Rick Ross, Limp Bizkit, NFT ticketing announced for Bamboozle

It’s no to nostalgia and yes to NFTs for the 20th anniversary Bamboozle Festival, set for May 5 to 7, 2023, at Bader Field in Atlantic City.

Hip-hop legend Rick Ross, “Mr. Clean” rapper Yung Gravy, nu-metallers Limp Bizket and EDM superstar Steve Aoki were among the first wave of artists to be announced Nov. 22 for the upcoming fest. The Bamboozle has historically been associated with pop-punk and emo, but so far no top-line acts have been included.

Ross, Gravy, Limp Bizkit and Aoki were billed as “seniors” in the scholastic-themed announcement on social media. Boys Like Girls, E-Town Concrete, Finch, Jax, Mayday Parade, Saosin, Say Anything, The Spill Canvas, Valencia, and We The Kings are “alumni.” Babytron, Diablo, Gideon, Kaonashi, Left To Suffer, Scowl, Sueco, Tallah, Teddy Swims, and the Wrecks are labeled as “freshmen.” Puddles Pity Party is the “class clown.”

Tickets will not be sold. Instead, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are needed to gain admission. They go on sale Friday, Nov. 25, via bamboozlefestival.com. The price has not been disclosed, but it’s advised that concert-goers open a B.A.M. Wallet app on their phones for the tokens.

“Through this platform, fans will find low ticket prices and most importantly reduced ticketing fees,” said festival founder John D’Esposito previously on social media. “NFT’s will allow us to send our fans digital and handcrafted artwork, daily lineups, set times and so much more. … The NFT’s will also offer ‘easter eggs’ and some great games for all the fans to have fun with.

“The future of ticketing is in NFT, not Ticketmaster or any major ticketing company. NFT’s allow us to engage and be closer to our fans, and their experiences.”

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The Coachella festival in California, Afterparty in Las Vegas, and Way Out West in Sweden have integrated NFT technology into their events. The Bamboozle is the first major music festival to base its ticketing platform on NFTs.

The fest was previously staged in Asbury Park and the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, and featured emo, hip-hop, rock and pop A-listers like Drake, Bon Jovi, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, My Chemical Romance, Jonas Brothers, Bruno Mars, Demi Lovato and more during a 10-year run.

Phase two of the 20th anniversary Bamboozle lineup announcement will be coming with a “winter semester.”

Blink-182 and Paramore will headline the inaugural Adjacent Music Festival, set for May 27 and 28 on the beach in Atlantic City, three weeks after the return of Bamboozle.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.