[Gallery] Review: Art Of Cool Festival 2019 - Great Music, Delicious Food, Good Vibes (4.5/5 Stars)

Durham, NC – The 2019 Art of Cool Festival weekend was filled with great music, delicious food, and good vibes! The festival took place Friday, September 27th – Sunday, September 29th with the headliners performing at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) in downtown Durham.

Festival attendees were able to see 20-plus artists in 6 different venues for 1 price. Headliners like Jill Scott, Run DMC, Ari Lennox, Whodini and Big Daddy Kane featuring The Symphony rocked the main stage at the DBAP and had everyone on their feet all weekend long. Whether you danced the day away at the 12-hour DJ Parties at the Masonic Lodge, vibed to the lyrics of G. Yamazawa and J. Gunn at Pinhook or rapped every word to It’s Tricky along with Run DMC, you couldn’t help but become intoxicated with the love of music that the Art Of Cool Festival brings every year.

Rows and rows of food trucks and vendors filled the American Tobacco Campus and CCB Plaza with foot traffic like never before, and the delicious aromas that filled the air brought people from all over the Triangle to experience everything the festival had to offer. Even if you did not purchase a ticket to the event, you were able to eat and shop your day away!

Vendors like Zainabu Art had beautiful Afro-centric pieces for sale. Food trucks like R & B Grill & Concession and Lee Kitchen had all the food that you could ever need. There was even an opportunity to meet Bern Nadette Stanis, Thelma from Good Times!

The one negative aspect of the Festival and a pretty big one was the VIP Experience. The VIP Lounge was in the DBAP PNC Triangle Club. Unlike last year, there was no food offered, not even popcorn on the tables. VIP guests had to go to the concession area which required an elevator ride to get not so fresh ballpark food (no one was allowed to bring items from food trucks into DBAP). And let’s not mention the $22 adult beverages. There was not an easily identifiable VIP area on the field and unlike last year, there was no seating area on the field. We’re only taking off a half star because we believe a lot of these issues had to do with DBAP guidelines.

The Art Of Cool Festival had something for everyone, and deserves a 4.5-star rating! Each year the festival gets bigger and better and we believe the VIP area next year will be a great experience. Make sure you get your tickets for next year so you don’t miss out on the great music, delicious food, and good vibes at the Art of Cool Festival 2020!

Art of Cool Festival 2019 Overall Rating: