Moog Music announces Moogfest will be biennial, with next event set for 2016 in Asheville

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Moogfest dude

Photo by Jason Sandford/ Moogfest dude

Press release here:

Today, Moog Music announces that Moogfest will be biennial, with the next event scheduled for 2016.

Moogfest 2014 was a reboot of the festival, with much of the planning and execution taking place inside the Moog headquarters, just upstairs from where the synthesizers are designed and built by hand. Engineering a production of this scale is a process that can’t be mass-produced, much like Moog synthesizers themselves.

The decision to produce Moogfest biennially is in an effort to maintain the authenticity of the event, as well as the financial and spiritual health of Moog Music and its employees, whose primary focus will always be designing and building synthesizers.

“Moogfest 2014 was a proof of concept so we could experiment with a new business, a unique format, and a new creative direction,” says Mike Adams, Moog Music Inc. President & CEO. “Producing Moogfest every other year allows us to retain the high level of innovative programming as well as the originality and independence we established in 2014.”

This new iteration of Moogfest, with Moog Music Inc. at the helm, brought thousands of musicians, inventors, engineers, futurists, ethicists, visual artists and their fans together to discuss the future of technology and creativity. It established a space for conversation and collaboration while bringing visibility to North Carolina as an international hub of new ideas. Musical performers included legends like Kraftwerk, Keith Emerson, Nile Rogers and Giorgio Moroder alongside future and current stars like M.I.A., Flying Lotus, Dan Deacon, and Factory Floor.

“This future-forward version of Moogfest is in its infancy,” says Emmy Parker, Brand Director of Moogfest and Moog. “It will take some time for it to grow, but it’s clear that people want an unadulterated ideas-based festival that combines new art, music and technology. Moogfest is a personification of the Moog ethos and we’re honored to dedicate a full two years for curating each festival, with a sustainable, long-term plan for maintaining this platform for all those who share our passion.”

As a pioneer in electronic music and the inventor of the Moog synthesizer, Bob Moog was an innovator who introduced the world to the sound of the future. Moogfest, a five-day synthesis of music, technology and art, held April 23-27 in Asheville, N.C., brought an equal ferocity of spirit to the festival that bears his name.

Media Accolades

“Moogfest, in its mom-and-pop technosophy and its insistence on immersive experiences in small, comfortable spaces, might have gotten something exactly right.” – New York Times

“One of the Top 14 Festivals of 2014” -Time Magazine

“Moogfest was once a more traditional festival, but it metamorphosed this year into a celebration of art, science, music and technology — TED filtered through a distortion pedal.” – Huffington Post

“Like Austin, Asheville is becoming famous for its cultural event Moogfest.” – The Guardian

“It’s a tiny operation, but they’ve produced kind of an amazing festival…” – NY Times Popcast

“The city felt abuzz with a geeky curiosity and excitement.” – Billboard

“Anyone expecting the fest lineup to consist of a bunch of Emerson, Lake & Palmer knockoffs sorely underestimates what Moogfest has become….The range of performers—Dan Deacon, ADULT., El-P, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox and many more—shows you just how far the Moog brand has come in its 50-year history.” -Time Out NY

“This annual festival–which is dedicated to the synthesis of technology, art, and music and honors the legacy of music visionary Dr. Robert Moog–is in a league of its own and girded by a lofty mission: “[to chart] the course for a future of unknown sight and sound.” – National Geographic

“And make no mistake, this is not one big gear advertisement—the artists who play Moogfest are selected for their forward-thinking creativity, reflecting Bob Moog’s innovative spirit back in the day. Moogfest’s cherries on top are their label showcases and expanded art and music technology installations. – Complex

“Moogfest has added some eclectic firepower to its already impressive lineup.” -Rolling Stone

“Moogfest organizers echo the extra-education sentiment, as they’ve strived to build a lineup of sessions, workshops and film screenings that will thrill just as much as the musicians.” -Mashable

