As the lineup for 2013 comes out tomorrow, I thought I'd share my piece for year one, and will definitely post an update after year two.
I'll try to keep my hometown pride out of this review and write it as if I'm not a lifelong Cincinnatian.
I'm a man about his music fests, and have been to both camping and non-camping ones, big and small. For a first-time festival in Cincinnati, I was VERY impressed. There is so much that goes into a music fest, both seen and unseen, all of which can be done right and go wrong. I hardly saw any of the latter.
Sawyer Point is a perfect place for Bunbury, for a fest on the waterfront is awesome in many ways. Getting in was a breeze, all volunteers/staff/booth workers were friendly and generally happy to be there, and so were the concert-goers. Shows went on all day and night, and the stages ranged from the main with plenty of space for a lot of viewers, to gradually stepping down to a very small, simple stage tucked away in the grass by the water. The Lindor stage was really cool since it was literally on the edge of the water and the viewing area was the Sawyer Point steps surrounding it.
There were a lot of vendors set up ranging from local restaraunts (Eli's BBQ will not fail you) to shops like Hemptations and Cincy Shirts, and a nice cluster of beer vendors such as Bells, Great Lakes, and more.
The music? I was also impressed in the variety that they brought. I got my fix of many different genres, discovered new music, and all-around couldn't stop smiling at how well of a job my Cincy did at something of this proportion on its initial trial year. My hopes for this year is that they incorporate a bit more art and culture into the design and layout of the fest, for then it will be on it's way to becoming something truly special. In my opinion, a festival's ability to allow you to forget and escape day-to-day reality and immerse yourself into the music and culture of that experience is truly what can make it a lasting success.
Overall, the organization of Bunbury '12 was supurb for a brand new fest, and anyone with half a brain that could see that will be returning again, and will be telling others in the process. Till then, see you at Bunbury!
I am sure the concerts were good. The venue was not. We have a boat. We happened to be out on the boat while they were setting up. Everytime there is a concert in Cincinnati (riverbed, stadiums, parks, wherever) you can take your boat and anchor in the water near and listen. For this event, they ran every boat off, you were not allowed. That is ridiculous. It is a public waterway.
Review Source:If there were ever a better time to be downtown, it was the weekend of Bunbury.
Not only was the entire three day lineup amazing, I so impressed with the way it was executed.
No violence, no attitudes, lots of fun people having a great time.
As a parent, I had no issue taking my 7yr old, and was able to spend quality time with my older son listening to music we both enjoyed.
I can't wait for tickets to go on sale in September. I'll purchase well in advance, because I know next year will be even better.
Could this event have been anymore perfect? Â Even the rain couldn't bust the schedule for more than 30 minutes.
Well organized, I caught a TON of new bands, and saw a few of my favorites. Â The vendors weren't terribly overpriced, especially with a slew of local favorite food trucks like pizza bomba and taco azul. Â
I volunteered 2 days, and got to hang out on the 3rd, for sure a must do in 2013!
Any complaint I had about this weekend can be attributed to the weather, plain and simple it was just really hot. Other than the weather, this was a fun time! I loved the lay out and how it was located right on the river. It was also nice how you could sit on serpentine wall and still hear the bands without having to stand in the overwhelming crowd. I will definitely be coming back next year.
Review Source:We were patiently awaiting the return of Tall Stacks when Bunbury was announced. Â Even though there were other major festivals going on the same weekend we wanted to support a music festival in Cincinnati. Â
We were very impressed with Bunbury. Â The layout was great. Â On a hot weekend, there's nothing worse that getting stuck in a crowd. Â The stages were spread out enough that we never felt lost in the crowd. Â The food selection was amazing. Â I love having the local vendors like Pizza Bomba and Melt. Â As a vegetarian it's always exciting when I have a choice of food. Â The Craft Beer village was a nice touch. Â You could get your standard domestics anywhere, but for a dollar more you could get a good beer. Â
The line up was also great. Â We actually had a few scheduling conflicts proving there was an abundance of great music. Â My favorite stage was the Landor stage - a great view and great music.
My only complaint, the bathrooms. Â I like indoor plumbing. Â There were port-a-potties everywhere, but one of the existing bathrooms with plumbing was blocked off for a VIP area. Â
I can't wait for Bunbury next year!
Wonderful festival! I didn't realize it was the first time it was organized until I went on Yelp and that made it all the more impressive!
I've been to my fair share of festivals, all of them in Europe. In Belgium we like to think we have the best festivals in the world. In terms of bands, I agree, in terms of organization, I think they should come and have a look at Bunbury!
How I loved the lay-out! What a great location and how cool that the organizors were ok with spreading out the stages the way they did! No worries about one band being louder than the band on the stage right next to it, a different vibe to each of the stages, from people just sitting in the grass, listening to a singer songwriter on his guitar, to a DJ stage with people running around like fools just because dan deacon told them so.
I was honestly impressed by how beautiful Cincinnati looked the night of Bunbury, amazing job!
Can't wait till next year.
Only point of (perhaps) improvement is that the quantity of food stalls seemed to be on the low side. Still, we were able to order a gyro in less than 10 minutes, so not a real complaint, more an impression?
One of the best weekends in Cincinnati ever!
Bill, Suzanne and the Bunbury team did an amazing job this weekend!
I've volunteered for a lot of festivals through the years, and the inaugural Bunbury is one of the best I've gone to in years. Jackie and Sara did an amazing job with volunteer scheduling and I couldn't have asked to work with a finer group of volunteer leads - Candice, Bob, Kevin, Andrew, Nadia, Tina - you rock!
Everything went of flawlessly this weekend from volunteer and vendor check in, bands playing on time, everyone having a great time. Over 50,000 attended of all ages and families were able to enjoy together - kids under 10 were free!
