Moogfest Condemns Anti-LGBTQ North Carolina Law

On Wednesday, March 23, the North Carolina state legislature passed House Bill 2, otherwise known as the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The bill prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match the “biological sex” listed on their birth certificate. It also states that the new state law trumps any local ordinances protecting LGBTQ people and their rights–a direct retaliation to Charlotte’s anti-discrimination law from February. In response, Moogfest, which takes place in Durham, North Carolina, has issued a statement condemning the law. The festival will “stand [its] ground” in North Carolina and take place from May 19-22. Read Moogfest’s full statement below.

Moogfest is part music festival, part technology conference, and it features performances, conversations, workshops, installations, a film festival, and a marketplace for instrument manufacturers. This year’s lineup includes Oneohtrix Point Never, GZA, Blood Orange, Explosions in the Sky, Grouper, Julia Holter, Gary Numan, and more.

To our global community of artists, technologists, and future-thinkers.

We are stunned by the news this week, and we invite you to join us in opposing regressive, unjust discrimination of all kinds.

House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, passed on Wednesday by North Carolina’s legislature and signed into law by the governor, eliminates anti-discrimination protections for all lesbians, gays and bisexuals and bars transgender people from using bathrooms that do not match the gender they were born with.

Moogfest is proud of its home in Durham, its heritage in Asheville, and our friends throughout the state of North Carolina. But we adamantly oppose this law, and any laws that enable or encourage exclusion and bigotry.

Moogfest is dedicated to the legacy of Bob Moog, an engineer who partnered with artists to create new technological tools for creative expression. It was Bob’s lifelong belief that true innovation comes through collaboration, not exclusion. Moogfest offers an inclusive environment where all people come together to explore big ideas for the future. We value diversity, self-expression and experimentation above all else. This discriminatory law not only runs counter to the basic principles of equality, fairness, and justice – it is a direct affront to our principled mission.

We will have spaces dedicated to education and dialogue around these issues and we will take every step possible to ensure that Moogfest remains a safe and welcoming space for all festival-goers, especially the many LGBTQ artists and speakers joining us this year.

We invite all fans of Moogfest to join us. We are standing our ground in North Carolina, and will use every opportunity to protest this law – on the stage, in the streets, and on social media.

• Follow and share the story on social media #WeAreNotThis #HB2 #NC
• Support the work of our allies at the ACLU of North Carolina
• Sign Equality NC’s petition

Synthesize love,

Your friends at Moogfest

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