MACROCK
{{more citations needed|date=February 2008}}
{{Infobox organization
| image = Antonia Begonia accordion MACRoCk 2009 Little Grill Collective Harrisonburg VA April 2009.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Antonia Begonia on accordion at Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg VA
MACRoCk 2009
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| motto =
| formation = {{Start date and age|1997|4|1}}
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| type = Not-for-profit
| status =
| purpose = give underground, indie, punk, and metal exposure and publicity
| headquarters = Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S.
| coords =
| language = English
| leader_title = head coordinator
| leader_name = Chelsea Goodspeed
| main_organ = committee
| parent_organization = originally organized by 88.7FM WXJM
| affiliations = formerly James Madison University
| budget =
| remarks =
| name = MACROCK
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| abbreviation = MACROCK
| region_served = Virginia
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| num_volunteers = 10
| website = [http://www.macrockva.org/ macrockva.org]
}}
MACROCK, formerly known as The Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference (or MACRoCk), is an annual music conference held in the downtown area of Harrisonburg, Virginia the first weekend of April annually since 1997. It features local, regional, national, and occasionally international musical acts as well as a music label exposition and panels addressing issues of the media, music, DIY projects, and the independent music scene.
Purpose
MACROCK gives underground, indie, punk, and metal bands a chance to gain exposure and publicity by showcasing them during two days of performances around the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia. The event gives bands a much wider audience than would occur during a normal show.
Formation
The festival was organized by 88.7FM WXJM, the James Madison University student-run radio station in 1997, taking up the reins from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia where the concept originated in 1993.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-06|title=The history of MACROCK|url=http://wxjm.org/the-history-of-macrock/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=WXJM|language=en-US}} It became independent from the university in 2006, dropping the original acronym.{{Cite web|last=Necci|first=Marilyn Drew|date=2014-03-13|title=MACRoCk Is Still Awesome, And It's Happening In Harrisonburg In Three Weeks|url=https://rvamag.com/music/macrock-is-still-awesome-and-its-happening-in-harrisonburg-in-three-weeks/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=RVA Mag|language=en-US}} “The relationship between the university and the festival became adversarial and the event lost compatibility with the campus,” recalled Andy Perrine, the event's faculty advisor during its peak in the early 2000s.
File:Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference Poster 2006.jpg
Festival organizers "skipped" 2007 festival as they reorganized, hosting an event again in 2008. Cutting its ties with JMU and incorporating as a not-for-profit, the festival moved from the university campus to downtown Harrisonburg.{{Cite web|last=Knupp|first=Jeremiah|date=2013-04-02|title=MACRoCk Festival: The re-birth of Harrisonburg's best music festival|url=https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/trail-mix/macrock-xvi-re-birth-of-a-music-festival/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine}} Now, an annually changing committee of around 10 volunteers organizes MACROCK, with the festival day help of many volunteers, most of which are still found at WXJM.
With a lineup of 75 bands in 2019, the festival draws between 700 and 800 attendees annually. Acts perform in locally-popular venues such as Little Grill Collective and Artful Dodger.
MACROCK XXI was held April 6 and 7, 2018.{{Cite web|title=MACROCK|url=https://www.facebook.com/MACROCKVA/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}} The 2020 festival, with a full lineup of musical acts,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bands|url=http://macrockva.org/bands/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=MACROCK}} was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Acts
The organizing committee selects musical acts annual on a “blind listening” basis where members listen to audio submissions and give each a score prior to viewing festival appearance applications. The committee also reaches out to certain bands that interest them.{{Cite web|last=Mertens|first=Shelby|date=2019-03-30|title=MACROCK Enters 22nd Year|url=https://www.dnronline.com/dnronline/macrock-enters-22nd-year/article_a30b246c-ba5f-54aa-ad02-333e61c93e71.html|access-date=2020-08-07|website=Daily News-Record|language=en}}
Notable bands to perform at MACROCK have included Animal Collective, Archers of Loaf, Dismemberment Plan, Sufjan Stevens, Mates of State, Converge, Give up the ghost, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Of Montreal, Norma Jean, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Poison the Well, Bane, Superchunk, Elliott Smith (1997),{{cite journal |last=Lambert |first=Jeff |title=MACrock 'n' roll |publisher=American University |date=2006-04-10 |url=http://media.www.theeagleonline.com/media/storage/paper666/news/2006/04/10/TheScene/Macrock.n.Roll-1803106.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713224310/http://media.www.theeagleonline.com/media/storage/paper666/news/2006/04/10/TheScene/Macrock.n.Roll-1803106.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |accessdate=2008-02-25 }} An Albatross, Coheed and Cambria,{{cite journal |last=Bredimus |first=Kate |title=The MACRoCk Diaries |publisher=Richmond.com |date=2002-04-09 |url=http://www.thebreeze.org/2006/12-07/news1.html |accessdate=2008-03-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705145640/http://www.thebreeze.org/2006/12-07/news1.html |archivedate=2008-07-05 }} Fugazi (2002), Best Coast, The War on Drugs (band),{{Cite web|title=MACRocK 2010 - Urban Outfitters - Blog|url=https://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/blog/macrock_2010?cm_re=Blog_Content-_-B-_-macrock_2010|access-date=2020-08-07|website=blog.urbanoutfitters.com}} Screaming Females, S. Carey, The Bouncing Souls,{{Cite web|last=Breihan|first=Tom|title=Festivals in Brief: Super Mon Amour Festival, MACRoCk, Middle of the Map Fest, Dazed Live|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/41988-festivals-in-brief-super-mon-amour-festival-macrock-middle-of-the-map-fest-dazed-live/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=Pitchfork|language=en-us}} Diarrhea Planet, Priests (band), Shana Falana, Drook, Mal Devisa, New England Patriots, Ono, Dogs on Acid, Crown Larks, Abdu Ali, Horrendous, Container, Buck Gooter, Plattenbau,{{Cite web|title=WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 Raleigh blog|url=https://blog.wknc.org/post/115428022801/wknc-881-fm-is-at-macrock-this-weekend-look-for|access-date=2020-08-07|website=WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 Raleigh blog}} and Waxahatchee.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|MACROCK}}
- [http://www.macrockva.org/ MACROCK]
- [http://www.jmu.edu/wxjm 88.7FM WXJM]
Category:Recurring events established in 1997
Category:James Madison University