Durham, NC - Good Moon Festival - Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC)
October 9th, 2026
Durham, NC
Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC)
Preface: This is the closest show to our home we’ve ever gotten to see Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps and it’s at one of the best venues in the state! To say we’re beyond excited for this show would be an understatement.
We Saw the Moon, again, and it was good!
Show Notes: Absolutely insane! What a festival! Good Moon Festival is a festival every single person should attend!
To be honest we were worried that since Good Moon is a smaller production festival that it would be a little less ironed out than we’re used to; boy are we idiots!
Good Moon is a very, possibly best we’ve been to, well laid out festival. There’s ample coverage online of where to find things like parking, events, and food. You literally couldn’t dream up a better festival being run in multiple places in a city.
We ended up going to Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour before the main stage at the DPAC opened and Derrick was accompanied by Sylvan Esso (hosts of the festival) for a while and then in the latter part by Silvana Estrada. Upon entering we thought we were going to be at a listening party type thing and we’d just enjoy a nice sit before standing for Tyler’s set. However, we realized really quickly that this was the furthest thing from the truth and this was actually Derrick showing us music from all over the world, then spinning some of Sylvan Esso’s top picks, and then having Silvana Estrada play a couple of songs for the crowd!
aja monet was the opener at the DPAC and her spoken word poetry didn’t disappoint. She is a great artist with an amazing backing band! You should check her stuff out on YouTube or wherever you can find it.
Now on to the reason we showed up: Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps.
My lord did the guys bring the heat to Durham, NC! Something about this show just felt different - like the guys were trying to sound just a little bit better, a little bit louder, and a little bit more rock-n-roll.
The setlist (listed below) is nearly the exact same we’re accustomed to seeing at this point but the DPAC is perfect for that. The acoustics in the venue are some of the best you’ll find in the country and this allowed the band’s sound to fill the room.
Sylvan Esso joined the guys on stage as well which added another layer of depth. Amelia’s vocal range combined with Nick’s ability to add some funkiness is always a great addition and it felt as if this was highlighted here more than any other time we’d seen this combination play together.
Notably it just seemed the guys were in a great mood and just happy to be playing on such a stage and in such a great room. There were smiles all night from everyone on stage.
If Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps ever end up back at the DPAC you must do all you can to get in the door!
This was also the first show where we were lucky enough to be able to give away some tickets to followers on our social media pages. We sat next to everyone who won and had a wonderful time. We couldn’t have picked better people to have enjoyed a show with and we’re glad they got to make it! Also major props to those involved behind the scenes for making sure our winners got a couple of setlists to take home as a memory from the show!
Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps
Venue Notes: Amazing, top tier, best in the triangle, anything other synonyms you could use for perfect.
DPAC never disappoints and tonight was no exception. This venue is absolutely a must attend for anyone who loves music or theater. You feel like royalty just walking into the venue on their red carpet that’s sprawled throughout the entire venue. You feel like a VIP sitting in your padded seat with ample room no matter what section you’re in. And, you feel like you’re a world leader as you hear your favorite music sounding more perfect than you could ever imagine.
Truly, DPAC is everything you could imagine and more.
Parking Notes: Parking was $12 literally a 2 minute walk from the entrance. There was no traffic coming in or leaving (albeit we got there 2 hours before doors and left an hour after the show ended). You could park VIP for $30 and be literally a 30 second walk from the entrance.
In terms of paid parking you’d be hard pressed to find better for cheaper.
Travel Notes: Well this is the closest we’ve ever seen Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps so our travel notes are kind of lacking but we did eat outside the venue at Queen Burger. Daniel opted for the fries and classic burger. The burger was 2 smash patties with usual toppings. The burger was above average and certainly will be tried again when we’re in the area. The fries were shoe-string fries (one of the best kinds in our opinion) and there was nothing unusual; just good quality crispy fries.
Enjoying our wine at the DJ set
Bonus: We were insanely blessed by this whole situation. We weren’t able to get tickets in the pre-sale and we ended up having to wait for single days to go on sale. Once we knew we could get tickets we decided to buy 2 extra pairs to giveaway. We sought out to find people who had the same issue we did fighting for tickets in the first wave.
We attended a DJ set hosted by Pinheiro (a small quaint Portuguese wine bar) and met with Nick after he finished playing. We asked if it was okay to post comments on the festival and Sylvan Esso’s socials about our giveaway and he was more than happy to tell us we could. This whole experience made our giveaway that much more special.
From the onset our entire goal was to build a community where people who attended shows could tell us about their experiences and that others who couldn’t attend shows could find ways to do so. To be able to play a small part in helping others make it to this show was an amazing experience!
To be honest we know nothing about wine but we do know that Pinheiro allowed us a space to hear good music, expand our taste buds with some good wine, and a place to reach more people and for that we’re very thankful!
This whole project has always been about community and the way this all unfolded was the perfect way for us to blend music and community together. The person who won our giveaway for the first set of tickets was someone we’d actually met at the DJ set. And the other person was a lady from WV - literally right outside of where Chloe’s family lives, in the middle of nowhere.
We touched on it before but this group of people couldn’t have been a better group and it reminds us that whether you’re at a DJ set in Durham hoping to score some tickets, or farming in WV, or two people who happen to know how to type a lot of words in a blog, we’ve all got a lot in common and sharing that over music is amazing.
Setlist:
Eatin’ Big Time
Shake the Frost
Down Under
Rustin’ in the Rain
All Your’n
Oneida
Dirty Ought Trill
I Swear (to God)
Getting to the Bottom
Jersey Giant
Bitin’ List
Watch Out
The Wedding Dress Song
Old Country Church
Whitehouse Road
Honky Tonk Flame
Way of the Triune God
Snipe Hunt
House Fire
Universal Sound
Lady May (acoustic, solo)