Indie folk group Megafaun returns to the Triangle

Correction (04/15/2012, 2:04 p.m.): Due to a reporting error, an earlier edition of this story stated that Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon was a member of the band Megafaun. The members of Megafaun were in a different band, DeYarmond Edison, with Vernon. In 2006, Vernon left the group to record as Bon Iver and the rest of the band reformed as Megafaun. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

In the midst of a tour throughout the South, Megafaun will briefly return to the Triangle.

The Durham-based indie folk band will play a concert Sunday in Historic Playmakers Theatre, sponsored by the Carolina Union Activities Board.

Evan Allan, music chairman for CUAB, said Megafaun is a popular act that will attract a sizeable portion of the student body.

“They’re local royalty,” he said. “They’re always a hit around here, so we thought they’d be good to bring to campus.”

The members of Megafaun were originally in the band DeYarmond Edison with Justin Vernon of the Grammy award-winning folk outfit Bon Iver.

“Some people don’t know that about them,” Allan said. “But they’ve gained such success, at least in the indie music scene.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the show had sold about 60 of 240 available tickets, the Memorial Hall box office said. Allan said he expects to sell close to 200 tickets by Sunday.

The event is contracted for $5,500, which comes out of CUAB’s activities budget of about $364,000 for the year. The budget comes from student organizations fees of about $13 per student per year.

Allan said the date of the concert came at an opportune time for both the band and for CUAB.

“We caught them in the middle of their tour, so it worked out well,” he said.

Local student band Morning Brigade will open for Megafaun at the concert.

Peter Vance, founding member and frontman of Morning Brigade, said he’s excited to open for Megafaun.

“It’s an absolute honor — we’re astounded and shocked and really, really grateful,” he said. “It’s probably our biggest show yet.”

Vance, who plays guitar and sings lead vocals for Morning Brigade, said he’s admired Megafaun for a while.

“The fact that I’ll be performing on the stage with them, that I’ll be backstage with them before the show, is amazing,” he said.

He said in preparation for the show, Morning Brigade has been carefully crafting its setlist.

“We’re trying to pick songs that will transition well between each other, but will also transition well into Megafaun’s headlining set,” he said.

“We want to make sure we’re unique, but we also want to show that our music is appropriate to open for them.”

Allan said the two bands are a good pairing.

“They’re similar in genre, so I hope this will expose Morning Brigade to more fans,” he said.
“I really like them — they deserve to be seen.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.