“Named after the famous synth pioneer, technology and creation is very much a focus at Moogfest, with a daytime program of workshops and other activities that make it worth the trip for any gear nerd. “ – Resident Advisor

“It’s an electronic wet dream… The lineup for Moog is so unique that it has no true competition.” – Consequence of Sound

“At Moogfest’s Modular Marketplace, attendees at the electronic music festival in Asheville got to browse some of the best indie and homebrew analog and digital synthesizers.” Vice/ Motherboard

“Although Moogfest has been around for a few years in various incarnations, it found its niche this April in a lineup that included headliners the Pet Shop Boys, Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, M.I.A. and Nile Rodgers (with CHIC).” Huffington Post

“Geekiness reigned, proudly and openly, at Moogfest 2014, the largest iteration yet of a festival created by Moog Music, which makes all of its synthesizers and other equipment by hand at a small factory here in downtown Asheville.” -New York Times

“With 25,000 people attending the event’s free programming, ranging from durational performances by the likes of Dan Deacon and Bradford Cox to an outdoor stage graced by Giorgio Moroder and Zeds Dead, the company may have already achieved its goals. Over the five-day festival, the city felt abuzz with a geeky curiosity and excitement.” -Billboard

“Moogfest takes place in Asheville, North Carolina and celebrates the legacy of the man who turned electricity into music, starting with theremins to voltage-controlled analog synthesizers that have been used by everyone from The Beatles to prog rock bands and experimental artists.” – Cool Hunting

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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8 Comments

  1. jc July 24, 2014

    Bottom line: Asheville is too small to support such an ambitious venture, especially electronic music. Had it been a roots-Americana festival it may have survived. There are few cities that can pull this off, very few. It’s Moog’s miscalculation, that the creative class would converge on Asheville to hear DJs that come to their cities all of the time. Oh yeah, there was Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk and MIA but you get the point. People don’t come to Asheville for experimental electronica, they never will. They come here for mountain air, relaxation, some hippy vibes where they can get their freak on, good beer and food. Moogfest, sorry to say, you just blew your load and nobody was there to swallow it.

    Reply
    1. boatrocker July 25, 2014

      I suppose that will work as a response too, but brace yourself, jc. Asheville poops its pants when a famous person arrives in town to work (not hang out with the plebes), so unless you can kowtow to the tourists, prepare yourself for any number of “HATER!” rebuttals.

      Reply
  2. theOtherBarry July 23, 2014

    That’s a good call. Give the City & County a year to forget that you just disparaged our $180,000 subsidy of your corporate-branded, overpriced private event as merely a “token gesture”.

    Reply
    1. Harry July 23, 2014

      Agreed.

      Reply
    2. NFB July 24, 2014

      Spot on.

      Reply
    3. ashevillain July 24, 2014

      I’ll agree with the idea that the remarks presented in the AC-T the other day definitely seemed to disparage the subsidies, BUT Moogfest was not an “overpriced private event” by any stretch of imagination. It seriously dilutes your first point and makes you seem petty to describe Moogfest in that manner.

      1. There were a number of programming events open to the public…actually an astounding number compared to every other festival I’ve been to or heard about.

      2. $99 tickets were readily available the entire time they were onsale…either through the box office at the CC or through various publications online. $99 for a 5 DAY FESTIVAL is unheard of.

      Reply
      1. chris July 24, 2014

        You beat me to the point.

        I spent $99, saw an amazing lineup over 5 days (including Kraftwerk and the Pet Shop Boys), participated in numerous free-to-the-public events, and a few workshops, to boot.

        “Overpriced” is a canard.

        Reply
        1. boatrocker July 25, 2014

          Me with the Internet makeup off- I regret never having attended that festival. 5 days of music plus workshops for $99 beats any festival I’ve ever attended. I’m willing to bet electronic keyboardy music fan types take baths before attending too. Sigh. I don’t follow budget arguments back and forth between folks who obsess over city politics, but maybe I should now.

          Reply

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