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Moogfest Stirs Durham Economy

Moogfest saw over 6,000 attendees is also a life line for Durham generating about $USD200,000 in tax revenue while adding nearly $USD7 million into the local economy.

Moogfest attracted over 6,000 attendees this year alone.

This proves that a long-lasting music festival and conference can be an advantage to the local economy.  Moogfest, the annual celebration of the legacy of inventor and synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog, lit up downtown Durham this weekend in the festival’s third year with a fresh look, renewed energy, and major contribution to the city’s economy.

Presented by United Therapeutics, American Underground, WRAL, and Moog Music Inc, the 4-day festival transformed the downtown Durham vibe into a veritable playground of pop-up performances, transformative performance installations from its Spatial Sound centerpiece, and interactive art such as the Nokia Bell Labs and Delta Sound Labsdata-art set, “Vorticity,” or R.E.M. co-founder and visual artist Michael Stipe’s A/V dance piece, “Thibault Dance.” The festival’s free stage in the heart of the American Tobacco Campus on Saturday drew an hundreds more in addition to the officially counted numbers, with performances by hip-hop legends Pete Rock and Ali Shaheed Muhammed, plus indie-soul songwriter Moses Sumney.

Moogfest live-streamed the nine performances from its Spatial Sound programming, garnering an audience of thousands across the world for acts performing in the Durham Armory, with highlights including Mouse on Mars, Jenny Hval, Yves Tumor, Suzanne Ciani, and more.

Moog Music Inc. announced its newest semi-modular synthesizer, theGrandmother, which was being built on-site the Moog Pop-Up Factory throughout the weekend. Despite only being on the market for a few days, Grandmother became a centerpiece in other sets throughout the weekend, a hallmark of the fluidity that Moogfest artists are given in its programming.

Moogfest returns in 2019 on April 25-28.

 

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