A year after heavy rains and flooding forced the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival to be canceled, festival fans flocked back in droves, ready for anything.
During the four-day festival this year, grounds at “The Farm” in Manchester, Tennessee, were muddy and saturated but not enough to dampen the spirits of festival-goers, who danced along to headliners Skrillex, Kesha, Noah Kahan, “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Strokes and Rüfüs Du Sol.
The festival, now 25 years old, continues to serve as a magnet for people traveling from the East and West Coasts, with a strong regional draw from the southeast. While peak years have brought as many as 100,000 fans to the middle of Tennessee, this year still drew around 45,000 attendees from as far away as Hawaii.
Dani Velasco, a Miami native now living in Maryland, seeks out Bonnaroo year after year because of the vibrant atmosphere and fellowship among attendees.
“We’re almost pulled into a different matrix at Bonnaroo. Because it’s such a big place, it’s a microcosm of community,” she said. “The nicest strangers we’ve ever been around are at Bonnaroo. Everyone’s always really happy, excited and grateful to be there.”
The world of Bonnaroo
Even though the grounds for Bonnaroo sit just out of view of passing motorists on Interstate 24, it feels like a world of its own.
The festival’s lore and humor start with the stage names — What, Which, This, That, Other and Where. For a first-timer like myself, it was confusing upon arrival but it made for a good laugh every time we got to talking about where the next set was.
Bonnaroo has its own visual language seen throughout The Farm, including the iconic water fountain with its own eye, ear, mouth and nose painted in vibrant colors by a new artist each year.
That’s one of the focal points of Centeroo, the hub for main stages, food and vendors; Outeroo is the area where campgrounds and secondary stages can be found.
Beyond the music, other focal points include Bonnie Roo’s Broos, the beer tent and sports bar, a disco ball tower, a Ferris wheel, a water slide and the arch at the entrance of Centeroo.
Beyond the music, there are festive parades, workshops for making puppets or gardening, a 5K run, yoga, silent discos and much more.
The festival presents a total immersion, from sharing space and moments with other festival-goers to battling mud and rain. Some campers made the most of even the worst conditions by making a homemade slip-n-slide.
The music
Never short on variety, Bonnaroo has previously hosted headliners from Elton John to Radiohead and Paul McCartney to Bruce Springsteen. The festival hosts acts covering pop, EDM, rock, bluegrass, hip-hop and many genres in between.
This year, Skrillex kicked off the opening night of the festival following a power outage that pushed back the start by an hour. The 90-minute set got the crowd dancing to EDM remixes and hits from one of the genre’s pioneers, bringing back 2010s nostalgia.
Friday featured some new music discovery with Irish folk band Amble on the main What stage, a perfect afternoon set under an overcast sky. While we didn’t make it to the stage to hear Blues Traveler, the harmonica solos sounded amazing from camp.
New York-based alternative rockers Geese, who are appearing at more than 20 music festivals worldwide this year, brought the energy with a sunset performance featuring singer Cameron Winter’s distinctive voice and grungy guitars.
As dusk yielded to nighttime, DJ and saxophonist GRiZ brought his signature electronic funk in a lively performance that featured a horn section, guest singers and rapper Prob Cause. The set brought bass, beats, funk and love, as one of his popular songs says.
The Strokes took the stage just after 11 p.m., bringing their alternative rock style to Tennessee with tunes from the 2000s to the 2020s.
Hardcore rockers Turnstile brought up the energy on the Which stage after dark as video screens showed excited fans moshing in the pit with nothing but smiles on their faces.
Saturday’s music-packed schedule started with some afternoon bluegrass from Mountain Grass Unit, who incorporated covers from The Beatles and Allman Brothers, plus a “Cantina Band” jam from Star Wars.
The band appeared later that night at Bonnaroo’s “Superjam,” hosted by pop star Kesha, delivering an energetic performance with covers spanning decades, featuring guest stars from nearly a dozen acts. The crowd sang along with such heart, giving off 2000s karaoke vibes.
