It’s been over a week week since the last BUKU Music + Art Project, and yet there is still such a strong presence of family, wonder, and most predominantly awe in my life. The gratefulness I feel for getting to not only attend, but be apart of the culture surrounding the Bukrewe is a feeling that just doesn’t wear off. Starting in 2013 and continuing since, I have attended four BUKUs and each year has been marginally better than the last. For me, BUKU is a celebration of all of the last year’s achievements, it’s a familiar place to dance my cares away, and where my friends and I find each other year after year. It’s very nostalgic to remember all the joys we’ve shared together throughout the years.
That first BUKU was monumental for me in so many ways, I met the former president of RaverRafting and for the first time felt the pull of wanting to get involved with the festival scene. BUKU really solidified it for me that electronic dance music was something I was truly passionate about and I wanted to do what I could to leave my mark on it.
My first BUKU meeting up with the RaverRafting squad in 2013!
By the time the next Buku came around, I had already moved to New Orleans and was working as press with RaverRafting. Each BUKU since, something incredible has happened that only solidifies how important that decision was for me. For example, in 2014 my roommate won a contest that year to play Bassik 4 BUKU; now just two years later was booked on a stage that he helped build with two of his best friends, as the Sunsabetchez. (Listen to their BUKU set here)
Buku has become a milestone marker and opportunity to showcase how far we have come since the last time we were able to get #TOOBUKU. Not only a culture, but a completely contagious lifestyle. Once you enter Mardi Gras World, you become the Buku-version of yourself. Even if you were planning on just hopping to a few stages, eating and checking things out; the music will completely immerse you in until you’re entangled into the atmosphere and getting TOOBUKU with everyone else.
The Sunsabetchez
New comers and veterans alike come together to create a well-blended dynamic of both out-of-town veterans and first-time locals. One thing that will always be boasted about BUKU , is that it has great vibes. If you want to come get funky with a room full of great people, BUKU is your festival. It’s a ritual to see Mardi Gras World come alive year after year, and like the krewes of Mardi Gras, we let the culture of BUKU engulf us.
As we have become so intertwined into it, we grow as BUKU grows. As our music tastes mature, they add more eclectic acts to the lineup. As our talents and expertise increase, we lend those to improve the quality of a festival that we hold so near to our hearts. In a city where electronic music scene is both newly constructed and often passed over due to the large influx of music, BUKU has become the life blood to the growth of our scene. While the venue and the music might be the first thing you see and hear, the roots run much deeper. For the Bukrewe, at every turn you will find someplace that we have made our mark: on buku, on history, and most importantly, on the world we live in.
My New Orleans fam! <3
If you have a dream, pursue it with every fiber in your body. Even if you have the constant struggle between making money and doing what you love, keep hustling and keep making it happen. No matter what you’re doing: maybe right now you’re just handing out flyers in the best damn way possible, but next year you might be running the backstage, and then two years later you’re helping curate the lineup, then a few years later you’re helping create the experience that you love so much. Sometimes progress doesn’t present itself right away, but as a good friend of mine recently said, “Opportunity looks a lot like hard work.” Dreams can come true, if you have the passion and dedication to make it happen. BUKU Music + Art Project was both a nostalgic and surreal experience that truly opened my eyes to the possibility and the real product of hard work starting to pay off, for me and those surrounding me.
Huge shoutout to Winter Circle Presents for putting on such a special event, and for all those who work their asses off year-round to make it happen!
Check out our favorite moments of BUKU 2016
Connect with Buku Music + Arts Project:
https://www.facebook.com/thebukuproject
https://www.twitter.com/TheBukuProject
https://www.instagram.com/thebukuproject
http://thebukuproject.com
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