This interview will be on "St. Louis on the Air" at noon on Wednesday; this story will be updated after the show. You can listen live.
This weekend, Murmuration Festival will make its debut in the Cortex Innovation District. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air, we heard from the festival’s founder, Brian Cohen (who also founded, and later sold Loufest), about what to expect from the festival.
Here’s what you should know:
What is ‘murmuration’ anyway?
“Murmuration is the phenomenon of starlings coming together in the sky, forming in patterns and working as one,” Cohen said. “That was really the inspiration behind the festival: what happens when you take elements of art, music, science and technology: what kind of patterns form from that? What new entities arise? That has been our direction from the beginning to where we are now.”
When is the festival? Where is the festival?
Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25 in the Cortex Innovation Community (map here).
Friday’s festivities run from 6-10 p.m. and are dubbed “Friday@Murmuration,” featuring performances from the St. Louis Symphony, Basil Kincaid, 18&Counting and several local designers.
Saturday and Sunday’s festivities, including speakers, musical acts, art exhibits and demonstrations, run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
How does the festival work? What does it cost?
The first thing you should know: there are free and admission-based parts of the festival. If you want to see musical acts (like Tycho, Flying Lotus, Yowie, Sky Pony, or others), you’ll have to pay. If you want to see “thought sessions”, you’ll also have to pay. An all-access pass for Saturday and Sunday costs $140. You can purchase individual Saturday and Sunday passes for $85, speaker passes for $60 and music passes for $40.
Curious about what a “thought session” might be like? Listen to our interview with Tabari Coleman, who is hosting one of the sessions called “Routes and Roots Contributing to Oppression.”
You can wander around the “maker expo” and “innovation showcase,” without a ticket, Cohen said. The art exhibits and children’s area are also free-of-charge.
The hope is that festival attendees will meander between music, speakers, design expos and art exhibits over the course of the weekend. Streets will be closed in Cortex Innovation District over the weekend to accommodate a pedestrian-friendly environment.
“It could be chaos … but in a good way,” Cohen said.
Why did Cohen leave LouFest?
Cohen started LouFest in 2010. After guiding the festival for five years, “I got to a point where I thought it could exist without me,” Cohen said.
He said that the experience of organizing Loufest has been important in starting Murmuration in helping him understand all the moving parts.
“I think St. Louis is a great place for an event like this,” Cohen said. “It is hungry for opportunities to represent what it is right, what is good about the city.”
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
