Concerts, Music
Jul 16, 2013

BUNBURY MUSIC FESTIVAL: A GREAT EXCUSE TO VISIT OHIO

We’ve all been there. You’re roped into going to some boring event that you don’t want to go to, and you make up some other commitment to get out of it. Well, if you’re like me, you had no idea that the whole scenario is called ‘bunburying’. The Bunbury Music Festival organizers chose the name ‘Bunbury’ in honor of the action and also, so they and other people could actually have a great excuse to get out of doing something! As far as excuses go, it’s one of the best ones I’ve heard.

Live music is always a great way to pass the time, especially outside with a cold drink and some good friends. The three day festival kicked off on Friday July 12th and went all the way through Sunday night July 14th. Bunbury featured bands ranging from small local Ohio Bands like Bethesda, who are based out of Akron, to acts like fun. who are internationally acclaimed, and everything in between. Despite the suffocating heat the past weekend’s concertgoers still showed up to the festival ready to rock and enjoy local food vendors while relaxing to some great music.

When the oppressive heat was mentioned post performance to Joe Lewis, of Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, he replied “It wasn’t unbearable, it was still cooler than back home in Texas”. Bunbury states on it’s site that children are welcome at the festival and they even get in for free, if they’re under 10 years old and accompanied by a ticket holding adult. Lots of families took advantage of that policy and you could see children dancing to the music, playing with each other, and generally enjoying themselves. It was even a family affair for the bands who mentioned from the stage that they had relatives, and friends, in the crowd. Walk The Moon, a band comprised of Cincinnati natives, even thanked their families for coming out to support them and stated that they were glad to be home and to be able to finally start working on their new album.

Overall, the festival was a lot of fun, not only because there were enough bands to fill six stages with a variety of genres, but the crowd in general seemed a bit more relaxed than your normal festival goers. The high point for me during the festival was definitely the Twenty One Pilots performance. They were running all over the stage, including jumping off of the piano, even accidentally knocking over said piano for the first time in three years of doing that trick. As if that wasn’t enough, the band added a drum battle while being held up on platforms by the crowd. At the end of their performance Tyler Joseph climbed the scaffolding and stood at the top, singing the whole way up and down and taking a break to say, “Tell my Mother I love her”. You can catch photo of his stunt and other bands that performed here.

Next year’s tickets are already up for sale on the Bunbury Music Festival website for July 11th-13th 2014. I’m sure the lineup will be just as exciting as this year’s, but more importantly we hope to see you there!  Take a look at our photos from this three day fest:

Day 1 – Photo Gallery

Day 2- Photo Gallery

Day 3 – Photo Gallery