The Lou's Newest Fest: Murmuration

Saint Louis has become seriously well-known for its bevy of startups, and for an environment that is ripe with potential. A testament to this city's willingness to explore new ideas, a new festival has sprouted up in the Cortex district of the Central West End-Midtown area. Welcome Murmuration, a weekend dedicated to bringing together art, music, science, and technology. Because I've always been a nature nerd, I personally am stoked that the festival is named after the spiraling, swirling patterns created by a group of starling birds. 

Murmuration is the perfect festival for people who are nerds like me for other things as well - especially the intersection of technology and music. Due to some previous engagements, I'll only be able to attend Sunday's activities and performances, but I lucked out and a few of the talks that interest me most fall on that day! I can't wait to hear more about Gil Weinberg's work with robotic androids that perform music and prosthetic robotics that assist amputees with playing instruments. If you know me "in real life," you'll also know that I'm a circus nerd, studying various focuses over several years as a youngster. I just about squealed out loud when I saw that Calum Pearson, the Vice President of the Resident Show Division for Cirque du Soleil, is also giving a talk on Sunday - "A Look Inside The Technology of Storytelling." A personal project I've been working on is writing, and I can always use some inspiration when it comes to storytelling. If I can *possibly* swing in on Saturday, I'll definitely attend "What's Really Happening On Earth, And What Should We Do About It?" - a talk by Peter Raven, president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

Outside of the informative talks, music also takes (pardon the pun) a main stage at Murmuration. Three of the acts that I am most thrilled about all fall on Sunday, so I'll be bumping and jiving to the sounds of Tycho, Deerhoof, and Dan Deacon. Tycho especially excites me - for Scott Hansen's use of samples of organic sounds and I'm also interested to see how much of a band he brings along since Tycho began as a solo project. 

I'd highly recommend you join in the fun! Find tickets here. 

If you'd like to follow along with Murmuration, check out:
Twitter & Instagram: @MurmurationFest
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