One of New Orleans’ youngest music festivals, The Buku Music + Art Project, has made a name for itself in the festival circuit by creating impressive lineups that mesh rap, electronic and rock artists. This year’s lineup is no exception, and according to Buku’s various social media accounts, there’s more to come. The Arcade makes bold predictions for the spring festival.

Sam Ergina l Online Arcade Editor

The biggest name that could be added to the Buku 2016 lineup would be headliner-level performer Chance the Rapper. When the last day of Voodoo Fest was rained out, many of the artists expressed on social media outlets like Twitter that if it wasn’t too short notice, they would have performed as separate concerts around New Orleans. At the same time, the Willow Bar tried to gather enough social media attention to host Chance the Rapper on that Sunday.

Take into account the fact that Chance the Rapper performed at Buku in 2013 and the festival has a history of repeating acts, for example STS9, G-Eazy, Kid Cudi and Zedd. Chance the Rapper would be a huge addition to the lineup and would guarantee a sold-out festival. Gramatik, another Buku veteran, could also appear with Griz to perform as their duo Grizmatik. Furthermore, Gramatik will be at the Okeechobee Festival the weekend before and it’s a pretty common occurrence for artists to hit close stops on the festival circuit.

Taylor DeMulling l Associate Arcade Editor

The festival touts its New Orleans-centric atmosphere, being wedged between a power plant and the Mississippi River in the Warehouse District, and boasting local food and street performers, so introducing more bands from the area would be a great way to further emphasize that. Generationals, a new-wave band hailing from New Orleans, would be a solid addition to a festival known for its self-described “underground house-party vibe.” After playing festivals like Firefly and Treefort in 2015, Generationals is certainly known within the festival circuit. While the band is not currently touring, it would not be surprising for it to play a set, and seeing as its tour ended last summer they may be ready to take the stage again. Being based in New Orleans makes playing the festival convenient, and the indie pop vibe that characterizes the band would fit in comfortably among the likes of other BUKU performers like CHVRCHES, Miike Snow and Crystal Castles.

Ben Shooter l Associate Arcade Editor

While last year’s lineup boasted a few modern champions of guitar rock, like Portugal. The Man, the band of New Orleans natives Donovan Wolfington is the only real and confirmed “rock band” for this year’s festival. It’s entirely possible that other more electronic artists will emphasize elements of live performance more than usual to appeal to the crowds of New Orleans and to allow themselves to stand out among many similar acts in the lineup. Festival goers should surely expect this from Pretty Lights, whose 2014 performance at the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience featured additional musicians on trumpet, trombone and drums. Rapper Mystikal has been known to collaborate with other New Orleans musicians and has joined Trombone Shorty on stage on numerous occasions, and Fetty Wap is clearly open to a live backing band, having appeared last year on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” backed by Brooklyn band Phony Ppl. It’s not unreasonable to anticipate some musical guests — perhaps the Soul Rebels or Trombone Shorty himself — in one of these artists’ sets.

Laura Rostad l Print Arcade Editor

Two rappers featured in this year’s lineup, A$AP Ferg and Future, released a collaborative banger last month titled “Next Level.” Keeping this in mind, it seems likely that these two could take the stage together for an earth-shattering performance. The Arcade also wouldn’t be surprised to see rapper Earl Sweatshirt bring along a few fellow members of the hip-hop collective Odd Future.

Last July electronic music veteran Ratatat crossed genres with the release of LP “Magnafique,” and this month the group is briefly touring the East Coast. It could be a stretch, but since Ratatat is back in action, the group could be a possible addition to the electronic-heavy lineup.