Hula hoops, youth poets, psychedelic performance art, and dance troupes representing cultures around the world. These are a few of the sights and sounds that will fill Camp North End this weekend at the seventh annual BOOM festival.
The three-day event, which kicks off Friday, celebrates contemporary and experimental art on the fringes of pop culture. The festival's founder, Manoj Kesavan, joined WFAE's Nick de la Canal to discuss what to expect at this year's event.
Nick de la Canal: OK, first, just some background here. This festival started back in 2016, and I remember that first year. If I recall correctly, this was in Plaza Midwood, and you guys had somehow gotten a bunch of old living room couches and floor lamps, and set them up in the gravel parking lot in front of a stage. It almost seemed like an outdoor living room. And I remember you could just kick back on a couch and watch this stream of music and poetry and spoken word, and it was such a vibe.
Talk to us about what the thought was behind creating this festival back then. What were you hoping to achieve?
Manoj Kesavan: Yeah, so, our origins go a little bit farther back to the Democratic National Convention in 2012. We ended up creating an informal showcase during the DNC on the streets. We ended up doing some 80-plus pop-up performances. A lot of those artists, they had been going to see the fringe festivals in other parts of the country, and even to the original one in Edinburgh — that's where it all started.
So it was strange that we have all this talent here, but we didn't have any of our own festivals. So we decided to try to start one. That was the one that you saw in 2016. One thing we did not expect was to take off and become so big so fast.
De la Canal: Yeah, well, and so, the festival has really grown since then. Now you guys are at Camp North End, just north of uptown. Tell us about this year's lineup. What are some of the big acts that you're really excited about?
Kesavan: First of all, there will be around 100 programs over the three days.
De la Canal: 100 programs.
Kesavan: Yeah, so it's kind of the largest coming together of the whole creative ecosystem. For example, we have Melody Shanahan. She's a Latina. She combines modern ballet with traditional Latinx dance.
One of our partner organizations is Tosco Music Party, which is a Charlotte institution. We wrap up the festival on Sunday evening with a small, two-hour Tosco Music Party.
Another thing that you can see at BOOM is — I mentioned the "fringe" part, which are the more intimate, ticketed shows. There, we have a very interesting collaboration between three very accomplished artists: Indrani Nayar-Gall, who's a visual artist/filmmaker. She's collaborating with two dance professors from UNCC — Audrey Baran and Kaustavi Sarkar — that should be interesting.
De la Canal: Something else I noticed in the lineup that piqued my interest is a performance art piece involving mannequins called "Yes, We Have No Bananas," and it's described as part humor and part horror. Do you know anything about that?
Kesavan: Yes, so that's by Sinergismo. So they're a local collective of dancers-sculptors, and they often define, kind of, the fringe of the fringe. I never know what to expect from them, but it's always often funny and sometimes very confusing.
De la Canal: Yeah, it looks really weird. And I really love things that are weird. I think you have to, a little bit, to work in the news.
Kesavan: The weirdness, I think — it's guaranteed.
De la Canal: What do you hope people will ultimately take away from this year's festival?
Kesavan: I would like to think that even somebody somewhat plugged into the arts scene would be really blown away by the depth and breadth of talent that we have in the city. If you're willing to spend a few hours, your whole understanding about what Charlotte has to offer will be altered.
The 2024 BOOM festival takes place Friday, April 26, through Sunday, April 28. A full schedule and tickets are on the event's website.
