceptional music, it is hard to forget that Moogfest offers exceptional day programming that features many guest talkers, from famous musicians such as Michael Stipe of REM fame, to pioneers of electronic, to local scholars from the myriad of universities surrounding Durham. These programs easily enhance the experience of Moogfest tenfold as it adds a completely new dimension to the festival that other festivals just don’t have. One of the coolest aspects to being held in Durham is Moogfest’s access to Carolina Theatre; they use it quite well by showing films that are live soundtracked. This year, Hopscotch alum Suzi Analogue will be doing this for her film No Moon No Man with fellow artist VHVL. Amongst other talks is the aforementioned artist Octo Octa, who will be doing a talk and meet and greet at the LGBTQ Center in Durham on Sunday at 12. There are many other installations worth checking out that are open and free to the public such as one about Star Wars on Saturday afternoon, then there is the Moog Market, which gives everyone an opportunity to play around with the namesake of the festival, Moog synthesizers.
Food and Other Things
If you are of age and enjoy alcohol, Oskar Blues Brewing and Bulliet Bourbon will be holding cheap tastings and free samples of their product at Moogfest. There is a record fair hosted by Merge Records at Fullsteam Brewing on Saturday. There are endless great restaurant options throughout Durham for everyone, including vegans and vegetarians. We are definitely looking forward to spending a fun-filled, music exploratory weekend in Durham. Make sure you follow our social media accounts for updates.
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Oak City Move 8: Young Bull + Vacay
In this episode of Oak City Move, Phian talked to the men behind Young Bull from Durham NC. They discussed their musical inspiration and told some funny stories. Later, she talked to Holland Gallagher about his projects Vacay and Runway.
Local Band Local Beer
Sinners and Saints
Phian sat down with Sinners and Saints for an interview before their Local Band Local Beer show at the Pour House on April 13.
Before last month, I really wasn’t very familiar with Sorority Noise. I had heard a few of their songs, but held only a passing interest in them. My decision to take DJ pass to for the show was an impulsive one; mostly an excuse to visit my friends at UNC and to try out the DSLR camera I had checked out from the library. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the concert itself. I couldn’t have been more wrong
After a two-hour bus ride and a 45-minute walk from NC State, I finally arrived at Cat’s Cradle, where the first band to play was The Obsessives.
The Obsessives are an emo group with hints of post-punk/indie/pop-punk from Washington, DC. They seem to have a fairly diverse group of influences, reminding me of Wavves one moment and The Smiths the next. Their performance was lively and fun. I was surprised by just how much fun I was having a mere five minutes into their set. The chemistry between the bassist/vocalist and lead guitarist was apparent and made an already memorable performance even more enjoyable.
Next up was Sinai Vessel, an emo/pop-punk band from here in North Carolina. Other members of the local scene in the crowd were more than happy to get hype for the band and a mosh pit quickly formed.
Their performance was an emotionally charged one, ending with two of the band members announcing their departure from the band and Caleb urging the crowd to start bands and support the local scene.
Finally, it was Sorority Noise’s turn. To put it quite simply, their performance blew me away. Cameron’s delivery was sincere and passionate, Adam’s guitar solos were tight and flashy, and the whole band gave a clean and intensely cathartic performance. The crowd was insatiable, climbing onto and subsequently diving from the stage, moshing, and screaming along with every song. One couldn’t help but feel a sense of belonging and comradery with everyone else in the room, as though everyone was a part of something bigger. Without a doubt, this was the best show I’ve ever been to.
Words really don’t do it justice, especially when you’re a poor writer like me.
The rest of the photos from the night can be seen here: https://goo.gl/photos/cHND6uH2az1ThwFu9
Punk’s not dead; it’s alive and well as long as bands like Sorority Noise, Sinai Vessel, and The Obsessives keep performing.
Saturday, April 29 at AOC Fest, North Carolina hip-hop and r&b/soul once again proved that it is a force to be reckoned with.
Packed atop downtown Durham’s Google Lounge, artists and hip-hop enthusiasts alike gathered to hear the sultry vocals of Ari Lennox, a Washington D.C.-native signed to J.Cole’s Dreamville Records, and Cypher Univercity + J Rowdy, trailblazers of North Carolina’s cypher movement.
Cypher Univercity and J Rowdy are no strangers to me. Since 2013, I’ve braced rain, wind, and ice storms to attend the legendary Monday night cypher (which has since expanded to include weekly cyphers at 6 other universities) and witness the unfiltered rhymes of some of NC’s dopest local cats. And it was awesome to see just how many people were willing to do the same. 80+ degrees, unbearably humid, and yet the rooftop must have been stuffed near capacity.
What I was not expecting, though, was the sheer radiance and alluring stage presence of Ari Lennox, who performed tracks from her newest release, PHO EP. Her sound is best described as a little bit of Joyce Wrice mixed with a dash of Badu but flavorful in a way that is entirely unique. Her performance had me floored, and a brief interaction with her after the set revealed a mind and personality as sweet as honey. I’ve definitely stumbled upon a new R&B favorite.
