March begins the season of music festivals, and this year Durham has one to be excited about. On Saturday, the Brickside Music Festival brings some of the biggest names in indie music to Duke’s East campus including Kurt Vile, Mark Kozelek and Oneohtrix Point Never.
“We wanted Brickside to be like a miniature version of Hopscotch,” said Jordyn Gracey, the chair of Duke’s Campus Concert series.
With the exception of Duke Performances, Duke’s live music scene is dominated by pop, hip-hop and standard rock artists. (Just take a look at the LDOC lineups for the past few years.) Brickside accomplishes what Joe College Day rarely achieves, bringing exciting and easily recognizable, long-standing artists like Kozelek, who’s been releasing music since the early ’90s.
“The big music events on campus don’t necessary cater to the indie nerds who go here,” said Gracey. “So we tried to find bands who people who like indie music would be excited about.”
Headliner and Philadelphia-native Kurt Vile is a veritable indie rock-star. His 2011 LP Smoke Ring for Your Halo achieved widespread critical acclaim. His folk charm and guitar prowess have earned him comparisons to artists as prestigious as Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Starting at 12:40 a.m., the set should leave audiences with a final jolt of high-octane rock.
“I am very influenced by the classics, by obscure psychedelic music and by folk,” said Vile. “But Saturday should be mostly rock.”
With the exception of hip-hop, Brickside offers a little bit of everything. Mark Kozelek—who gained popularity as Red House Painters, and now also records as Sun Kil Moon—is famous for his quiet acoustics. Oneohtrix Point Never creates some of the decade’s most inventive electronic music, including this year’s Replica. Horse Feathers offer melancholic folk with orchestral flourishes including piano and cello.
“I am most excited about the Supreme Dicks,” said Vile. “And Steve Gunn [of Gunn-Truscinski Duo] is an amazing guitar player.”
Saturday’s festivities are split between shows at the Duke Coffeehouse and the Jameson Gallery. Mostly used for art exhibits, the Fredric Jameson Gallery has never before been used as a concert venue. With its balcony and its slim maximum capacity (60 persons), it’s a nontraditional choice.
The festival came about because of the collaboration of WXDU, the Coffeehouse, Campus Concert Series and Major Attractions. All are committees of DUU that, unlike LDOC, Old Duke and Joe College Day, have spent the year bringing largely alternative acts to campus.
“Like music groups don’t usually work together on this campus,” said Gracey. “With this festival, we were able to bring them together.”
The festival has also reached out to Durham small businesses. The Scrap Exchange will provide between-set diversions with tables of craft supplies available for D.I.Y. souvenirs, Bull City Records will bring crates of vinyl for sale and several Triangle food trucks will stand by in the Epworth dorm lots throughout the day. Lucky ticket-buyers will receive vouchers to use at food trucks and the vinyl crates.
“This is much more of my kind of scene than LDOC is,” said Gracey. “If you want to a social environment with hundreds of people, then LDOC is your best bet. If you want intimate concerts with people who have the same music taste, then Brickside is it.”
The Brickside Festival begins at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $12 for Duke students and $18 G.A., and are available for purchase at the Duke Ticket Office, the Coffeehouse or on site (if available).
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