Troika Music Festival calling it quits

Troika Music Festival will not return to Durham, NC
in 2011

After ten years of festivities it appears that Troika Music Festival is no longer.  Festival organizer and owner of 307 Knox Records, Mel Thomas released a statement last week announcing that the Durham, NC festival would  not be happening this year.  Troika Music Festival began in Durham back in 2000 and has since been credited to helping the Triangle's scene flourish, and flourish it has.  With Hopscotch only 6 weeks away and boasting acts like The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, and Drive-By Truckers it was clear that the scene has started to "outgrow" Troika.


Mel Thomas stated that "the main goal of Troika has always been to bring music to Durham in a format that supported the artists, fans and venues...we have grown significantly over the past ten years and have done all this in a volunteer-based, local, DIY, small budget fashion.  There were never plans to take big corporate money or have a six figure budget.  There was also always a belief that if Durham outgrew Troika, then Troika would retire."  With the influx of new venues lately in the Triangle combined with the growing amount of labels and festivals, it's clear that the Triangle's scene is breathing with a vibrant life that has not only locals excited about the buzz but surrounding regions as well.

Troika may have been "outgrown" in the spectrum of the Triangle's music scene, but that didn't make last year's festivities any less enjoyable or take away any of the lasting effect that Troika has had on the area.  Seeing acts like Midtown Dickens and Mandolin Orange at Fullsteam or Hammer No More The Fingers, Chatham County Line and Cassis Orange at Motorco were highlights of the 2010 concert year for me and this is one of the reasons that Troika will be a gem of the area that is truly missed by concert goers and local music fans of the region.  Troika certainly did what it set out to do, put Durham and it's surrounding Triangle cities on the map.