Celebrate the Future and Fight the Now at Moogfest

Moogfest takes place in Durham, N.C., from May 18-21. The gathering is part music festival, part technology conference, and it features performances, conversations, workshops, installations, a film festival and a marketplace for instrument manufacturers.

Moogfest is no less a festival than it is a futuristic Frankenstein. The North Carolina weekender covers every facet of today’s cultural landscape. Today, organizers have revealed the first wave of artists confirmed for this year’s installment. Highlights include:

• A protest-themed workshop and conversation with noise icons Wolf Eyes (more on that below)
• A four-hour collaboration between Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and dark ambient master Haxan Cloak
• A four-hour performance and “time travel sound workshop” from poet / activist / musician Moor Mother
• A performance by Stranger Things composers S U R V I V E (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein)
• Musical / visual artist / one-time Labelle member Nona Hendryx performing and demonstrating her wearable tech instruments
• Workshops with Portland experimentalists Visible Cloaks and Canadian synth-pop pioneers Syrinx
• A four-hour performance by Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco

Discussing the reasoning behind his band’s politically charged appearance, Wolf Eyes’ Nate Young explains: “We have never been activists, but in this day in age, it has become clear that we need to use our music as a carrier signal to fight against all forms of prejudice. Rather than boycotting North Carolina, we are excited to participate in building a network of artists and activists by collaborating with Moogfest." (Hey synth nerds, can you spot the pun in the aforementioned quote? I’ll give you a hint: It has something to do with "Carrier Signal.")

For more details on Moogfest 2017, head over to the festival’s official website. Get tickets here.