Wiz Khalifa, Bassnectar and Muse prove to be the right ingredients to an epic rendition of Bunbury Festival.
Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted festival goers on Friday as Bunbury got off to a roaring start.
Everyone got a little high as headliner Wiz Khalifa rolled through a fun and lively set closing out opening night of the festival. The sweet smell of pot, wafting through the air as fans jammed around the Main Stage well before Wiz’s showtime, set the stage for what was about to occur.
Strutting out as cool as ever, a big smile on his face and a giant blunt in hand, you knew the party was just getting started. Friday night fireworks at the Great American ballpark lit up the evening sky as Wiz was doing his stuff on stage creating a great backdrop for a memorable set and proved to be a fitting close to the opening day of music.
On the other side of the festival grounds, Death Cab for Cutie provided the main support for the evening and couldn’t have been better.
The smooth and easy vibe of G-Easy’s set resonated well with those packed in to the main Nissan Stage. A few political statements, some Pyrotechnics’ mixed in with a heavy dose of witty raps made for a good time all around.
Lively and energetic sets from The Shin’s, Mutemath and Mike Stud also treated the mid-day festival goers.
Clear and Sunny skies with temperatures into the 90’s tested the endurance and stamina of the Saturday festival crowd.
EDM legend Bassnectar closed out Saturday night at Bunbury with an unforgettable performance. Sitting up high in a giant rectangular DJ booth behind a video screen that spanned nearly the whole stage, the “King of Bass” wasted no time getting the jam packed main Nissan stage jumpin’. Serving up his signature drops and mixes, accompanied by a spectacular digital light show Bassnectar was simply dominating much to the delight of everyone.
On a day that featured some fantastic live music, there were several memorable performances.
Tech N9Ne, dressed in all black, a black ski mask with the numeral 9 stitched on his forehead stormed onto the Nissan stage with intensity and purpose, rolling thru a fantastic set. No light show, no band members, no DJ’s on stage (he didn’t need them) as Tech N9Ne was in full control this evening.
D.R.A.M. There is something infectious about Dram and his never-ending smile. Busting out his fan favorites “Cha Cha,” “Cash Machine” and, of course, his smash”Broccoli.” you just can’t help having a great time!
Enthusiastic and high energy sets from Pretty Lights, VHS Collection, San Fermin Hayley Kiyoko and CVBZ also stood out on a today of great music.
Almost perfect weather on Sunday along the Cincinnati waterfront set the tone for what would be an epic final day of music at Bunbury.
There was a definite level of excitement throughout the day in anticipation of the Muse performance to close out the festival. The almost 85-minute set couldn’t have been better as Muse seemed to be in prime form. Muse’s set ended with a massive confetti show for “Mercy” as the biggest crowd of the weekend was sent on its way with the group’s traditional set closer, the spaghetti western prog anthem “Knights of Cydonia.” Closing out a wonderful night and weekend of music.
AFI, Watsky, Reverend Horton Heat and Flogging Molly stood out amongst a day of great performances.
AFI was simply fantastic this afternoon. Catapulting on stage with fire in their eyes, AFI started off hard and fast and stayed that way during their entire set. Lead singer Davey Havok was uncontrollable on stage, roaming from side to side and jumping off the stage risers at every opportunity.
It was a little too early in the day for the Flogging Molly to hit the stage as some people missed a wonderful performance. Dave King greeted the crowd with “Guinness” in hand as Flogging Molly started off into an energetic and animated set. Even with the early start the guys were having a great time as was everyone fortunate to see the set.
Before the first chords were played by Reverend Horton Heat, you could feel that this set was going to be fun. The Texas-based psychobilly trio had a little of everything in store for Bunbury fans. A rocking cover of Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie, along with a Motorhead cover of “Ace of Spades” was outta this world. A Johnny Cash cover of “Folsom Prision Blues” followed and was simply perfect. Reverend Horton Heat’s set was running over time, ultimately resulting in the speaker sound being cut. That didn’t faze the guys as they kept performing while the festival goers were going nuts.
Watsky was a fantastic breath of positive energy delivering a vibrant set. “There is one thing to take away from our show– “We are all people, 99.9% of us want to do good for one another and be happy”. Watsky also had a small technical issue midway through their last song but they played with only the monitors while the fans were having a blast.
Moon Taxi, John Bellion, 30 Seconds to Mars and The 1975 all contributed over the top sets, much to the delight of the Bunbury fans. The 2017 edition of Bunbury was one for the books. With the hot but near picture perfect weather, a great turnout could appreciate some fantastic performances from a wide array of artists. The festival was well run, well organized, the grounds were more than ample to support the crowd, there were plenty of food options. All of this contributed to a great weekend with many looking forward to 2018’s edition.
