Following a successful, inaugural event last year, preparations are underway to bring Cube Fest back to Blacksburg.
The Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech houses a state-of-art research environment and performance space known as the Cube.
“We have a 360-degree 3D stereoscopic projection system.”
Tanner Upthegrove is the event's Technical Director:
“We have 149 loudspeakers. We have motion capture systems and virtual reality.”
The $15 million facility will yet again be the site of Cube Fest, an event that brings together artists, researchers and industry professionals to explore new frontiers in sound technology.
Program Director Willie Caldwell says this year’s festivities will incorporate more performative elements, including presentations by a hip hop dance crew and a turntable DJ.
Caldwell says the event will also include a fan-favorite idea from last year:
“We spatialized Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ last year, and recognized such a draw for that type of experience that this year for the listening lounge, we decided to program ‘Led Zeppelin II.’”
Artistic Director Eric Lyon says the event provides a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity for performers, researchers, and attendees alike:
“We are at this moment in time one of the very few places in the world that is capable of doing this and we share it directly with people coming from the community; it’s the best way to test it, and what we found last year is that people were really blown away by the experience they had in this space.”
In addition to performances, this year’s event will also provide workshops that will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the Cube.
Cube Fest is August 3rd through the 6th.