WIUX is bringing artists Noname, SALES, Flasher and Post Animal to headline this year’s Culture Shock music festival April 15 in Dunn Meadow.
Also scheduled to perform are local musicians High Fiber, House Olympics, Amy O and Kevin Krauter and Indianapolis hip-hop artists Drayco McCoy, F L A C O and Mathaius Young.
Culture Shock is a day-long music festival, one of WIUX’s largest events of the year and has been an annual tradition at IU since 1986. Previous years have seen Foxygen, Mac Demarco and Neon Indian as headliners.
Culture Shock is a favorite part about being in Bloomington, said TJ Jaeger,guitarist and vocalist of House Olympics , who went from attending the event in years past to taking the stage this year.
“There’s just something special about all these musicians coming together just for this one free event,” Jaeger said.
Last year, Culture Shock celebrated its 30th anniversary. This year’s lineup presents artists from different genres, from House Olympic’s heavy punk style to High Fiber’s post-psychedelic pop, as well as diversity within the performances of its hip-hop artists.
“It’s an event open to as many people as possible, whatever tastes they may have,” WIUX Special Events Director Mike Higgins said. “It’s a festival that brings in a lot of people from out of town.”
Higgins was in charge of booking each of the sets for this year’s lineup. He said he wanted to make the show open to everyone at IU and the Bloomington community.
Jaeger said he was excited to the reactions of people who have never listened to his band’s type of music.
“We don’t typically play shows that a lot of the normal college crowd goes to,” Jaeger said. “I’m really interested in seeing how a bunch of frat bros will react.”
Among the acts is the headliner, Noname, who is a hip-hop artist and a woman of color.
“She’s really an incredible artist,” Higgins said. “That’s going to bring something new to the festival that hasn’t been there in the past.”
Noname recently released her debut mixtape, “Telefone,” and has performed on “Saturday Night Live” with Chance the Rapper, according to the WIUX press release.
Pitchfork described her work as “rich, somber, and incredibly intimate,” according to the release.
Culture Shock has a knack for booking headliners that are about to blow up, Jaeger said.
“And Noname is already blowing up like crazy,” Jaeger said. “I expect her to be performing at all the huge festivals within this time next year.”
With its range of musical genres and performances, Culture Shock is an event that students from campus and the rest of the Bloomington community can enjoy as well, Higgins said.
“We want everyone in the Bloomington community to feel welcome for the event,” Higgins said.
Local businesses such as Baked! of Bloomington,, Soma Coffeehouse and Juice Bar, and Laughing Planet Cafe will be there supporting the festival and selling food and drinks, along with vendors selling WIUX and Culture Shock merchandise, according to the press release.
The show is free, so just show up, but be sure to come early and support the local bands, Jaeger said.
“You’re really doing yourself a disservice if you’re not showing up early and seeing all these amazing musicians this town has to offer,” Jaeger said.
