Buku Music + Art Project Focuses on Creative Culture of New Orleans

Jordan Bailey

New Orleans has a deep history of the unusual and strange, and the passionate people who call it home know how to throw a party in the same vein. Buku Music + Art Project will take place in the Big Easy March 10-11, and the event that completely encapsulates the personality of the southern metropolis.  

As a boutique festival focused on art and music, Buku has the feel of a house party all the while maintaining a legit festival infrastructure. The Lower Garden District will house the event where stages can be found within an “intimate industrial setting.” The setting will be unusual for an urban festival around as it sits between an active railroad track, an abandoned power plant and the rolling barges of the Mississippi River. The city’s skyline and Crescent City Connection bridge are visible in the distance.

Six stages, both indoor and outdoor, will host numerous artists within popular EDM, hip-hop and indie rock culture. Electronic headliners include Deadmau5, Zhu and Zeds Dead;  rappers include Travis Scott, Vince Staples and Young Thug; indie acts include Washed Out and Sleigh Bells. Other artists on the bill include Tycho, 21 Savage, Lil’ Dicky, Nina Kraviz, Lil Yachty, Thundercat, The Floozies, Clams Casino, Nora en Pure and Big Wild.

The art at Buku will include the Live Graffiti Gallery, a series of walls painted walls by the city’s street artists. This style of raw art is made to mesh with the industrial feel of the festival’s surroundings. Festival-goers should expect plenty of functional installations and “interactive playground” style exhibits. Street performers will also be on hand to liven up the urban-style event.

For hotels, possibilities include the Queen Anne Hotel, built in the 1890s. The styling is classical and includes antique furnishings throughout the spacious guestrooms. Just outside the French Quarter, and near the festival site, The Old No. 77 Hotel and Chandlery is a cultural- and art- centric boutique hotel for those looking for a more modern aesthetic. The Green House Inn is in the Buku neighborhood, the Lower Garden District. This B&B style hotel offers plenty of green spaces, hence the name, plus a pool and hot tub.

Buku Music + Art Project is March 10-11 in New Orleans. Tickets are here.