Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
The seventeenth installment of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was full of shots, rain, remembrance, and showmanship. Kalliope came back into our lives, a myriad of different artists came together to celebrate Tom Petty, several unannounced guests did secret sets, and the Grand Ole Opry did their first ever show from Bonnaroo.
Thursday we got a taste of the weekend to come with killer sets from CloZee, Manic Focus, R.LUM.R, Elohim, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, and Space Jesus and Opiuo who turned around and did an unexpected sunrise set. While Cage the Elephant did a surprise set in the pods, Matt Shultz who has been spotted all over Bonnaroo for several years took the unofficial title of Mayor of Bonnaroo this year.
Photot Credit: Maggie Forbes
With the epic end to Thursday sleep was unattainable so Friday kicked off bright and early. Yoga and guided meditation along with coffee got everyone in the right headspace for a set from Bayonne who’s creative use of unique sounds made for a set that commanded attention. Sheryl Crow soaked up the sun at the What Stage and had all the young Bonnaroovians discovering what a true Queen she is. K?D brought down the sun on the Other Stage while at the What Stage Hayley Williams of Paramore armed with a megaphone through which she sang into the microphone, reignited my teen angst. Tash Sultana played new guitar melodies for us in her own distinct fashion.
Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
My personal favorite set of the weekend had to be Into The Great Wide Open: A Tom Petty Superjam. The emotions that were brought by the talented musicians who got together to pay respect to such a loved icon were undeniable. Tears flowed while Sameer of Young The Giant sang “Free Fallin”, Sherly Crow gave new life to “American Girl”, Jalen N’Gonda’s version of “You Got Lucky” was stuck permanently in my head all weekend, and Rayland and Bucky Baxter’s version of “Here Comes My Girl” had everyone thinking we were listening to Tom Petty as opposed to a cover.
To close out Friday Muse the headliner took to the stage and filled the air with alternative rock. The visuals were magical and the band played with the adrenaline you get standing in front of a gigantic festival crowd. Over at the Other Stage, Porter Robinson came out as Virtual Self with a guided tour through his early memories of the internet movement and how he transforms them into his own art form. Kayzo took over Kalliope as the sun came up and on a slow coast Bonnaroo arrived at Saturday.
Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
During the day on Saturday, a little time was taken out to explore all Centeroo had to offer, including an air-conditioned tent full of silent auction items including signed guitars, posters, and artist memorabilia from the previous years. Planet Roo was in full swing with booths offering volunteer opportunities, recycling campaigns, and ways you could sign up to vote. Innumerable options for food graced the grounds of Bonnaroo with a food truck corner, Bear Claw Coffee which gets a mad shout out from the RaverRafting crew for putting up with the uncaffeinated masses, and crowd favorites like Spicy Pie, Prince’s Chicken, and the Amish Donuts which is now called Peachy’s donuts.
Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
Saturday was full of secret sets from War and Treaty, Cherub, and Kaskade and Slander who did sunrise sets at the Kalliope stage. Old Crow Medicine Show who is contributing to the ever-growing love of Bluegrass and quality music was awarded the key to Coffee County by the Mayor and followed their award ceremony with an epic set. Rebelution jammed out at That Tent playing numerous fan favorite songs. Bon Iver who played not one but two sets on Saturday night moved the crowd to tears with his unmatched talent. Eminem the headliner of the night who had not played Bonnaroo since 2011 redeemed himself with an outstanding array of crowd favorite tunes that rang out into the Tennesee air. Even with the media backlash over his loud pyrotechnics the showmanship of our favorite slim shady was unparalleled throughout the weekend.
Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
The final day of Bonnaroo 2018 started with a storm and ended on the brightside. The rain brought a coolness to the 85+ temperatures over the weekend and washed away some of the negativity people had going into the weekend. Sir Sly who is reminiscent of Foster the People played their hearts out in This Tent. St. Paul and the Broken Bones even with the high temperatures still showed up dressed to kill with a knockout show. Moon Taxi lit the stage with a prism of colorful lyrics that carried the happy mood into the sunset. Alison Wonderland captivated the Other Stage and introduced a few people to quality Electronic Dance Music. The final act of the night and the weekend was none other than The Killers. Mr.Brightside kicked off their set which danced from song to song as their first time Bonnaroo performance went off without a hitch. The Las Vegas natives knew how to show up and show out and that they did. The final tune “When You Were Young”gave a sort of ironic nostalgia to the weekend we know that Bonnaroo is forever changing but we will always want it the way it was when it was young.
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