As the fourth annual SPARKcon approaches, many of the events are scrambling to put final touches on lineups, pull together volunteer crews, and get printed material disseminated, to list just a few things happening behind the scenes. As this year’s musicSPARK director, I have had the honor of working with some very talented volunteers, artists and venues to create the biggest musicSPARK event so far, including over 94 artists in 15 venues.
Originally, I had heard about SPARKcon through my film professors at NC State, Devin and Marsha Orgeron, who did a beautiful job coordinating the filmSPARK event in 2005. I was invited back into the fold last year by my friend Andi Shelton, who added a necessary element to the fashionSPARK showcase with her fashion shop setup, allowing designers to bridge the gap between the catwalk and the ability to sell the wares that the audience found enticing.
This year I decided to see what was happening with musicSPARK, and ended up diving head-first into the event. It was hard not to – just have a talk with Aharon Segal (aka DJ Gonzo) and you can’t help but be sucked in by his enthusiasm, which was the driving force behind this year’s soulSPARK.
As the ball continued rolling, we gained people to eventually create our fantastic volunteer group, consisting of: Ann Marie Baum, Monique Emmons, Britt Foxworth, Dani Nation, Ryan “Rockerboy” Parker, Sarah Seligson, Frances Spurgeon, and David Turnage, along with veterans Greg Ettenson, Chico Scott aka DJ Madcow, Aharon Segal aka DJ Gonzo, Christopher Tamplin, and Christopher Thurston. Each person claimed and owned certain aspects of the event, which made the entire thing possible to coordinate.
The myriad of genres serves to make this year’s musicSPARK especially enticing, with everything from bluegrass, to soul, to jazz, to indie rock, to opera. The preliminary lineup can be found here with up to the minute updates found on the SPARKcon website. I’m personally excited about Bright Young Things (Tir na nOg, Thursday the 17th), the Old Ceremony (Pour House, Friday the 18th), and Darien Brockington (soulSPARK at the Pour House, Saturday the 19th). Funkuponya on the main stage Saturday night to accompany the Image Slam should also be pretty groovy.
I think what everyone should remember about all of SPARKcon is that it is entirely volunteer run, and purely for the advancement of local creativity in all its facets. My little brother asked me what I was getting out of all the time put toward musicSPARK, and I meant it when I said “I get to have fun, meet amazing people, and help all those same people realize that each other are out there.”
SPARKcon kicks off Thursday, September 17th, with Tir na nOg, Pour House, Slim’s, Metro, Mosaic and the Mint hosting bands that evening.
Highlights
- Bright Young Things with Starmount and others at Tir Na Nog Sept 17th - an installment of TNN’s regular local band local beer night
- The Old Ceremony - Sept 18th at the PourHouse
- soulSPARK showcase featuring Darien Brockington and YahZarah at the Pourhouse Sept 19th
- Rockers Richard Bacchus, The Infamous Sugar, and Rat Jackson at Slims Sept 19th
- Evening songwriters featuring Arielle Bryant -a brand new voice you want to start paying attention to now - at the Hive/Busy Bee Sept. 20th at 9pm
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