Destroyer and Stephin Merritt to headline Bazooka! Fest 2026

Bazooka Fest, a two-day music festival at Brooklyn venue The Meadows, has been rolling out its lineup and teasing its surprise Day Two headliners. After announcing a stacked roster that includes Second Grade, Sad13, Colleen Green, Lex Walton, Asher White, Kiwi Jr., and Sunshine Convention (who’ve curated the festival), Bazooka Fest’s organizers revealed Cloud Nothings and Times New Viking as the headliners for its first day. Today, they’ve rounded out the lineup with Destroyer and Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields). This will be a solo set of Dan Bejar playing Destroyer songs. It has not been revealed whether or not Merritt’s set will consist of Magnetic Fields songs, but we’re excited to see both of these revered indie rock frontmen either way.

Matador A&R director (and Sunshine Convention bandleader) Jake Whitener says of the festival, “Bazooka really is my earnest attempt at putting together a festival for New York City that feels special and intimate for both the artists playing and the people attending. I always heard about festivals like All Tomorrow’s Parties or Athens Pop Fest that were super curated and featured these iconic artists playing in smaller venues alongside these exciting new bands that they directly influenced. It seemed like such a beautiful way to celebrate the ever evolving nature of underground rock and pop. I think having a line-up that crosses generations is so exciting because you can show people that the golden days of indie music are still happening, and I wanted Bazooka to be a place to celebrate that.”

Get more info on tickets here and see the full lineups below.

August 22
Cloud Nothings
Times New Viking
Sad13
Colleen Green
Winston Hightower
PARKiNG
TV Buddah
Uniflora
Lex Walton
Great Lakes
Giant Day
Garment District
$500
Vivian
Sleeper Fencel
Sunshine Convention

August 23
Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields)
Destroyer (Solo)
Joanna Sternberg
Kiwi Jr.
2nd Grade
Josephine Network
Asher White
Chime School
Trinket
Love, Burns
Hang Him To The Scales
The Alaskas
Little Chair

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