Australian singer-songwriter Tash Sultana presented an emotional and powerful mid-afternoon set with soaring guitar solos and vocals, live looping and musical dexterity that left the audience stunned in the best way possible.
Other Saturday highlights included an indie throwback set from Passion Pit, a prideful performance from Rainbow Kitten Surprise, powerful vocals from Teddy Swims in the rain and dance music energy from Rüfüs Du Sol. “Weird Al” Yankovic had the crowd laughing and smiling during his “Bigger & Weirder Saturday Late Night Rooview.”
Bonnaroo’s Sunday had a weather-related curveball as a thunderstorm disrupted the final day’s fun. Lightning and downpours caused Centeroo to close for hours during the afternoon, canceling acts including Trombone Shorty, Blondshell and Aly & AJ, who expressed disappointment after having their Bonnaroo set nixed by weather for the second year in a row.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band brought the festival back to life around 6:30 p.m. as the sun shone down on the soaked festival grounds. The 12-piece band covered Sly and the Family Stone songs and performed originals featuring Susan Tedeschi’s powerful vocals and Derek Truck’s soaring slide guitar. Each member of the band had their moment to shine while the crowd danced on the soggy earth, not minding the conditions one bit.
Headliner Noah Kahan, who recalled attending Bonnaroo, told the crowd that his emotional folk music was fitting for saying goodbye. From a stage covered in moss and grass, Kahan and his band delivered hits including “Northern Attitude,” “All My Love” and “Stick Season” with the packed crowd holding onto every word.
Without a care about the mud or the impending return to reality, the crowd relished the final moments of the festival as fireworks burst over the stage.
Magical moments
While Bonnaroo had many big moments, like lasers or fireworks exploding over the crowd, what made the experience worthwhile was all the small magic moments that accumulated throughout the four-day festival.
“I do like the magic of Bonnaroo, it always gives you an unknown adventure,” said Morgan Gastineau of Naples, who first attended the festival in 2014. “I like to call it our adult Disney World. It is truly the happiest place for me.”
Even in the summer Tennessee heat, one attendee donned a capybara costume and walked around hugging other patrons. Occasionally, that same happy capy could be seen dancing in the crowd during sets.
While alternative rockers Geese jammed under the “That” tent, a few fellow Floridians and I had our attention fixed on the sky behind us, which lit up with the most magnificent sunset.
Anytime bubbles emerged over the crowd, it felt like magic.
I shared a few moments with fellow audience members as we sang along to indie classics delivered by the locked-in Modest Mouse band.
As I ran in place and goofed off during GRiZ’s set, the man behind me got hyped up and we shared a smile together while dancing. The lasers fit into the category of “big moments,” but I loved them nonetheless.
During the Turnstile set, a man in a hot dog costume was shown on the screen running around the pit, eliciting smiles.
“This is the most beautiful song you’ll ever hear,” remarked a gentleman in the crowd as Tash Sultana began playing “Notion.” He wasn’t wrong.
I used my custom “Florida Roo Crew” stickers as a chance to meet other festival patrons and find out where they were from. Floridians were harder to come by than I thought, but we encountered people from Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado and beyond.
During the Mountain Grass Unit set, I spotted a totem that looked like a Monstera leaf and complimented the man holding it. His partner handed me a tiny version of the leaf to clip to my hat.
That’s just to name a few.
The community
There’s something really special about the community that comes together with the mission of radiating positivity, part of the “Bonnaroovian Code.”
The ethos of the festival also involves looking out for fellow attendees, respecting The Farm and taking the loving energy of the festival out into the world.
“Everyone’s just really happy to be there. Whenever I go, I feel like I can be myself and dance any way that I want,” said Mel Velasco, a South Florida-based attendee. “I feel like no one really judges there, and it’s always a good time.”
It’s that same sense of community and spirit that keeps attendees coming back year after year. Though it takes time, money and travel from faraway places to make it to The Farm, the gravitational pull of Bonnaroo proves strong for many fans, no matter the weather or anything else.
Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com. Stay up to date with our latest travel, arts and events coverage by subscribing to our newsletters at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.