All of the food vendors were great, Island Noodles have to set up a location in Cincinnati soon!
Techbury was a hit along with the charging station, but saw there were more Android phones being charged vs. IPhones.
Great lineup of headliners Janes Addiction were amazing on Friday night, Weezer had a great crowd on Saturday and Death Cab mellowed out the crowd on Sunday.
I can't wait until next year July 12-14!
Let's do this again, shall we? Wonderfully organized music festival with a great line-up. This was a great showcase and use of Sawyer Point and Yeatman's Cove. Everyone I talked to who went had a great time and was impressed by the execution of this first year. Loved the use of the serpentine walls for creating an amphitheater style seating, and enjoyed the quirky little details, like the "worker bee" t-shirts that the Bunbury staff sported.
There could definitely be some improvements, but it's basically the expected kinks for a first run- more food vendors, stage positioning/spacing, and nothing significant that would preclude me from going again and again!
Wow! What an amazing event! Â There is not much I can say that they missed on with this festival! Â It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity for Cincinnati! Â I hope this is a festival that continues to be a fixture of Cincinnati Music scene for years to come. Â The lineup was incredible!
There were other unique aspects as well like the craft beer village, local food, and tech bury. Â I really enjoy new technology and exploring all the new ideas and experiences out there, so Tech bury was really interesting to me, plus it was air conditioned. Â It was an escape from the music and heat. Â It showcased all local tech companies too, many that had just launched. Â
Besides the big national headliners, this festival had a huge local feel. Highlighting businesses, food, beer and many local bands. Â I hope this is something that they will continue in the future.
My only gripe is after the big headliners to sell water or some food for people as they leave.
Overall an amazing event for Cincinnati!
Signing up to volunteer for this event was one of the best decisions I've ever made. From a 'worker bee' standpoint, there was great communication, good shift scheduling, and I felt very well taken care of in terms of water and food needs.
I explored the whole area and was able to enjoy a lot of the festival. The lineup was really impressive. Sawyer Point/Yeatmans Cove is my usual running route and it was so cool to see the space transformed for a weekend-long event. Great stage & sound setups, so scenic, plenty of places to sit & shade, lots of non-music options if you needed a time out. Also it was nice to see mostly independent food booths (with the exception of Larosa's & Goldstar... but I suppose they were there for the 'uniquely Cincinnati' food experiences).
Let's hope this is Cincy's annual summer festival for years to come!
For a first year music festival, the organization was outstanding. Being able to count on set times starting and ending on time is a great feat, and was definitely accomplished. The music selection itself left something for me to desire- but I do think the target audience was probably more 30-40 year olds, so maybe that's why? Best performance of the weekend in my opinion went to Grouplove- who were on one of the smaller stages and the area was completely packed. The food and drink options were various and great, and the pricing on everything from the vendors was amazing too- basically everything was under $10! I would like to see more food vendors next year, as at meal times pretty much everyone had long long long lines, and the popular booths (especially the noodle place) had a long line pretty much all day. There were a lot more beer stops than food places, and there was never a line for beer- love that!
Review Source:Great, great, great music festival. Â I have been to MANY music festivals, (1st Lollapalooza, 1st & 2nd & 5th Bonnaroo, couple of Pitchforks, 2-3 Lollas in Chicago, etc.). Â For a first year run at music festivalness, they got it right! Â Very impressed at how well it was put together. Â Quite a few bands remarked at how well it was organized as well. Â There were local t-shirt vendors, local(Eli's BBQ, Pizza Bomba, Taste of Belgium) and abroad food vendors, art installations in the form of a dude spray painting the hell out of a Scion. Â Also an air conditioned "Tech Tent" that had activities and cool hi-tech activities. (pun intended). Â Local beers from Morlein Brewery, as well as some other craft brewers serving up suds (Troegs, Bells, etc.). Honestly, this attention to detail speaks very highly of the festival. Â I could talk about all the bands, which were amazing, but there has to be a solid infrastructure to pull something like this off so well. Â Kudos to organizers and staff!
As a festival goer, the layout of the place was decent, though, most everyone I talked to didn't see why the main Globili Stage was aimed West. Â It made a huge bottleneck as people came to see the "big bands". Â Not horrible, but it wouldn't have happened had the stage been placed on the west side, facing east. Â Also those distant vendors would have reaped more benefit.
Also, the bathroom situation was spot on.  Plenty of baños.  After the Millennium Phish show in the Everglades, 1999/2000, potty patrol is very important!!!
Good variety of food and beer, beer lines were non-existent... Â Always good when your band starts a song you want to hear. Food lines could get long.
As festivals go, they get an B+/A. Â Great space, great mix of music, food/beer vendors, others like local t-shirts and food, Â techie activities, variety of tunes, location. Awesome first step, Bunbury!
Outstanding. The co-founder of MPMF Bill Donabedian started this festival. It's been in the planning stages for 2 years. TONS of food and beverage vendors - 6 stages and eco-market, a craft beer market, pizza truck, taste of belgium, dogo gelato.....these are some of the highlights.
The main acts were Jane's Addiction and they just put on an awesome show. Weezer was Saturday and Deathcab was Sunday. Lots of locals peppered in with Bright Light Social Hour, Margot and the Nuclar So & So's.
Techbury with charging stations, FREE water, prices were kept low. The staff, lead volunteers and volunteers were treated extremely well.....
The ONLY complaint was ShowClix had some serious tech issues with selling the tickets. The festival went off smoothly with no major security incidents.
Honestly, an outstanding festival in Cincinnati that garnered positive reviews in the industry, amongst the acts and brought in a ton of people.
Well done. Hope to be volunteering for many years to come.
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