BUKU Music + Art Project 2019, Day 2: Recaps & Photos

In what turned out to be one of the greatest springtime weekends at BUKU, the festival wrapped up its 2019 edition on Saturday, March 23. Performances from $uicideBoy$, A$AP Rocky, Ella Mai, GRiZ, Doja Cat, EarthGang, J.I.D and many more (including local acts Unicorn Fukr, Malik Ninety Five, Lil Jodeci and James Seville) delighted the sold-out crowd at Mardi Gras World. Artists like Ceaux Young and Jay Mckay worked tirelessly on gorgeous murals, too. Below, check out some recaps and photos.

Lil Jodeci, the New Orleans native and artist (and Best of the Beat Award-nominated DJ), started out Saturday with a bang at BUKU Music + Art Project. He took the stage at 2:30 p.m. and knocked out some upbeat tunes for an hour straight.

The house & club music DJ and producer gave audiences exactly what they wanted- high energy music that makes everyone want to dance, laugh, and enjoy their second day at BUKU. With a blended mix of music that has undertones of New Orleans bounce and Chicago house throughout, Lil Jodeci put on a wide range of musical masterpieces that never sounded exactly like the song before.

The sun was high when the Lil Jodeci took the stage and the audience couldn’t be more excited to start their day out with him. A small crowd lined the stage of the Wharf, with more people spread out into their own areas around the stage listening. The beats and sounds pounding out of the speakers created an environment open and free for every audience member to enter their own world and express their love for music however they pleased. Hula Hoopers spun around themselves, foot-workers created their own little dancefloor to show off their moves, and some simply sat and listened to the music with their friends.

As Lil Jodeci performed, his friends (including the robed Lord Chilla, who shouted out gender nonconforming kids and pumped the crowd up by yelling “You ain’t scared of no fuckin’ house!), hyped him up on stage, with one person on the mic and many dancing around him. Lord Chilla created a connection with the audience as he encouraged them to dance by shouting “oh get it” and “work it” towards them. The crowd roared and loved this energy, and in turn shouted more for the artist. Lil Jodeci performed a long set and brought in more and more people as the set went on.

–Lucy Foreman

Unicorn Fukr outdid himself at BUKU Music + Art Project on Saturday, March 23. The magical artist performed from 4 to 5 p.m. and was an essential part of BUKU.

Before the performer even began his set, a huge dance circle had formed directly in front of the stage in preparation for what was going to come. People gathered to kick, step and turn in a smooth-groovy sort of way. A group of unique individuals, all who clearly loved house music and especially dancing to it, cheered each other on. This is exactly the kind of magic Unicorn Fukr has- bringing together people of every kind who love electronic dance music.

When Unicorn Fukr took the stage and began his set, crowds gathered directly in front of the stage to bob their heads and dance around. With every rise and rise of the house music, crowds gained excitement and cheered as the beat dropped and the music shifted into a different form. As for Unicorn Fukr, he wore a bright silver shiny jacket and moved his hands in a practiced motion on his DJ set. The artist had a coolness to him, staying calm while his music shook the floors and walls of the warehouse.

Unicorn Fukr performed in the Float Den of the festival, a warehouse-styled area with Mardi Gras floats surrounding every area besides the stage. With the bright light show coming from the stage, the intense Mardi Gras decor, and an array of colors coming from every direction, Unicorn Fukr’s performance created a funky environment that fit perfectly to the sound coming from the speakers.

–Lucy Foreman

Detroit-based DJ GRiZ’s show felt like your favorite Saturday morning childhood cartoons grew up and took acid. His music is distinctly nostalgic, breaking with the EDM tradition of straight electronic and and reaching back into era where an instrument took center stage instead of a computer. For GRiZ, that instrument is a saxophone, and his music, as well as his performance, blends his capable handling of the brass instrument with more modern synthetics. It’s a refreshing approach, offering a more robust and varied sound rounded out by the depth and familiarity of funk music.