-DJ Obi-mah Kenobi
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Shakori Spring 2017 Experience
SHAKORI (SPRING 2017)
This past Saturday, I went to the Shakori Hills Music Festival for the first time ever. I’ve been hearing about this fest for years, so when WKNC gave me the opportunity to go, how could I pass it up? I brought my uncle with me for the adventure (and because I didn’t wanna go alone). As it turns out, it was a great time and definitely worth all the hype. I thought I’d share my experience with y’all!
THE MUSIC – The first thing that I (of course) noticed was the happy, upbeat music. It was all kind of folksy—not my usual genre, but I really dug it. It definitely put me in a feel good mood. There were big stages and small stages scattered about, and I went to a few of each. One of my favorites was the front porch acoustic stage; three gentlemen were playing their instruments on a small little porch and would invite anyone to come and sing with them. (They asked me, but I’m tone-deaf. Oh well.) And the coolest thing was that they had two cute little chickens running around!
FOOD & BEER. – This festival has great food. Not the kind of greasy junk you find at the fair or warped tour, but genuinely delicious stuff. One of my favorites were donuts from YeeHaw donuts, which are made from four simple ingredients: eggs, buttermilk, flour, and sweet potatoes. Way too delicious for words! Secondly, the beer. Am I of drinking age? Nope, got five more months on that. But working at a semi-sports bar has taught me plenty, and they had some neat craft beers (like Hoppyum). My uncle could get a glass for $5, which, when you think about it, is quite a reasonable price compared to most festivals!
ART! – Shakori was filled with colorful art everywhere you turned. Whether it be in the form of a sculpture, face paint, handmade jewelry… this place had it all. I bought some neat new earrings and my uncle got a painted wooden turtle. Even items that weren’t for sale, like tapestries, caught my eye. Such an overall creative mix of people.
THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE – What an all-inclusive, genuinely kind group of people. There were poetry stages in which LGBTQ people were sharing their personal stories, signs promoting peace and acceptance, all that good stuff. I could tell this was definitely a judgment free zone.
In conclusion, Shakori was everything it was cut out to be, and I only stayed for half a day! I can only imagine the sorts of fun I would have if I had camped out with friends and stuck around for a few days. With that in mind, I’ll definitely be returning for the fall festival to get the whole experience!
– Carlie (DJ Carnage)
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Oak City Move 10: Zensofly
NC house heroine ZENSOFLY graces the studio to tell us about her latest creative endeavors, including an EP out this September.
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Six Shakori Survival Secrets
Shakori Hills is a music festival in Chatham County, NC that runs every spring and all. They have over 50 bands playing from May 4-7 as well as onsite camping, morning yoga sessions, and a variety of activity booths. Here are some tips to get you off on the right foot at Shakori!
1. Prepare for rain and mud! Plenty of mud…
As though by some beautiful curse, Shakori consistently receives enough rain each festival to churn up plenty of mud for everyone’s shoes, the rain is embedded into the Shakori experience at an almost molecular level. Last years fall Shakori coincided with Hurricane Matthew’s tour, while they did play some bright thunderous tracks off their old album they also brought a whole lotta rain. This year’s forecast is looking like another rainy encore. Bring some heavy boots if you really wanna get down, and a pair of fresh socks to change into at the end of the day!
2. Save on parking by carpooling with your friends!
Cars with four or more people get free parking, this saves you from the $5 per vehicle per day price for on-site parking. There generally is plenty of parking by the Henderson Tanyard road entrance but be wary any heavy rains can produce some mud sliding action, if you’re lucky.
3. Camping Locations!
There are five main camping sites at Shakori: Woodstock, Middle Earth, Old Homestead, Meadow Side, and Green Acres. Both Woodstock and Green Acres are considered family camping areas. If you’re looking for the ideal location Middle Earth is a great spot that is essentially surrounded by stages and activity tents. However study up a good path to and from your camping site because at night it can be a struggle to find. Also the early bird gets the worm on picking on a good camp site so get a friend to stake out a good spot near a footpath early on if possible.
4. Camping Gear Necessities!
Half of the Shakori experience is camping out and being one with ~nature~. Be prepared with a couple tools and you’ll never miss a beat. A headlamp works wonders late at night, especially for spotting that obscure footpath you need to take to make it back to camp after the shows finish for the night. Tarps are ideal for protecting large tents from rain. Coolers and ice for any beverages you wish to keep cool, or drink your sodas Shakori style: lukewarm. And obviously a shelter of some form, however my preferred setup is a hammock+tarp cover with a fairly warm sleeping bag, super lightweight and mobile.
5. Volunteering Options!
If you’re a bit low on cash but still wanna Shakori, then check out the volunteering options. One 3-hour work period will get you a pass for that day. My suggestion: work early and do trash/recycling. While there are other jobs like Gate Crew, Food Prep, and Hospitality I think Trash/Recycling is the easiest and has the added benefit of sometimes ending early. Working early generally means the work is lighter and gets you out in time to see all the great night shows.
6. Have Fun! Make Friends!
While the music and mud are great all on their own half of the fun of Shakori is the people. Go roaming around Middle Earth, or go hula hooping with some randos by the music stages, or say hi to your camping neighbors! Shakori always has a good crowd of good people so go out and meet em’!
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Oak City Move 9: Southeast Raleigh Promise
Sarah and Kaanchee sit down with Dalia from Southeast Raleigh Promise and discuss what they’ve learned throughout the school year.