Merge Records will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in July with a four-day festival in Carrboro, featuring over 35 bands from the past, present and future of the local record label.
The Durham-based label started in 1989 when two founding members of the popular indie rock band Superchunk, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, wanted to start their own label in North Carolina.
Since then, Merge Records has become one of the most respected indie labels in the music industry. Albums released on Merge include Funeral, by Arcade Fire; In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel; 69 Love Songs, by Magnetic Fields; Kill the Moonlight, by Spoon; and Trouble in Dreams, by Destroyer.
A prelude to Merge’s 30th anniversary festival took place at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw in mid-March.
The canning-factory-turned-music-venue began to get crowded once the sun set and the temperature cooled down. The room, which holds 700, was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with fans of all ages by the time the first band went on.
The Love Language, a band originally based out of Raleigh that has been releasing music with Merge since 2010, opened the show. The five-piece indie rock band supported Teenage Fanclub on a tour across the United States in the spring.
Eric Bachmann, the second act of the night, released his most recent solo record, No Recover, in 2018 on Merge Records. Bachmann, originally from North Carolina, is best-known as the frontman of the indie rock band Archers of Loaf, a cornerstone of the legendary Chapel Hill music scene of the mid-to-late ‘90s.
“I have known Merge since 1991,” Bachmann said, in an interview. “It was a crime that Archers of Loaf was not on the label. It was cool that we were able to put out reissues on Merge.”
Many bands have stayed with Merge for the entirety of their careers.
“Merge is the most direct label. If you need to talk to them about anything, whether its logistics, money or art, they are always on top of it. When they say something, they do it, and that is rare in the music industry,” Bachmann said.
The Scottish rock band Teenage Fanclub headlined the March show. Of the 11 albums the band has recorded, three have been released on Merge—Its first was Man Made, released in 2005; next came Shadows, in 2014; and its last for the label was Here, released in 2016.
“I was equally excited to see all of these acts. I have been a fan of Merge and all the records they [have] put out for many years,” crowd member Meredith Listens said.
All of the acts had diverse sets, playing both new and old songs. The crowd went crazy for Teenage Fanclub’s “The Concept” and “Alcoholiday,” both songs off of its most popular album Bandwagonesque.
“What could be a more magical way to kick-off our birthday festivities than Teenage Fanclub, Eric Bachmann and The Love Language on a spring night at Haw River Ballroom?” Christina Rentz, the label manager, said. “All three bands sounded amazing, and we felt the well wishes of our hometown fans.”
The full summer festival line-up can be found at Merge’s website. There are a few tickets left for The Mountain Goats, Hiss Golden Messenger and special guest H.C. McEntire at the Carolina Theatre on July 24; the rest of the festival is sold out.
