If you’ve heard the rumor mill, then you might know that the strangely-named organization called Moogfest is reportedly considering a move from Asheville to Durham for its biennial electronic music and technology festival.
The event would happen in the spring of 2016 and, if it’s anything like Asheville’s version, would take over downtown Durham venues for presentations by brainiacs from the likes of MIT and IBM, talks by futurists from the world’s top institutes, live demonstrations of electronic musical instruments, virtual reality devices and other next-generation technologies. More than 100 concerts would go on way into the night, attracting visitors from around the Southeast and some, from around the world.
If you’re into music or tech, you’re probably thinking it’d be pretty freaking sweet.
The event is a huge deal for North Carolina’s largest mountain town—that’s why the potential news comes as such a surprise. Last year, it earned coverage from The Guardian, The New York Times and Billboard. The Guardian wrote that Asheville was “becoming famous” for the event, like Austin for South by Southwest. ExitEvent was there too—here’s my piece about the tech portions of the festival.
But despite hosting four festivals in Asheville over the last five years, Moog hasn’t found a business model that works—it lost $1.5 million last year even while growing pass sales from 5,000 in 2012 (the last year it was held) to 7,000. If Durham gets the event, city and business leaders must be confident they can help turn it around. (ExitEvent parent Capitol Broadcasting Corp. is reportedly supporting the effort.)
Read more at ExitEvent: http://exitevent.com/article/moogfest-in-durham-150122
(C) ExitEvent
Note: ExitEvent is a news partner of WRAL TechWire.
