Bonnaroo 2020 Slays All Expectations

Edit: This preview of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been edited since its original publication to account for the postponement until the weekend of September 24 to 27 due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is hands down one of the most iconic music festivals in history. Bonnaroo takes place annually in Manchester, Tennessee. Bonnaroo 2020 will be returning from September 24 to 27 and somehow they have managed to top themselves yet again in terms of the artist lineup. The Bonnaroo 2020 headliners include Tool, Lizzo, and Tame Impala - not to mention Bassnectar, Miley Cyrus, Oysterhead,Vampire Weekend, and The 1975. Let’s just say…bring your dancin’ shoes kids - it’s about to be an absolutely wild ride on the farm this year! Bonnaroo is one of those magical places on earth where you can experience genres like Alternative to Rap to EDM - and a little bit of everything in between. The Bonnaroo 2020 lineup is so stacked with talent this year that it 100% SOLD OUT in February - a whole four months before the festival kicks off! Bonnaroo 2020 is set to be one of the most epic music festival experiences of 2020 and for those who didn’t grab tickets, we hope you at least catch some of the live streams from the farm.

Thursday of Bonnaroo 2020 is set to kick off the weekend in the most picturesque way imaginable. To officially start the weekend off with some of the funkiest fun on this side of the Mississippi, Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival will be hosting Larkin Poe, Big Something, The Funk Hunters, Too Many Zooz, and The Regrettes - just to name a few. Though the Thursday lineup is smaller than the other days at Bonnaroo, the amount of talent packed into this short day is unreal. The highlight performance of the day will definitely be Too Many Zooz, The Funk Hunters, and Larkin Poe - take our word for it! Larkin Poe is a Georgia-born American rock band comprised of two sisters from Calhoun. Rebecca & Megan Lovell are both singers and songwriters who can play a variety of instruments that bring their soulful and gritty Southern rock vibes to life. Their latest song “Mississippi” is the perfect example of this soulful, Southern rock duo with its melodic steel guitar riffs. Alongside this Southern rock duo, The Funk Hunters will be bringing their deep, electro-funk vibes to get the Bonnaroo attendees up off their feet and groovin’ into the wee hours of Friday morning. If you’ve never gotten down and gotten funky with The Funk Hunters…you’re definitely missing out. Check out their Soundcloud and brush up on your Funk Hunter jams before the fest to prep your feet for the endless dancing that is about to commence. These are simply just scraping the surface of the 15+ bands set to kick off Bonnaroo 2020 on Thursday.

Friday is the big bang. The moment that everyone is waiting for. On Friday night Tool will be headlining Bonnaroo 2020 with other major performances by Bassnectar, Miley Cyrus, The 1975, and Glass Animals. The announcement of Tool headlining Friday at Bonnaroo definitely turned heads and fueled the fire of the ticket frenzy that ensued in the early months of ticket releases. Tool is an iconic alternative metal/progressive rock band from California comprised of Maynard James Keenan, Danny Carey, Adam Jones, and Justin Chancellor. If you’ve never heard of Tool, you almost definitely heard their iconic songs “Schism” or “Sober”. If you still don’t know who they are, then you need to seriously add them to your daily playlist and get more acquainted with their body of work before the festival. Tool returning to Bonnaroo since their 2007 performance on the farm has fueled a frenzy inside every Roovian across the nation. Alongside Tool, other major artists performing on that day include Miley Cyrus, Bassnectar, The Glass Animals, The 1975, and Dashboard Confessional. Glass Animals are a four-piece, super psychedelic, rock band that’s sure to draw one of the biggest crowds of the day with their super mellow and funky vibes. Their song “Gooey” is the perfect example of their drippy, super funky unique sound. Now let’s just talk about this Dashboard Confessional appearance that’s going to bring out all the emo kids in full force. Dashboard Confessional are a emo-rock band from Boca Raton, Florida let by Chris Carrabba. Their songs “Stolen” and “Vindicated” were the soundtrack to most scene/emo/punk kids high-school lives back in the early 2000’s so this set is bound to be a nostalgic experience for all in attendance. The Bonnaroo 2020 lineup is the perfect blend of genres to describe the average avid music fan this day in age as this year’s lineup touches on everything from alternative rock to EDM and a little bit of everything in between.

Attendees feelin’ the love under the Roochute - Photo courtesy of Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

As if Friday’s star studded lineup wasn’t enough to get the party started, Saturday’s lineup comes in for the knock-out. Saturday’s Bonnaroo 2020 headlining artist is none-other than our Queen of body-positivity and self-love, Lizzo. Lizzo’s vibe embodies everything that Bonnaroo stands for - radiating positivity - so, it should honestly come of no surprise to see our Queen of the Flute & Shoot claiming her spot on the 2020 lineup. Her set is going to go down in history and have every single Roovian feelin’ Good as Hell! Along with Lizzo, other performance on Saturday include Oysterhead, Flume, Tenacious D, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Subtronics. The most anticipated set from Saturday is definitely Oysterhead. Oysterhead is a rock n’ roll supergroup formed by Les Claypool, Trey Anastasio, and Stewart Copeland that has a very unique and personalize alternative funk fusion vibe. The announcement of their 2020 tour sent fans into a tailspin - especially when fans saw they would be returning to Bonnaroo for their first performance on the farm since 2006. They are destined to pack out their stage to the gills, so if you’re wanting to catch their set we highly suggest planning ahead and getting their early to get a good spot for dancin’ with your friends. With the 2020 lineup coming in more stacked and packed with absolutely banger artists, it will be a miracle to not see any conflicts on the schedule once official set times are announced for the year. To stay up to date, make sure you follow all the official Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival social channels to get the skinny when the official schedule for each day is released.

Photo courtesy of Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

Sunday’s lineup puts the cherry on top of an absolutely epic weekend on the farm. Sunday’s headliner is Tame Impala, a psychedelic rock/neo-psychedelia project lead by multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. To get a feel for the super, groovy tunes that Tame Impala will be pumping out on Sunday, check out their latest song “Lost in Yesterday”. Along with Tame Impala, Sunday will close out Bonnaroo 2020 with performances by The Struts, REZZ, Vampire Weekend, Flogging Molly, and Greensky Bluegrass. Curators have done an outstanding job listening to the requests of the fans in 2020 by having an exceptionally balanced lineup in terms of genres that are represented throughout the weekend. For example, on Sunday attendees have the opportunity to get down and get stupid wonky with REZZ and her other-worldly bass vibes with songs like “Purple Gusher”. Then, they will be able to venture across the farm to get a little moshin’ in with the English rock band, The Struts. If “Could Have Been Me” and “Kiss This” don’t get you up off your tail and jumpin’ around then we honestly don’t know what will. Once the sun starts to set on Sunday, if you’re feet aren’t blistered and bleeding from all this dancing then we honestly won’t believe that you attended Bonnaroo 2020.

Bonnaroo is so much more than just a music festival as they offer twenty-four seven interactive experiences and human connection throughout the four day celebration. Bonnaroo hosts a variety of parades throughout the plazas over the weekend - some complete with a full brass band! Other activities found throughout the plazas include Yoga-roo, interactive art experiences, late night (early morning?) secret sets, The Sanctuary of Self Love, Where in the Woods, The Ville & The Grove, House of Yes, Little Cineman, and so many other unique experiences for the attendees to soak in throughout the weekend. Bonnaroo is one of those special places where no matter how prepared you think you are and how well you think you’ve studied the lay of the land before arriving - you will always find new and exciting experiences around every corner that you were not prepared for. We strongly urge wandering the campgrounds and seeing where the vibes take you - you may just stumble upon one of the most memorable experiences of your life.

Bonnaroo 2020 Tickets are officially completely SOLD OUT for the year - beware of ticket scammers everyone! We aren’t saying completely steer clear of ticket resells, but we do stress to exercise extreme caution when looking to buy tickets in various social media forums and groups. We always suggest buying from people that you personally know, or that your most trusted festy family can vouch for. For those desperate souls who venture to the farm in hopes of scoring a ticket outside the gates - we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and we truly hope you find a ticket to this shindig. Also, be sure to check out the official ticket exchange groups such as TheXChange and CashOrTrade. With the event officially sold out, ticket scammers will be out like flies on…well you know. For updates on the festival, be sure you are following the official Bonnaroo Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also sign up for their e-list and official text updates on their website. If you’re a newcomer and this is your first Roo, we highly suggest diving into the official Facebook Groups and Reddit forums to connect with seasoned Roovians who can lend you some advice for surviving the festival in one piece! Also, be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on the Concerthopper team and where we will be at the festival. As always, stay hydrated, if you see something then say something, and we hope to see you at a festival this summer!