The standard for fests has been set for 2015 after one of NOLA’s best festivals two weeks ago, Buku Music + Art Project. After flawless execution and an amazing time had by all, we consider it to be the best festival to start off everyone’s favorite time of year, festival season. Thanks to the prime venue, great crowd, talented artists, and all around energy there isn’t another fest out there like it. We’ve broken down the top five revelations we had while attending Buku that we believe contributed to making this fest unique and special.

Good Vibes and Like-Minded People

New Orleans is known for its ability to accept people from all walks of life and Buku is no different. It’s incredible who you bump into, strike up a conversation and just jam out to the music with. One of the best aspects about a festival is its community and everyone we met at Buku wanted to talk and was completely on the same page when it came to music – super relatable crowd. We spend so much time in the “real world”  we almost forget how refreshing the feeling of being a part of a community with similar perspectives on life and music.

Soulful Music To Captivate the Audience

One of the biggest contributions to Buku’s “uniqueness” is its diverse lineup. At times there were four stages featuring four different genres simultaneously. The stages aren’t enormous, which we prefer because it gets attendees a personalized experience with their favorite musician. What other fest can say attendees were within ten feet of Thomas Jack or catching sweat off ODESZA in the Float Den?

We didn’t catch a bad set all weekend. Every artist captivated the audience with magical and personal sets and we could really feel the heart and soul the artists injected into their performances. Maybe it was the energy of the crowd infiltrating the artists, or the history of music in New Orleans, whatever “it” was, we can say with certainty that we all caught the “Buku Bug.”

Stage and Sound Production On Point

Another Buku is a great festival is because of its four captivating stages that cater to everyone’s musical preferences. General public stages consist of The Float Den, The Ballroom, The Back Alley, and The Powerplant Stage, each with it’s own character and specific musicians based on genre. We can’t help but go into further detail about them.

The Powerplant Stage

Housing huge headliners like Bassnectar, STS9, and Passion Pit, The Power Plant Stage was the “main” stage at Buku. This stage was flanked by the river, had views of an old fashioned NOLA steamboat, and an abandoned power plant that really gave it an industrial feel. Sometimes huge stages can alienate people, but the main stage had amazing views wherever you were. The video production was impeccable and it was easy to get hypnotized by the massive LED visuals, especially during Nectar’s set. The sound and lighting were perfect all weekend.

The Float Den

The Float Den was our favorite stage because of its location, with easy ingress and egress from multiple points. It houses the Mardi Gras floats from previous years and had a distinctive warehouse feel that paired well with its mostly trap and electronic artists. The floats were on display for the crowd to see, which gave the stage a multidimensional feel. This stage was meant for those that wanted to go hard, which we did for XXYYXX and ODESZA’s sets especially.

The Ballroom

The Ballroom was catered toward hip-hop and alternative musicians and reminded us of a typical venue like Echostage in DC or The House of Blues. This venue was very open with a VIP area upstairs that had a lounge-y feel. The sound was perfect for alternative artists like Portugal the Man, Zella Day, and groovy Gramatik. This was one of the more zen areas of the festival with great vibes and even better music.

The Back Alley

Consisting mostly of deep house and up and coming acts, The Back Alley was a great place to get away from the large crowd. Tucked behind The Float Den and bordering the Mississippi, this intimate stage housed newer acts like Thomas Jack, Carneyval, and Justin Martin B2B Eats Everything. The stage set up was simple, and looked exactly like the perfect place to host an impromptu underground party.

Easy, Breezy Festival Operations

One of the more overlooked aspects of a festival is it’s organization and efficiency. It’s something you don’t think about until you find yourself waiting in a long security or bathroom line, or waiting for a set to start a half an hour late.

Buku was able to run this festival successfully without any major blips thanks to its thorough and organized festival operations team. Each year has gotten smoother and more detailed and from the standpoint of the crowd there weren’t any major hiccups or confusion. Each set was punctual and the schedule was followed. The operations team did a great job booking local vendors and artists, and the huge wall of graffiti blew us away. There were tons of things to do outside of just listening to music and the team did an excellent job of combining music, art, community, and fun. Hats off to the operations team!

Anything Goes in NOLA

Anyone who has visited New Orleans would tell you that you can do practically anything with impunity. Bourbon street is basically a free-for-all and sometimes you don’t exactly feel safe. Buku’s security was loose but made sure to keep everyone safe. Unlike other festivals where guests can’t bring anything to the fest and security hovers over like a helicopter, Buku respected their guests while making sure everyone had a fun and safe experience.

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Throw anything toward New Orleans and it’s bound to be great. NOLA is known for their fun times and good vibes. Put a music festival into the mix and you have a successful weekend on your hands. Everyone had a great time at Buku and we are excited that WRR was able to be part of the action. Thank you for having us and congratulations on pulling off a successful and enjoyable fest, we hope to be back next year!

Connect with Buku Music + Arts Project:
http://thebukuproject.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BUKUproject
https://twitter.com/thebukuproject

[h/t]: aLiveCoverage, Buku, Young Park Photography

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