After taking 2015 off, Moogfest is moving from its longtime home of Asheville, North Carolina, setting up shop a few hours east in Durham for 2016. While this news is likely bittersweet for anyone who got attached to those cold Halloween nights in downtown Asheville, the festival has certainly been in a state of flux for a while, and a move toward financial stability was needed.
Considering the initial lineup Moogfest just announced, it looks like financial stability has been achieved. They're known for having great taste, but 2016's talent list is set to top any they've had in recent memory. The move from hippie mecca Asheville has allowed them to wisely give up jam bands, leaving them room to focus on the nerdier stuff that is their bread and butter. Experimentalists like Tim Hecker, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Grouper are well represented, as are dance icons like The Orb, Odesza, Lunice, and Ryan Hemsworth. With names like Explosions in the Sky, Laurie Anderson, and GZA thrown in, there's a lot to love for just about anyone. That's not even mentioning the plethora of daytime lecture options the festival provides, covering topics like instrument innovation, afrofuturism, and technoshamanism, from artists like Bootsy Collins, The Haxan Cloak and Mad Professor. Watch Reggie Watts' announcement of the lineup below, it's all going down May 19-22.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM_VwMtvUds[/youtube]
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