The Bamboozle festival was a staple in the New Jersey Punk / Alternative music scene from 2002-2012. Splitting time between East Rutherford and Asbury Park, the 3-day festival was like a Warped Tour on steroids.
During the first ten years of Bamboozle, the festival hosted numerous genres and artists on their stages. From classic punk to pop-punk, emo to hip-hop, rap to rock. Listing any sort of notable performers would be a crazy task, but to give an idea of the wide range of performers, some artists include My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Bon Jovi, Andrew W.K., Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, The Foo Fighters and Incubus.
Each year the festival grew and the number of artists and stages increased. Additionally, the number of spinoff concerts/ tours also grew. The Bamboozle reached the West Coast for The Bamboozle Left, a tour called The Bamboozle Traveling Roadshow became a multi-city tour playing across the country, Hoodwink became a night for bands to perform full cover sets of another artist. On top of the music, other activities for entertainment were found at the festival as well like a giant Ferris Wheel or a Wrestling Ring.
The festival ultimately reached the end of its road as 2012 was the last year of the festival. UNTIL this upcoming May 2023. In 2021, plans were announced regarding the fate of The Bamboozle in celebration of 20 years. A new New Jersey Shore city was also announced as the host in 2023. May 5-7, 2023 in Atlantic City at Bader Field, you can once again mosh and sweat listening to a wide variety of music at The Bamboozle Festival. Ticket information can be found on The Bamboozle’s official website. There are currently tickets being sold as VIP packages and 3-day passes. No individual day tickets have yet to be released, although replies on The Bamboozle’s social sites indicate individual day passes may be offered at a later date closer to the festival depending on availability.
Another awesome thing about The Bamboozle is their battle of the bands, The Break Contest, that gave up and coming artists a shot to win their way onto the main festival. Some previous artists to play The Break Contest include the Jonas Brothers, (yes those Jonas Brothers), The Front Bottoms, and Meadowland. While you may not immediately recognize Meadowland, they were a young band fronted by the now popular TikTok star, and American Idol alum, Jax. This year, The Break Contest is back with more local bands trying to earn a spot on the festival lineup taking place this weekend in 2 locations. Dates are January 7 and January 8.
In 2011, my wife and I attended the Bamboozle Festival at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford. At the time, we were still young and broke in our early 20s, but we were filled with excitement as we booked a hotel room and purchased our tickets for the 3-day event. The festival itself was great, however to keep it honest, we were still faced with a situation that put a damper on the weekend, so after attending Friday night and Saturday, we sold our Sunday ticket and headed home.
While we didn’t enjoy the full weekend, there were certainly some memorable times, including watching New Found Glory cover The Ramones with Marky Ramone on drums, meeting Marky Ramone who set up a table promoting his pasta sauce, meeting Trace Cyrus and Ryan Cabrera (again), seeing Boyz II Men 10 feet from the stage, and seeing some friends from the band Runner Runner (formerly known as Over It).
Myself with Trace Cyrus at The Bamboozle 2011
This year as the festival makes its triumphant return, some artists performing have already been announced, while major headliners and other acts are still to be listed. So far though, it’s clear the lineup is going to be as diverse as it has always been. From Limp Bizkit to Steve Akoi, Yung Gravy to Rick Ross, Boys Like Girls to Valencia, there is something for anyone and everyone to listen to.
Over the next few weeks, I will have additional articles posted highlighting some of the artists currently announced.
The Bamboozle Facebook
The Bamboozle Instagram
The Bamboozle Website
May 5-7, 2023
BADER FIELD
545 N Albany Ave
Atlantic City New Jersey
08401 USA
Doors:
5PM EST on Friday, May 5th
2PM EST on Saturday, May 6th
2PM EST on Sunday, May 7th
Me in the Bamboozle Clown cutout 2011.
Written by Michael Green
Freelance Writer
January 2023
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