“To Bunbury, or to go bunburying, is to have a made-up excuse to get out of doing something boring.” Having stumbled upon this official statement on the Cincinnati festival’s website two months after I attended, I can grasp both the purpose and pleasure of such an event. With no prior experience attending music festivals, I was initially drawn to Bunbury Music Festival in late March after spotting several WGRE artists on the festival’s lineup. After journeying through the three-day fest and being catapulted into exploring WGRE artists at other relatively unknown festivals, branching out into mid-tier festivals has not only become an alternative, but for me, a preferred option.
Both downtown Cincinnati’s Bunbury Music Festival and Chicago’s Mamby On The Beach provided an opportunity to experience several shows from a wide variety of WGRE artists. While these are relatively small festivals, they brought in top-tier acts. Neighbor to the Great American Ballpark and alongside the Ohio River, Bunbury Music Festival featured WGRE artists Tame Impala, The Black Keys, Father John Misty, Royal Blood, and many more. Australian rock band Tame Impala performed an astonishing show, even through an unexpected downpour of rain, and debuted new material, including “Let It Happen,” from their new album "Currents". Vigorously pelvis thrusting and hip shaking for a full hour, folk-singer Joshua Tillman, known by his stage name Father John Misty, performed the most animated show I have ever seen, with hits from both his 2012 album "Fear Fun" and 2015 album "I Love You, Honeybear".
Mamby On The Beach allowed me the opportunity to see WGRE featured artist Phantogram, a Brooklyn indie-pop band, while standing front row, barefooted in the sand on Southside Chicago’s Oakwood Beach. The short distance between stages, along with being lakeside in the warm summer air of Chicago, created a positive and relaxing atmosphere at Mamby—an environment one cannot always rely on at a more largely attended and commercialized festival.
With scenic locations, affordable prices and less congested crowds, Bunbury and Mamby amplified my summer festival experience and expectations for future mid-tier festivals. Music lovers who are used to attending well-known festivals, such as Lollapalooza or Country Thunder, should keep an open mind about seeking lesser-known festivals.