The Brooklyn independent festival, curated by former Matador A&R head Jake Whitener, returns this August with a bill that connects several eras of left-field guitar music.
Bazooka! Fest has shared the lineup for its 2026 edition, set for August 22 and 23 at The Meadows and The Wood Shop in Brooklyn. The independent gathering, founded and curated by ex-Matador Records A&R head Jake Whitener, continues to pull from a specific pocket of guitar-driven and off-kilter pop—this year anchored by the first performance from the newly reunited Times New Viking.
Beyond the Columbus noisemakers, the bill includes Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields), Destroyer, Cloud Nothings, and Sad13 (the solo project of Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis). Singer-songwriter Joanna Sternberg, Canadian jangle-punks Kiwi Jr., Philadelphia power-pop band 2nd Grade, Colleen Green, and Asher White are also among the announced acts.
The lineup reads less like a typical festival slate and more like a mixtape from a deeply connected listener. Whitener’s taste, shaped during his years at Matador, is apparent in the careful overlap of veteran acts and current favorites. The Times New Viking reunion gives the weekend a focal point, but the surrounding bill avoids nostalgia-bait predictability by keeping the scope deliberately narrow and contemporary.
Single-day, two-day GA, and VIP passes are now available through the festival’s website.
Join the Club
Like this story? You’ll love our monthly newsletter.
Thank you for subscribing to the newsletter.
Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later.
ROMBO Editorial Staff
The collective voice behind ROMBO Magazine’s news, reviews, features, and cultural coverage.
