BUKU Cancels 2023 Event and Announces Hiatus

New Orleans-based music and arts festival BUKU Music + Art Project has announced its decision to cancel its 2023 iteration. Originally launched over a decade ago, the festival has become essential for the city of New Orleans, drawing in a variety of artists, talent, and thousands of fans from all across North America.

Alongside their latest announcement on August 4, festival organizers have also declared BUKU will be on an indefinite hiatus until further notice. Saddened by the decision, the festival organizers issued a heartfelt statement on social media elaborating on the cancellation.

“From day one, BUKU was created to be something different... a gritty yet colorful event celebrating the progressive subculture of New Orleans. It became a homecoming for the most amazing bunch of beautiful weirdos ever assembled and in 10 years we accomplished exactly what we set out to do: we created a community… a community that truly matters.

For a myriad of reasons, we've decided that the festival will not take place in March 2023. We don't know exactly what the future will look like - and that's okay as there is freedom in the unknown—but we know that we will gather again someday, in some form, bursting with creativity and purpose… This isn't 'goodbye' this is 'see y'all down the road.' Until then, keep the BUKU spirit alive, keep visiting New Orleans, keep creating, and keep loving big.”

Over the years the arts and music festival has hosted genre-spanning lineups featuring everyone from more mainstream acts like Lana Del Rey, SZA, MGMT, and Travis Scott to established underground tastemakers and dance stars like Deadmau5, John Summit, Porter Robinson, Avicii, Skrillex, and A-Trak.

The festival has excelled at partnering with innovative visual artists, local food vendors, and street performers to create a vibe that is uniquely New Orleans. Its live graffiti gallery and upcycled stages and art installations have put it at the forefront of the national festival scene.

At the time of publishing, BUKU organizers have not issued any more public statements elaborating on their reasoning for the immediate cancellations and hiatus though their socials still remain active.

Read the full statement shared by BUKU organizers in its entirety here.