Since Bunbury Music Festival’s inception in 2012, Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove have played host to the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, Paramore, The Black Keys, and Walk the Moon, to name a few. Now preparing for its fifth summer, Bunbury has continued to snag big-name headliners and has steadily built itself up to be held among the ranks of other mid-sized festivals like Louisville’s Forecastle. For many festival-goers, the sounds of summer are defined by the mainstream alternative makeup of those like Bunbury, whose lineups tend follow a traditional pattern of inclusions of both huge names and hidden gems. What’s generally expected is some genre combination of indie-alternative, pop, rap, folk, punk, and acoustic. Predictable vibes with a few fun surprises, but always exciting to anticipate.
After hinting at headliners on Twitter for weeks before the official lineup release on February 26th, every Cincinnatian had their guesses and wish lists for who they wanted to see on the waterfront this June. After last year’s lineup of widely loved acts like Twenty One Pilots, Tame Impala, and Father John Misty, Cincinnati had high expectations for 2016. The lineup release, however, has been met with mixed emotions.
Bunbury 2016 will include acts such as The Killers, Florence and the Machine, Haim, Of Monsters and Men, Ice Cube, X Ambassadors, Grimes, and The Neighbourhood. Cincy based bands like Automagik and Mad Anthony also made the list this year. Depending on who you talk to, the lineup is either really well composed or a total let-down. Some hopefuls were too excited to see their one or two favorite acts to pay much mind to the festival as a whole, but others are discontented with the lack of variety in types of music and what is thought to be a failure to include enough big name headliners. Simply, there are many who feel that the 2016 lineup just doesn’t live up to the expectations created by years past.
The day-by-day schedule is to be released at an undisclosed date, so if you’re like so many who are underwhelmed with the lineup as a whole, there might still be a day pass worth buying depending on which artists will be playing when. Regardless, there are just as many thrilled about their favorite artists coming to the Queen City, and the little colored wristband you receive at the gates isn’t just for one set, it’s for the whole experience. From June 3-5, festival grounds will still be packed with people. Will you be one of them?