Cincinnati's summer concert schedule got a lot cooler this morning, as organizers announced some of the performers at this year's inaugural Bunbury Music Festival, which will go down July 13-15 across six stages along the riverfront at Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point. Bunbury founder Bill Donabedian (who co-founded CItyBeat's MidPoint Music Festival and helped turn Fountain Square into a legitimate live music outlet) had been saying he was on the hunt for several big time headliners for the event; today, we found out he was successful, with iconic AltMusic bands Weezer, Jane's Addiction and Death Cab for Cutie confirmed as main stage anchors. Jane's is schedule for opening night, July 13, Weezer headlines July 14 and Death Cab will cap the fest off July 15. According to the press release, there will be plenty more performer announcements to come, with plans to feature around 100 acts total at the fest. Stay tuned — a full lineup is expected to be unveiled next month.
Securing the heavyweight headliners and announcing them enables Bunbury (being billed as "affordable, fun, tech savvy, and eco-friendly") to put tickets for the fest on sale. You can get them starting today through the Bunbury site here. One-day tickets are $46 and three-day passes are available for $93.
As Donabedian's work with MidPoint and Fountain Square would suggest, local music will also be a big part of Bunbury.
“The Bunbury Music Festival will feature the best of our local Indie bands with national and regional bands that fans may have seen at other great festivals and concert venues,” Donabedian said in a statement. “Fans should think of this as an authentic music experience.”
Bunbury's announcement is just the latest in a string of positive news concerning the live local music landscape of Greater Cincinnati, which seemed in potentially dire condition by the end of last year following the closing of Newport concert venue the Southgate House and other clubs.
Turns out the sky isn't falling. In fact, the future's so bright, I hope Bunbury has vendors on-site to sell shades.
