Erykah Badu, Nas to headline Art of Cool as music festival announces major changes

Durham's Art of Cool Festival has announced its lineup for the fifth annual music festival along with a flurry of changes, including new ownership and a new date.

This year, Art of Cool will move from the spring to the weekend of Sept. 28-29, with Durham Bulls Athletic Park as the main venue.

This year's headline acts include rapper Nas, singer Erykah Badu, violinist Damien Escobar, British jazz group Sons of Kemet, Iman Omari and the deejay Sango.

As for the new ownership, Art of Cool is shifting from non-profit to for-profit with its sale to The DOME Group LLC. DOME is an entertainment company that primarily presents events in North Carolina and Detroit, where it operates 6,000-seat Chene Park Amphitheatre.

Art of Cool received $30,000 in public funding for the 2017 festival from the City of Durham. The city has a similar level of support earmarked for 2018.

Along with the Bulls ballpark, Art of Cool venues will include the Durham Armory, Motorco Music Hall and The Pinhook. Festival co-founders Cicely Mitchell and Al Strong will remain involved in the curation of programming.

"AOCFEST has always, and will remain, Durham born and bred," Mitchell said in a statement. "This acquisition...will allow the festival to operate in a better place financially, and allow it to continue to bring quality programming to the area and expand the festival brand at a faster rate."

Additional acts will be announced at a later date. For more, go to aocfestival.org.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Erykah Badu, Nas to headline Art of Cool as music festival announces major changes."