The 28-year-old himself moved like a Looney Toon during his sunset set on the Power Plant Stage against video projections that took inspiration from ’90s color blocking. Saxophone in hand, the spindly 28 year old jumped, literally jumped, through every plane of movement, from low squats to backends, to the top of DJ booth. Accompanied by a guitarist, the instrumentals helped stave off electronic fatigue. GRiZ took moments to shut down the DJ booth completely and launch into instrumental solos where the guitar and the saxophone once again reigned supreme. It’s not modern, but progressive, and the crowd was in to it.

-Emily Carmichael

The crowd was thin in The Ballroom when Dashboard Confessional took stage. Every audience member could stick out their arms and spin without hitting anyone. One person took the opportunity to take a video spinning their light-up festival grab. Others took a moment to sit against the wall, relax, and listen to what was still a high quality, soft emo rock performance. To Dashboard Confessional’s credit, they seemed unfazed by the low turnout. Drummer Chris Kamrada played as if he sat in a sold-out stadium. Lead singer Chris Carrabba sang with evident investment in the music, at times closed-eyed and clasping his hands.

The early 2000s emo band, known for songs like “Hands Down” and “Belong,” both of which they closed out the show with, is attempting a comeback. Reviews in Pitchfork and Rolling Stone have categorized their latest album, “Crooked Shadows.” as missing the mark. Indeed, the crowd they drew averaged older, not the new, younger listeners the band hopes to capture. Those present, though, were fans, singing along to “Screaming Infidelities.” Maybe its a good thing Carrabba made classically bad “dad jokes.” Middle schoolers with kids of their own now might be his audience.

-Emily Carmichael

It’s a unique experience to stand in a packed crowd and hear them all sing about suicide with un-tortured enthusiasm, but that’s what happened at The Wharf Stage when $uicideboy$ stepped in front of a throng. It’s exactly what made the New Orleans cousins famous: their willingness to confront their darkest ideations in their lyrics. They rap hard and forcefully. The fact that audience members could not only sing along, but sing along to so many of their songs, is a testament to the strength of their following.

At the pace of their lyrical delivery, those are words you cannot pick up on a first listen. Silhouetted against a foggy stage and supported by dizzying, fast-paced video and store lights, it felt schizophrenic at times. The crowd, though, loved it. With their hardcore emotionality, $uicideboy$ have cultivated a crosshatch of society that bridges rap and screamo or death metal fans. Watching them revel in the duo’s performance felt like witnessing something one shouldn’t, looked almost ritualistic. Shirtless men threw themselves against each other like overcharged electrons. The tame could simply mosh.

-Emily Carmichael

The Black Madonna keeps the energy high and light. Do not wait for dramatic drops in the 40-year-old Kentucky native’s set. They’re not coming. You might get a pause, a moment when the rhythm thins into the bare beats as she prepares to transition to a different mix, but never a time when standing still feels appropriate. Her transitions, too, refreshingly lack drama. Her music is not a slow burn, but a slow boil, with mixes taking their time to ebb into each other almost imperceptibly.

The experience, the constant upbeat and the heavy reliance on strobes and lasers, can be exhausting for the entirety of the hour and 15 minute set, and might explain why the famous DJ, able to draw thousands at other festivals like Spain’s Sónar, started with a relatively small crowd at the Float Den stage. The intentional weaving of rhythms can feel like sameness. One could go for ten minutes and get the gist of the performance. The crowd, though, did thicken as time went on. People wanted to hear The Black Madonna. How long they stayed depends on stamina. Many of those who lasted the whole set danced almost without stopping.

-Emily Carmichael

“I bet that isn’t even really him.” Variations on that could be heard throughout the Switchyard Stage crowd when Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky took the stage. Actually, he didn’t really hit the stage until four songs into his set. For the first two, he remained behind a screen. When he did come out, his face was completely wrapped in fabric donning the crashtest-dummy inspired artwork for his 2018 album, Testing. Eventually, the rapper applauded for recent collaborations with everyone from Moby to luxury fashion brands, showed his face and concerns of an impostor faded.

Despite his bizarre, drawn-out and seemingly forced performance art of his set’s opening, there’s no denying the fact that Pretty Flacko recaptured the energy of his audience.

-OffBeat Staff

All photos by Laiken Joy: