2. Molly Wellmann (Japp’s)
3. Nonta Perkins (MOTR Pub)
2. Justin Simmons (Sundry and Vice)
3. Bennett Cooper (16-Bit Bar+Arcade)
Just a few weeks before it was to occur, the Buckle Up Festival — a sister festival to the Alt-music-oriented Bunbury Music Festival that was also acquired in the purchase of Bunbury by Columbus, Ohio’s PromoWest — was canceled. The event had been put on hold for one year and slated to return to a new venue in Blue Ash in early August last year. PromoWest said the cancelation was due to “circumstances beyond our control.” The biggest headliner of the festival did Cincinnati fans a solid — instead of taking a night off, Brad Paisley played a free show at Riverbend (tickets for which “sold out” instantly). Thankfully, Bunbury has stood tall as one of the region’s biggest music festivals.