Happy Monday, collegiettes! SO, for those of you who aren’t from the North Carolina area, like me, you may not know as much about the music scene here. Being from Connecticut, I have always had a good amount of opportunities to see live music since I’m so close to both the Boston and New York areas. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t get my fill of music experience down here. However I have found that there are so many opportunities to see live music in the South.
You may have to travel outside of Winston to see bands, but I promise, these chances exist. Take the three-day music festival in Asheville, North Carolina called Mountain Oasis that just took place this past weekend. This thing was sick. Mountain Oasis was created in order to “celebrate the creative spirit of musical exploration, along with the innovative spark that fuels all of the arts.” This is a techno-heavy music festival that fits the spirit of the music. The artists are encouraged to create a true spectacle using the latest technology in lights, and anything else that creates a trippy experience.
Some of the most popular acts that performed this year included artists such as Pretty Lights, Bass Nectar, and Nine Inch Nails. Some of the rising stars in this genre also performed, and the combination of sound and lights created quite the musical experience for the audience. Even if this particular type of music isn’t your style, you have to appreciate all that this festival provides for its audience. On top of advocating creativity in our generation, a portion of the ticket sales went to County Schools Foundation and Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool. The Dr.Bob’s SoundSchool organizations works to “engage second graders in the science of sound through the magic of music,” so for all we know the next Avicii or Steve Aoki is going to sprout from this program.
There are some people who think that this type of music isn’t really music at all, that it’s simply sounds made by a computer. But I know that I personally am so impressed by the people who succeed in making this type of music. The creativity and skill needed to make these foreign sounds fit together perfectly is, in my opinion, vastly more difficult to put together than notes alone. And we all know that the timing of a bass drop is everything, therefore, this skill must be perfected.
Speaking as a Northerner who was concerned with the music scene down in the South, I am happy to report that I’m beginning to have faith. Mountain Oasis may have already happened this year, but I have so many more festivals and concerts to look forward to here.