Hi-Fi plans to bring twelve hours of music and celebration

Come Saturday afternoon (or morning for those “dedicated” people), Durham will transform into a one-day Mexican fiesta, with students showing temporary enthusiasm for Spanish culture.

The Hi-Fi Music Festival was a small event when it began in 2010. This year, however, it has developed into a full-scale, professional event, but is still free to attend.

“The focus of the event is to provide the students of the university an amazing musical event to commemorate the end of the academic year,” Chris Buchanan, festival creator, said.

The 12-hour festival features eight hours of live bands, beginning at noon and ending at 8 p.m. This portion is headlined by the band VHS or Beta, who also performed at this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.

Once the sun goes down, the dance party begins. Starting at 8 p.m., music from several different artists will be combined to create a rage-worthy electronic dance soundtrack.  Featured in the electro portion will be Olik from Berlin, a progressive and electro house DJ with roots in Berlin, Germany, and New England.

This year’s headliner is an electronic dance music trio straight from San Francisco. The M Machine just released their first album, Metropolis Pt. I, on April 24, with Grammy-winning Skrillex’s label, OWSLA.

The M Machine claim that they “look to perfect the artistic union between man and machine, combining immaculate and powerful electronic production with emotional and infectious songwriting.”

The group’s debut album is a concept album, with each song being a chapter in the story of the dystopian city of Metropolis. The dub step bass of “Immigrants” and “Shadow In The Rose Garden” make the songs killer on the dance floor. On the other hand, “Faces” and “A King Alone” bring out the band’s human touch with vocal-driven pop-synch working beautifully.

Each of the other bands performing have a Facebook page, so check them out to get a preview of what you’ll be fiesta-ing to. The lineup for the day is as follows:

Live Bands Noon-8 p.m.

(Surprise opening performance)

12pm-1pm

Sam King Band

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Coolwhip

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

BA Canning

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

The Migs

4 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Old Gray

5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Howling Boil

6 p.m. – 7 p.m.