BUKU Music + Art Project
March 25-26
The COVID-19 pandemic swept New Orleans mere days before the BUKU Music + Art Project was set to stage its 2020 festival, which was postponed and later canceled.
Now, BUKU is set to return and celebrate its 10th anniversary on Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26, at the Market Street Power Plant site. BUKU leans into electronica, rock and hip-hop and also features street art, sculpture and live painting.
Psychedelic rock band Tame Impala headlines Friday night, and genre-bending rapper and provocateur Tyler, the Creator tops the bill on Saturday. The lineup also features Porter Robinson, Glass Animals, Taking Back Sunday, Rezz, Alison Wonderland, Vince Staples, Maxo Kream and 100 gecs among numerous others.
A number of New Orleans artists also are featured in this year’s festival, including hip-hop collective glbl wrmng, TVBOO, sfam, Neno Calvin, 504icygrl, Antwigadee and Tatyanna XL.
BUKU this year continues its work with Upbeat Academy, a New Orleans music education program, by helping raise funds for the group and offering students opportunities to perform at the festival. In 2020, BUKU and Upbeat Academy started the Take Action Project (TAP), a platform for campaigns addressing systemic racism and social and environmental justice. This year, TAP partnered with Propeller for a campaign that turned good works into rewards for BUKU merch and tickets.
After the festival on Saturday, March 26, BUKU and Lab Group will host a party with Of the Trees, Supertask, Player Dave and more at the Orpheum Theater. Tickets start at $25 and go on sale March 14.
Single-day ($120-$130) and two-day ($239-$249) general admission tickets along with some VIP tickets are on sale at thebukuproject.com.
The gates are open for a spring calendar full of festivals and events.
French Quarter Fest is back in the Quarter on April 21-24.
Hogs for the Cause returns to the UNO Lakefront Arena grounds on April 1-2.
Jazz Fest returns to the Fair Grounds on April 29-May 1 & May 5-8.