A BAMBOOZLE PREVIEW
It’s that time of year; the flowers begin to blossom, the rain clouds become familiar friends, and The Bamboozle Festival comes to the New Meadowlands Stadium. For many of us, The Bamboozle has become a yearly tradition, combined with goods friends, rocking out and maybe some parking lot liquor festivities. I check my email frantically for the confirmation; this year I am more than just a fellow music lover, I am going as a working member of the press. I do the expected “Oh my god I’m so excited!” dance, then proceed to collect myself and get back to work. Now being a part of the event, I sat thinking about how much The Bamboozle really means to the music community, and New Jersey in general.
From its inception in 2003, Bamboozle has been a platform for many emerging artists, such as Paramore, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. This is a festival that truly embraces upcoming and popular music and creates one of the most highly anticipated stages for artists. Take My Chemical Romance for example. They hail from North Jersey, making their way to the top of their underground genre through hustling and sheer determination. The Bamboozle offered the ultimate prize; recognition under the national magnifying glass. It was an omen of finally “making it”. This year, newcomers The Air I Breathe, Man Overboard, Black Veil Brides and many others join industry giants Wiz Khalifa, Bruno Mars, Taking Back Sunday, A Day To Remember, Lil Wayne and the infamous Mötley Crüe. Part of what makes this such a special festival is the dynamic and diversity of the artists performing. For where else can you find the best in alternative and metal-core amongst the greats of rap and hip-hop?
However, there’s a lot more than just music awaiting you at this festival; featured this year are The Temple of Boozle, a who’s who of the hottest DJ’s in the game mixing it up all weekend. The B-Boy Battle and The Break Contest return this year, proving to be staples in the line-up. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this year the festival is taking on something called the “BoozleTwist”, which is a fan appreciation program where kids can interact and earn points by participating in promotional activities. The points can be used for awesome prizes and VIP experiences, and honestly, what is better than having the opportunity to hang out with your favorite artists? It really is about more than just playing good music; it’s about appreciating the fan for all that they do for the music community and embracing artists to make the best and most inventive music possible. Bamboozle is reaching out to the pulse of the music community and injecting it with a much needed sense of community and appreciation. It’s a nurturing yet fun environment for people to not only express themselves, but to form bonds, relationships and memories that will last a lifetime.
As I sit here writing, I can’t help but to be fascinated that I get to be a part of such a powerful and inventive event. Many people will say, “Oh, well I don’t like this band, why should I go?” or, “I hate hip hop, it’s taking over! I refuse to go!”, but that’s the beauty of The Bamboozle. The diversity of the lineup this year allows the Lil Wayne fans to mesh with the Veil Of Maya fans and the LMFAO crew to see what Conditions is all about. I’m looking through the lineup and instead of cementing my plans to see all of my favorite old bands, I’m pushing myself to go and see something new. Nowadays in music, we tend to confine ourselves to what we know, partly due to the over-saturation of artists. So festivals like this are the perfect time to see some of the best talent out there.
What was once a “must attend” event has often been cast to the back burner by many college students, primarily for its close proximity to finals. But did anyone ever consider that we all stopped trying to have fun? Looking back and remembering the days when friends would come together for a weekend of music and fun, isn’t this something that should transcend age? We are never too old to lose ourselves in music, never too busy to appreciate artistry.
Rarely is there such a big musical event right in New Jersey’s backyard, only joined by a scattering of Warped Tour dates mid-summer. Go ahead, blame it on studying or school work, but I definitely saw you at a party last weekend. You can try to excuse yourself by claiming that there are too many bands you don’t like. But I’m pretty sure if you click to your iTunes, you’ll find that Ke$ha, Senses Fail, Miley Cyrus, Emarosa, or a combination of such artist all peacefully coexist. There’s no excuse not to be at the New Meadowlands Stadium on the final weekend in April. So grab your rain boots and your favorite band tee. I’ll be seeing you at The Bamboozle.
Sonia Karas