Troika Music Festival returns to Durham

The Bowerbirds DTH/file

Every year, throngs of music lovers flock to giant festivals like Bonnaroo and South By Southwest. These festivals are a music junkie’s paradise — a plethora of bands in one consolidated location, all a short walk away.

Unless they’re from the Triangle, these music devotees might not have heard of Durham’s Troika Music Festival, but if the abundance of local talent and enthusiasm is any indication, the event, which takes place today through Saturday, will soon be making a name for itself among fans of music both local and national.

Troika started in 2002 as the Durham Music Festival, and after a name change intended to encompass the entire Triangle, it began to include artists from a wide range of areas. As the festival has continued to grow, it has become increasingly harder to select bands from the hundreds of submissions organizers receive.

“It’s hard, especially this year,” said organizer Kyle Miller. “We got three times the amount of submissions that we did last year, and last year was the year that we had the most previously. Obviously we’re looking at a lot of submissions from a lot of good bands, and we don’t have the room to take them all.”

With such stiff competition, the selection process was extensive.

“I don’t want to make it sound like it’s bands we like play, and bands we don’t, don’t, because that sounds silly and is also really not true,” he said. “We try to have a really good representative mix of bands from around the area.”

This year’s lineup features numerous local artists who have garnered critical acclaim both locally and nationally. Recent Merge signees The Love Language will play Broad Street Café on Saturday night, and local folk greats Megafaun and Bowerbirds will also headline.

“I definitely can say that this is definitely the strongest lineup that the festival’s had,” said Megafaun’s Phil Cook. “Musicians around the Triangle are becoming aware that it’s becoming really competitive at this point. They’re selective. That’s kind of exciting that we have enough to have a festival and be selective.”

Love Language frontman Stuart McLamb, who has never played in the festival before, said this year’s schedule is indicative of the area’s fertile, prolific music scene.

“I think right now it’s even comparable to the early Merge days and all the early indie bands,” he said. “I think it’s just a real golden age of really amazing music coming out of the Triangle.”

For the much-anticipated Love Language show, McLamb also hopes to imbue the set with a dose of local eccentricity.

“Every time we play local I strive to do something new and bring some new songs into the mix — covers or trumpet players or fire-breathers or sword-swallowers or whatever — so we’re definitely trying to do something fun or special for this show.”

While arranging a profusion of bands over a single weekend has its challenges, Reese McHenry, a member of festival participant The Dirty Little Heaters and former festival volunteer, said that the upcoming schedule is optimal for enjoying the wealth of acts.

“I think this year is the absolute best year, just how succinct it is, where all the venues are in relation to other venues and the way that on Saturday night, there’s no show that’s happening at the exact same time as another show,” she said. “Those big bands are headlining those shows for a reason. You can kind of make a choice with your schedule.”

Cook sees the festival as an opportunity for local music fans to enjoy the best that the Triangle has to offer. A two-time Troika veteran, he has witnessed the festival’s evolution.

“We have one of the coolest local music scenes in the entire country,” he said. “I’m just really excited that all these bands are playing in one place and that they’re all in our backyard. Half the time they’re playing on different nights in different cities, and you’ve usually got to choose.”

And while fans might be enlightened by the multitude of talent the festival has to offer, Cook insists that musicians are already aware of the vibrant local music scene.

“I think a lot of musicians are saying, ‘Holy s--t man, there are some really talented musicians around.’ It seems like there’s a big thing brewing and bubbling, and it seems like it’s more active than it has been in years.”

The talent might be considerable, but the festival’s location also instills the event with a sense of local flavor. McHenry, who lives in Durham, says the city acts as a cohesive environment for musicians and fans alike.

“I think it attracts people that are a little bit different, maybe even a little bit off-kilter, like me. I don’t think that Durham musicians are concerned about clawing their way up,” she said.

Though Durham’s reputation might have deterred some visitors, McHenry finds that the environment is conducive to a good music community.

“I actually feel that the reputation that Durham has, that leaks into Durham musicians. It makes for a tight-knit, all- inclusive community,” she said.

With a mass of Triangle talent, Miller sees the festival as advantageous for bands at every level of success.

“It’s an opportunity where bands get a chance to play for an audience that they might not normally be playing for,” he said. “Maybe they’re on a bill with a much larger act, or maybe they’re on a bill with a very different act. Like Megafaun and The Beast are playing together, and I can’t imagine that they’ve ever played together before, and that’s a good opportunity for audience crossover.

“I think fans of both of those bands may very well be into what the other one is doing, and I think that’s a neat opportunity that people look forward to.”

Notable acts

• Nov. 5: Megafaun, The Beast, Max Indian, Bowerbirds and The Moaners
• Nov. 6: Birds of Avalon, Pipe, Caltrop, Bellafea and The Pneurotics
• Nov. 7: Love Language, Lonnie Walker, Red Collar, The Loners and Luego

(full schedule)

Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu