Gallant
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Gallant
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Gallant
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Tove Lo
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Tove Lo
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Tove Lo
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Walter Lukens
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Walker Lukens
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Dermot Kennedy
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Eden
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Glass Animals
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Mondo Cozmo
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Mondo Cozmo
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
The Lemon Twigs
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
The Lemon Twigs
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
The magical musical experience that is Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off officially on Thursday without a hitch. Unlike previous years with temperatures in the upper 90s, the weather was calm and cool; Thursday night especially, with lots of Bonnaroovians grabbing jackets and long sleeve shirts.
Campers from across the country lined up to get the best sites they could close to all the action – CenterRoo – as soon as gates opened for general admission camping on Wednesday. Tents, RVs, and flags popped up all over the farm in preparation of Bonnaroo’s Sweet 16. The crowds came in throngs equipped with memories of previous Bonnaroo experiences, great expectations for this year, and of course the required positivity of the Bonnaroovian Code.
This year’s Roo boasts eight stages – What Stage, Which Stage, This Tent, That Tent, The Other, Comedy & Cinema, Who Stage, and New Music On Tap Lounge.
Country breakthrough artist Luke Combs helped get things started on This Tent as the second act to kick off the festival. His recent radio success has drawn a great deal of attention. With that things really began to snowball. Music was non-stop from that point forward, with sets starting as late as 2:00am with Ookay on The Other.
The ever-popular High Five Friday had the good vibes flowing for day two of the four-day festival. As festival attendee numbers were much lower than normal last year, festival promoters were sure to up the ante with this year’s lineup. Friday saw the likes of Cold War Kids, Tove Lo, The xx, Major Lazer, and Portugal. The Man, just to name of few. Of course, the announcement of U2 headlining What Stage is what really had heads turning and talks of this year’s lineup being one of the best in festival history.
In addition to the music, there are also scads of community events, vendors, etc. this year to make the Bonnaroo experience truly special. Be on the lookout for additional coverage soon on all the side attractions to take advantage of at Bonnaroo 2017.
The full moon hanging over the farm Friday night was the perfect capstone to kick off Bonnaroo’s sixteenth anniversary celebration. After U2’s impressive setlist of hit after hit, the party continued with Major Lazer and Portugal. The Man both playing 12:45 a.m. sets. Big Gigantic officially closed out the night with a 2:15am set.
Saturday will be full of more great artists such as The Head and the Heart, Chance the Rapper, Cage the Elephant, Flume, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.