Today, BUKU Music + Art Project, New Orleans’s premier multi-faceted boutique music festival, announced the lineup for BUKU: Planet B, a one-time-only fall iteration of its flagship spring event. Planet B offers up an alternative way to dance through the rabbit hole of BUKU on the banks of the Big Easy. Aiming to celebrate the resiliency of New Orleans and the triumphant return of live music, BUKU: Planet B is purposefully boutique in size but captures the expansive multi-genre curatorial ethos of BUKU, welcoming over 50 acts to its creative playground on October 22-23, 2021.
For the past decade, BUKU has fostered a boutique festival experience that proudly reflects the diverse and progressive subculture of New Orleans. It’s birthed the #BUKREWE, a community of festival lovers, carnival kings, and queens, ragers and twerkers, that come in all shapes and sizes, flowing together along the banks of the Mississippi. Those in the know can attest to the wild costumes, unhinged self-expression, and myriad of personalities that set the BUKU vibe from start to finish and have made it one of North America’s most authentic places to party.
Continuing its melting pot approach to curation, BUKU: Planet B welcomes a lineup that spans genre and style. Topping the bill are some of modern music’s biggest stars like powerhouse hip-hop icon Megan Thee Stallion, melodic bass music’s ultimate champion Illenium, pop-punk vocalist Machine Gun Kelly, experimental rapper Playboi Carti, and Memphis rap chart-topper Pooh Shiesty.
As you would expect in New Orleans, dancing takes center stage at Planet B with the cutting-edge eclecticism of producers Kaytranada and Jamie xx, Australian dance music producer and vocalist Alison Wonderland, and the trio of bass titans Zeds Dead, Subtronics, and SVDDEN DEATH: VOYD. Adding to the diverse vibe, Chris Lake and Purple Disco Machine will also treat the #BUKREWE to their discography of genre-defining house heaters.
Forward-thinking live performances remain in focus at Planet B with feel-good frequencies from singer Still Woozy, bone-crushing vibes from industrial rap/metal artist Ghostemane, next-gen star British singer-songwriter and poet Arlo Parks, genre-bending rap/electro-pop performer Ashnikko, and high-energy rappers EARTHGANG, Flo Milli, slowthai, Yung Baby Tate, and $NOT.
As a barometer for the sounds taking over tomorrow, BUKU: Planet B welcomes breakout stars like Remi Wolf, Dua Saleh, Moore Kismet, VNSSA, 박혜진 Park Hye Jin, TVBOO, and others, plus over 20 local New Orleans acts in an effort to showcase and support the local arts community, including the first festival performance by Pell’s GLBL WRMNG collective.
“For the past year, we’ve watched our fans step outside of their comfort zones and persevere through weird times,” said Dante DiPasquale, BUKU’s co-creator. “PLANET B is the result of us being inspired by them to do the same, and all of us at Team BUKU are excited to finally party with them again.”
Set against the uniquely New Orleans backdrop of the haunting Market Street Power Plant and the historic grounds of the old TwiRoPa venue, Planet B aims to harness the chaos of the last year and release it in the form of raw creativity. Attendees will be guided between multiple stage environments, a dizzying landscape of art installations, street-artist performances, and a multitude of surprises. Fans may find themselves mesmerized by a local graffiti artist, enhancing their costume with a custom face painting, joining a marching band procession, catching a pop-up breakdancing crew, or just hanging with friends while gazing at the New Orleans skyline. It’s an urban oasis as much about oddities and community as it is about the headliners.
Civic duty too remains at the heart of the BUKU spirit, as the event organizers continue their Social Responsibility Commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment geared towards social justice, reducing the environmental impact of the event, and supporting New Orleans community organizations. BUKU doubled down on this commitment in 2020 alongside its charitable partner Upbeat Academy by launching their Take Action Project (“TAP”). Thus far, the project has completed three fan-mobilizing campaigns raising over $10,000 for racial justice, voting rights, and environmental sustainability organizations. BUKU will continue this mission in 2021 alongside Upbeat Academy, a non-profit that inspires and empowers New Orleans youth through music education, who also act as the beneficiary of proceeds from every ticket sold to BUKU or Planet B. Learn more about these programs: https://www.thebukuproject.com/community
BUKU: Planet B will be the ultimate release for music fans in dire need of connection and creative exploration. It will continue to provide an inclusive home for the technicolor characters that call New Orleans home while welcoming #BUKREWE far and wide to experience the city’s eccentric culture for themselves. Come and get it.
Register for Presale Now for Access to Lowest-Priced Tickets: www.thebukuproject.com
Presale Begins Thursday June 10 at 10am CT
General Onsale Monday June 14 at 10am CT
