Pitchfork

Troika: it's Russian for threesome, don't you know. But unlike that messy tryst in college that cost you a few trips to the doctor's office and eight months of regret, the Troika Music Festival packs all of the pleasure with comparatively little itching.

The event is a three-part affair, kicking off at Durham, North Carolina's Duke Coffeehouse October 27 with Jennifer O'Connor, the Rosebuds' Ivan Howard, Darren Jesse (ex-Ben Folds Five), and others. Most of the action is split up over the weekend of November 1-3, with the likes of David Bazan, Phosphorescent, Bodies of Water, Megafaun, All Smiles, David Karsten Daniels, Carol Bui, Bellafea, and several dozen others spread among various Durham venues. They'll bring it all back November 16, when Les Savy Fav, Des Ark, and more play the very same Duke Coffeehouse. Consult the full schedule at the festival's website.