In a nutshell, BUKU Music + Art Project is a boutique event that delivers a big festival punch without compromising its underground house-party vibe. Tucked away in the heart of New Orleans’ burgeoning Warehouse District a short walk from the French Quarter, BUKU’s intimate post-industrial setting is fitting for a festival that began with a focus on EDM and expanded quickly to include the springtime parade of buzzy indie-rock and hip-hop acts on their way to the massive South by Southwest festival and industry conference in Austin, Texas, plus a few established legacy acts each year.

The festival also focuses on great New Orleans eats and visual art, with multiple interactive installations – including a phalanx of graffiti artists who paint live throughout the festival – scattered around the indoor-outdoor grounds.

Picture being nestled in between an active railroad, a dilapidated power plant and the Mississippi River with barges rolling by throughout the night. Add the New Orleans skyline and Crescent City Connection bridge looming in the distance. One of the stages is in a Mardi Gras float manufacturing warehouse and the VIPs get to hang in a 3-level riverboat docked along the festival grounds.