Credit: Photo via Instagram (@thebukuproject)

While the music festival industry has grown over the last decade, festivals have been challenged to make changes and take risks in order to maintain success and stand out from the growing competition.

A festival we saw lots of changes at this year was the Buku Music + Art Project, but the NOLA-based fest appears to be adapting just fine after another successful weekend.

Since 2012, the independent, two-day festival has flourished despite sharing the city with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.

Matching the city’s aesthetic of neon and graffiti, the festival pulls in patrons from around the country each year with its incredibly curated lineup of top hip-hop, alternative and electronic acts.

While the festival has continued to succeed financially (it sold out in 2018 and 2019), organizers have been challenged with finding ways to expand its layout and improve to accommodate its increasing demand.

At this year’s festival we saw these changes and upgrades mostly work, but any qualms had by attendees were smoothed over with incredible performances by the festival’s star-studded lineup.

To summarize both, we’ve put together some of our top sets from over the weekend.

Find our list of Top Acts of Buku 2019 below:

Fisher

In 2018, the Buku Music + Art Project expanded its festival map by moving its main stage — previously housed alongside the seawall it shares with the Mississippi River — across the railroad tracks to make room for its growing crowd.

This year, the festival re-integrated this “Wharf Stage” as a second main stage, adding improved production, sound and art installations in a space that offers plenty of space to move and dance during the day.

One of the first big acts to grace this rebuffed stage was viral Dirtybird star FISHER, who played at 5:15 p.m. Friday.

The Aussie DJ has earned near-headliner distinction in the last year alone behind the strength of viral singles like “Losing It”, which became a worldwide house banger and even earned him a nomination at the Grammys.

His set kicked off as the sun made its way down the skyline towards the Market Street Power Plant, but the still-balmy weather didn’t keep fans from shuffling around the stage’s newly expanded layout.

While many have knocked the former pro surfer on his producing abilities, his set Friday proved he’s at worst a phenomenal live DJ. Fisher was undoubtedly one of the most fun dance parties of the weekend and the surfer-turned-producer’s stage presence was undeniable. It seems only inevitable that FISHER’s name will continue to climb festival lineups in coming years.

1788-L

Another stage that saw renovations at Buku this year was the Float Den. Considered by many to be one of the top attractions of the festival, the Float Den’s layout was forced to undergo major changes when a barge hit and collapsed the pier-supported warehouse just days after last year’s festival.

Because of this, the stage’s placement and orientation were shifted from the back of the room to the side nearest the river. Ultimately, this made for a less open and dynamic viewing experience, but it was hard to focus on the stage’s placement with performances like 1788-L’s on Friday.

1788-L became one of the hottest acts in 2018 with his viral, A.I.-derived online persona and heavy glitch tracks, despite not having played a live show until last July.

Despite his plane being forced to make an emergency landing en route to the festival, the Dallas-based act appeared just 10 minutes after his scheduled set time of 7:10 p.m.

On Friday, the DJ legitimized the massive hype behind him with one of the highest-energy, best-produced sets of the weekend. The intense production was only matched by the music, which featured a heavy amount of unreleased IDs and edits of glitch electronic. The producer also looked to be having as much fun on stage as his enthralled audience, and he made a case that he’s due for even more acclaim as his career progresses and catalog expands.

Liquid Stranger

No stranger to our festival coverage, Martin Stääf (Liquid Stranger) went in to Buku Music + Art Project as one of its most hyped acts. The acclaimed producer just recently capped off a tour in support of his latest album Infinity, an expansive, 30-song project representing his most accomplished work yet. The freeform bass artist headlined early in the day (5:15 p.m.) at the festival's Wharf stage, possibly due to his responsibilities in hosting his label Wakaan’s after-party later in the night.

After a high-octane set from Whipped Cream, the 40-year-old Stääf made his way to the stage in a blue and yellow Wakaan Jersey with the sun still beaming down. Regardless of the time of day, Liquid Stranger’s performance on Saturday drew perhaps the festival’s rowdiest and most engaged crowd. As is per usual for his sets, Stääf mixed in plenty of music from Wakaan artists as well as heavy edits of his fiery bass catalog.

Floridians can catch this interstellar producer in-state this Thursday, when he opens up for Zeds Dead at its Miami Music Week show.

RL Grime

The return of RL Grime was one of the top stories in electronic music in 2018, so it seems fitting that his set at Buku was one of the most talked-about of the weekend. Helmed by L.A. producer Henry Steinway, RL Grime has maintained a reputation as one of EDM’s top producers with his imaginative catalog and high-profile mixes. His album NOVA was one of the top feats in electronic music last year, and helped elevate him to headliner status even at eclectically curated fests like Buku.

This was well evidenced Friday night, when the 28-year-old producer became the first act to close out the festival’s newly expanded Wharf Stage. After a 10-minute delay due to sound rig issues, his set kicked off shortly after 11 p.m. with 2017 track “Era.” Atop an elevated stage and LED board, Steinway charged through his hourlong performance with hits (“I Wanna Know”), remixes (The Weeknd’s “Hills”) and hotly anticipated edits like his new rework of G Jones’ “In Your Head”. The producer’s set played like an old-fashioned concert, giving fans a chance to breathe in between huge musical moments instead of continuously mixing.

RL closed the set with an elegant, awe-inspiring mashup of Rufus Du Sol’s “Innerbloom” and his latest track “Arcus”, capping an incredible first day of music at Buku.

G Jones

Inarguably one of Buku’s top sets this year was G Jones, which came as no surprise to us after covering his Orpheum stop back in February. The acclaimed Ableton wizard and frequent Bassnectar collaborator has been riding a high since the release of last year’s The Ineffable Truth, which drew praise among critics for its forward-thinking production and innovative soundscapes. After a B2B (back-to-back) set with Eprom the night before, the Cali producer unleashed his monochrome, light-intensive production inside the festival's warehouse stage Saturday. Whether flipping through unreleased tracks or crowd favorites (“Time," “Helix”), Jones’ masterful live mixing and wondrous production left jaws on the floor after every drop.

The producer’s latest album title was named to express something that is too extreme to be expressed in words. Saturday's performance displayed why Gregory Jones is so highly revered amongst his peers and following, as there are no words to describe or compare to what he’s doing in music right now.

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This article appears in Mar 21-28, 2019.

Franz “LJ” Hilberath is a Clearwater-native who contributes to Creative Loafing's Music section. He previously served as an intern and is now a freelance contributor for all things music.LJ can be...