Briefly: Updated XX Merge lineup; Merge documentary; Superchunk and Mac McCaughan on ABC News; Mac McCaughan, MAGNET guest editor
With June 22-26 quickly approaching, and five-day passes completely gone, XX Mergethe Merge Records curated 20th-Anniversary music festivalhas announced both single-day ticket sales, and the line-up for the Sunday night marquee held at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall on June 26.
The Memorial Hall show will feature folk-pop stars She & Him, indie-vets American Music Club and relative newbies Wye Oak. Single-day tickets for the whole festival go on sale via etix.com on Wednesday, May 13 at 10 a.m., for $32 each. But locals can also purchase tickets for the Memorial Hall show at Cat’s Cradle, CD Alley (Chapel Hill), Schoolkids Records (Raleigh) and the Memorial Hall box office.
Beyond the festival, Merge’s 20th birthday publicity train has yet to slow its roll. Before the stalwart indie label can host its five-night festival, N.C. PBS affiliate UNC-TV plans to produce and air a documentary about the influential label. Says UNC-TV editor David Huppert, “We’ll profile the label, the founders, then explore the impact that the major indie label has on the local and national music scene… No air date is set yet, although I imagine that it will run prior to Merge XX.”
Meanwhile, Merge co-founder/Superchunk and Portastatic frontman Mac McCaughan’s found time between running one of the land’s biggest indies and celebrating the Hurricanes’ clutch game-7 victory over the NJ Devils in the NHL playoffs to make an appearance on ABC News’ Web-series, “Amplified.” Note ABC anchor and “Amplified” host Dan Harris’ fanboy confession: “I’m a huge fan. I think I have everything you’ve ever made…You were sort of the soundtrack to my 20s.” Catch the interview here. Not too far away, on ABC News’ weekly New Music Monday segment with Pitchfork.com, Douglas Wolk reviews ‘Chunk’s Leaves In The Gutter EP. Check it here.
Finally, McCaughan also recently served as the guest editor of MAGNET. There’s an introductory Q&A with McCaughan here, but the Magazine’s Guest Editor archives offer access to McCaughan’s pieces onamong other thingsThe Carolina Hurricanes, The Durham Farmers Market and bands including The Dirty Projectors, Amadou & Mariam and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.
