Art of cool fest durham 2016 feat
The Art Of Cool Festival has announced its 2016 event lineup featuring performances from Terence Blanchard, Thundercat, Dwele, Revive Big Band, The Internet, Kamasi Washington, Taylor McFerrin and more. Fresh off the release of the Supreme Sonacy Vol. 1 LP, REVIVE Music will curate a stage at the fest, which runs from May 6th through the 8th in Durham, NC. Art of Cool president Cicely Mitchell delivered the lineup for the third annual concert series with some insight into the creative direction behind the lineup:
“We decided to go a little bit more jazz-oriented this year, based on some the backlash we got from the traditional jazz crowd—that we didn’t have enough jazz offerings,” says Mitchell. "People grew and developed their ear with us along the years. We couldn’t have given people that kind of lineup last year.”
Continuing, Mitchell noted:
“A lot of the artists on the lineup are somewhat affiliated with Terrace Martin, who is affiliated with To Pimp A Butterfly and Kendrick Lamar,” says Mitchell. “We also wanted to make the statement for the festival that jazz is starting to seep into mainstream hip-hop again. Jazz artists like Kamasi Washington and Thundercat have not only gained a hipster audience but also somewhat of a hip-hop following. It falls right in line with what our mission is, which is to expand the audience.”
Get a taste of the full lineup below. Get more information and purchase festival passes via aocfestival.org. Follow the #AOCFEST hashtag across social media platforms to keep up with the latest.
Spotted at IW.
