Moogfest will feature a keynote address from IEET Trustee Martine Rothblatt, a transgender woman who is the chief executive of United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, and a founder of Sirius Satellite Radio, now SiriusXM. United Therapeutics has an office and manufacturing facility outside of Durham.
Since North Carolina passed a bill in March limiting bathroom access for transgender people, many musicians have canceled shows in the state in protest. However, Moogfest, an electronic music and technology festival set to take place in Durham next weekend, is taking the opposite approach and refocusing the event as a demonstration against the law, which is commonly referred to as House Bill 2.
“I would rather be part of a protest festival than basically just be a silent voice walking away from it,” Dr. Rothblatt said in an interview.