First wave of music, speakers announced
With fewer than three months to go until the total eclipse, the first wave of talent has been announced for the Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic at the 20th annual Valley of the Vapors.
Sonny Kay, executive director for Low Key Arts, the organization behind VOV, says the recent announcement is the “lion’s share” of the artists and speakers expected, but five or six more announcements may follow. Too early to lay out a schedule, Kay expects one to be announced by late February.
The musicians already confirmed to appear are Blonde Redhead, Allah-Las, Shannon & The Clams, Sun Ra Arkestra, Deerhoof, Mary Lattimore, Hailu Mergia, ESG, U.S. Girls, Sonny & The Suns, Molly Lewis, Ana Roxanne, Quintron (Solo Weather Warlock) and Expo 70.
“I love Deerhoof, I’m a huge Deerhoof fan,” said Kay. “So, I continue to be excited about them. Blonde Redhead, I’ve always loved, haven’t seen them since the early 2000s, and I expect them to be as awesome as ever. Very excited about Sun Ra Arkestra, who are a group I never really expected to have the opportunity to see in my lifetime. And the fact they’re still playing is incredible and the fact they’re coming here is just borderline surreal, frankly.”
While acts run the gamut from indie rock to experimental and ambient with Hindustani influence, some of the musical styles are out of this world. Molly Lewis, for example, performs whistled renditions of hit songs and her own originals. Quintron (Solo Weather Warlock) is a machine that produces droning synthesizer music from the weather.
In another departure from the typical VOV programming, there will be several speakers including rocket scientists, authors, storytellers and mythologists.
“This is something that I think is trademark of Atlas Obscura’s other events,” said Kay. “And something that we ourselves envisioned when we set out to do an event for the eclipse, that was something more encompassing than simply a music festival.”
The current list of speakers includes Summer Ash, STEM education manager at the Very Large Array ground-based telescope for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory; John Bucher, executive direc
tor for the Joseph Campbell Foundation; Torri Yates-Orr, an Emmy-nominated history communicator; Rebecca Boyle, a columnist at Atlas Obscura; Kelly Reidy, who teaches Science and Storytelling at Pratt Institute; Joshua Foer, co-founder and chairman of Atlas Obscura; Dylan Thuras, co-founder and creative director of Atlas Obscura; Adam Rubin, bestselling picture book author; LD Deutsch, a writer; and Michael Jones McKean, an artist.
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