New releases, music videos and album news — indie, rap, rock and pop. Always covering Ren, Chris Webby, Sam Tompkins, bbno$, CHINCHILLA, Muse, Yungblud and more.
Bazooka Fest 2026 adds Destroyer and Stephin Merritt to bill
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
Brooklyn's Bazooka Fest has confirmed the finalised lineup for its 2026 edition, adding co-headliners Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields and Destroyer's Dan Bejar, both performing solo sets, to a bill already topped by Cloud Nothings and the reunited Times New Viking. The festival is the work of Jake Whitener, a former Matador Records A&R director, who has framed it as an intimate, cross-generational celebration of underground rock and pop modelled on events such as All Tomorrow's Parties and Athens Pop Fest, deliberately pairing veteran songwriters with younger acts they have influenced.
The two-day event runs on 22 and 23 August at the Meadows and the Wood Shop in Brooklyn. Saturday is headlined by Cloud Nothings and Times New Viking, supported by Sad13, Colleen Green and a further dozen acts including Whitener's own band, Sunshine Convention. Sunday's bill is topped by Merritt and Bejar, with support from Joanna Sternberg, Kiwi Jr., 2nd Grade and other artists, rounding out a roughly 30-act lineup across the two nights.
- Sources
- 2
- Outlets
- 2
- Left · Centre · Right
- 0 · 0 · 0
In short
- Bazooka Fest 2026's full lineup is now confirmed and finalised.
- Stephin Merritt and Destroyer's Dan Bejar co-headline Sunday's solo sets.
- Runs 22-23 August in Brooklyn, with Cloud Nothings/Times New Viking on Saturday.
How this story developed
- 4 months ago Brooklyn's Bazooka Fest confirmed its full 2026 lineup, with Stephin Merritt and Dan Bejar joining previously announced headliners Cloud Nothings and a reunited Times New Viking for the two-day event at the Meadows and the Wood Shop on 22 and 23 August.
Explained simply
Bazooka Fest is a music festival held in Brooklyn, New York, run by Jake Whitener, who previously worked in A&R at the independent label Matador Records. Whitener has pitched the event as a small-scale, cross-generational gathering spanning indie and underground rock and pop, comparing its spirit to earlier festivals such as All Tomorrow's Parties and Athens Pop Fest.
The 2026 edition takes place over two days in August at two Brooklyn venues, the Meadows and the Wood Shop. Its headline acts draw from different eras of American indie music: Cloud Nothings and Times New Viking represent more recent lo-fi and noise-pop scenes, while Stephin Merritt (best known as the songwriter behind the Magnetic Fields) and Dan Bejar (who records as Destroyer) are longer-established figures associated with literate, idiosyncratic songwriting going back to the 1990s.
The story matters mainly to fans of independent and underground music, as it reflects how smaller, curator-driven festivals continue to bring together artists from different generations rather than relying solely on mainstream chart acts.
Coverage · 2 sources
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Stereogum as “Bazooka Fest 2026 Unveils Full Lineup With Destroyer, Stephin Merritt, & More”.