Transfiguratively speaking: Harvest Records announces Transfigurations II lineup

Ventured and gained: The Clean, an indie-rock band from New Zealand, is one of the confirmed acts at Transfigurations II. The festival celebrates Harvest Records' 10th anniversary. Photo by Tim Soter

Harvest Records announces Transfigurations II lineup

Unless you work for, say, AC Entertainment, or are just a glutton for punishment, you probably don’t want to organize music festivals on a regular basis. That’s kind of how Harvest Records owners Mark Capon and Matt Schnable felt after pulling off their highly regarded Transfigurations Festival — and these are two guys who know how to put on a show.

Capon and Schnable starting producing concerts together back in college and went on to open their record store in West Asheville. They celebrated the five-year anniversary (against the odds; it’s a dying businesses in which they’re not only surviving but thriving) of that shop in 2009 with the first Transfigurations. You see where this is heading, right?

“We’ve probably been talking about the 10-year thing since not long after the five-year mark: ‘If we ever make it, we’re really going to blow it out,’” says Capon. This week, he and Schnable announce that Harvest Records’ 10th anniversary culminates in Transfigurations II, set for Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 28-30, in West Asheville and on Marshall’s Blannahassett Island.

They selected the latter location based on a special Bonnie “Prince” Billy show held there in 2011 — “It was magical, and we wanted to keep that vibe,” says Capon. Plus, the outdoor space allows them to grow the event. “An indoor/outdoor potential festival place, on an island in the French Broad River, in a small town at the end of summer: To me it’s the perfect concept,” says Capon. He envisions Daptone Records soul singer Lee Fields performing as the sun sets.

Fields is just one of a number of exciting names on the festival’s roster — confirmed acts are listed below. But how did the Harvest Records guys decide whom to book? “For the last two years we’ve had a running list of who would be cool,” says Capon. Six months ago they started reaching out to artists from two groups: friends like local performers Angel Olsen and Reigning Sound, and long shots like The Clean — a Harvest favorite all the way from New Zealand — and Michael O’Hurley, who hasn’t stopped through Asheville in most of a decade.

“We tried to balance who we’re connected with and going for stuff that no one gets to see here,” says Capon. “Let’s gun for some stuff that, maybe it’s on a smaller, underground level, but people will be like, ‘Holy sh*t.’”

Shows will take place at The Grey Eagle and The Mothlight on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the festival moves to Marshall High Studios on Blannahassett Island in Marshall with both an indoor and outdoor stage. Weekend passes go on sale Friday, May 23, with individual show passes on sale in June.

Info at harvest-records.com/transfigurations

 

 

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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