In the lead-up to the Black Alternative Rock Festival, or BLA/ALT, at Camp North End on Oct. 21, Creative Loafing has asked some of the artists to talk about why they're playing the event and what it means to them. Today, Lenny Muckle, the sole member of the punk/art project Lofidels, talks about what a black alternative rock fest in Charlotte means to him.

But first, listen to the terrific track "A Staccato Kid, A Missing Man," from Lofidels' 2016 album Glass Canon.


"I feel that the BLA/ALT Music Festival will be a place where artists of color will be able to shine without having to conform to, ironically, norms and requirements tacitly imposed on them for falling within the framework of being independent artists," Muckle says.

"I'm playing BLA/ALT because I want to be part of this new, local, unprecedented event," he says. "The lifting up of typically overlooked work is something we unarguably need more of. It'll be exciting to be part of [the festival] as an artist and as a fan, because the line-up is so wildly varied. My hope is that it's all a bit overwhelming."

What's more, Muckle adds, "I hope that as BLA/ALT grows, year after year, the festival manages to not only awe, but inspire — friends and strangers, former and would-be artists could all feel motivated by the uniqueness of the artists involved with the festival.

"My name is Lenny Muckle, sole member of the project called Lofidels, and I'll be performing at Bla/Alt."

And we'll be there watching Lenny Muckle, as well as following him on Bandcamp (lofidels.bandcamp.com) and Instagram (@lofidels).