Electronic music till the dawn, body glitter everywhere, and homemade totems featuring everyone and everything, from Tom Petty to Handsome Squidward. Ah, it must be festival time on The Farm. This June marked my first venture to Bonnaroo, and my second major festival ever (the first being Pilgrimage Festival in 2017). So instead of filling my time with artist interviews and press conferences, I took in the weekend as one of the 80,000 music fans, minus, of course, the muddy camping and no showering business. Although having few expectations for the weekend, I went into the festival with the knowledge that some major publications are considering Bonnaroo a dying festival, one that has lost its original appeal and zeal for life, music, and community. But while some letdowns occurred throughout the weekend, Bonnaroo 2018 radiated the positivity it promoted and provided the musical bliss sought by the multitude of festivalgoers.
Now in its 17th year, Bonnaroo has come a long way from the jam band festival that featured Widespread Panic headlining two nights of its inaugural weekend. This year featured everything from Bassnectar to Future to Dua Lipa and, of course, Old Crow Medicine Show. But the headliner choices seemed a little lackluster compared to previous years. Friday night closed with Muse, the simplified Radiohead trio whose best days are definitely in their past. Watching their set was quite a chore, filled with cheesy electro-flash, very outdated ’08 Yeezy shades, and random acts of guitar douchebaggery by Matt Bellamy as he decided to jump into riffs from “Back in Black” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in between songs like the one guy you can’t stand in Guitar Center.
Eminem easily amassed the largest crowd of the weekend on Saturday night, rolling through snippets of 29 hits in about an hour and a half, which is surprising considering how much downtime there seemed to be throughout the set. Knowing Eminem had just recently brought out Dr. Dre and 50 Cent at Coachella and Governor’s Ball also led to disappointment when the only special guests here were Skylar Gray (who also attended those festivals) and Royce da 5’9″ who came out for just about 60 seconds. In fact, those were the only main stage special guests of the entire weekend. Still, hearing thousands chanting “Lose Yourself” and “The Real Slim Shady” left the crowd amped and ready for the last day of Roo.
That last day came to an end with a truly electric and magnetic performance from the Killers. As a long-time fan who had never seen the group, no point of the weekend was higher than the Vegas group opening their set with “Mr. Brightside” as thousands chanted and partied despite the rain-soaked conditions of the farm. Brandon Flowers oozed charisma as he worked the stage like the child of Freddie Mercury and Elvis. Altogether, it was the best performance of the weekend and a perfect way to cap it off.
But despite going one and a half for three on headliners, most performances I attended at Roo were memorable with only a few duds. Bon Iver sandwiched Eminem’s set with two unique sets: the first, a traditional and gorgeous performance of the group’s tracks, mostly from 2016’s 22, A Million; and the second a SuperJam of sorts, as Justin Vernon invited friends like Francis and the Lights, Sylvan Esso, and Moses Sumney to join them on stage for covers and collaborations till long past midnight. And speaking of SuperJams, Friday night’s Tom Petty SuperJam hosted by members of My Morning Jacket, Wilco, and more was a blast. For two hours, the house band played airtight tributes to our fallen hero alongside a who’s who of Bonnaroo performers including Sheryl Crow (“American Girl”), Hayley Williams (“Into the Great Wide Open”), and Moon Taxi (“Runnin’ Down a Dream”).
One of the biggest surprises was the energized crowds during the performances of some of the legacy acts. Nile Rodgers & Chic brought the house down with classics from “Good Times” to “Get Lucky”, Mavis Staples sounded strong as ever riffing on “I’ll Take You There”, and Sheryl Crow was even surprised herself at the energy as she joked that her songs were older than the crowd singing them. There was plenty of young energy though as well with electrifying performances from Paramore, Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals, and Billie Eilish.
Unfortunately, the young energy I was most excited for at Roo was Brockhampton. And of course, it’s no fault of Bonnaroo’s that they canceled their show. But where Governor’s Ball made the effort to replace their set on even shorter notice with Pusha T, Bonnaroo left the slot empty, leading many festivalgoers to believe there would be a surprise performance by fellow attendee Chance the Rapper, but that surprise never came. It seemed to be a lazy attempt by the festival and did leave a bit of a bad taste. However, the festival’s attention to detail for the camping and activity experience (even adding a laundromat this year) can’t be overlooked.
Looking back, it’s hard to evaluate and write about an experience like Bonnaroo. Although there is an urge, especially as a writer, to critique and evaluate every detail, the sense of community and free-spirited enjoyment of life and art almost engulfs that urge. As I stood watching Moon Taxi perform for their set (a band whose album received a subpar review from this writer early this year), I was overwhelmed with the feeling that there is stronger power in music, especially music in community, that defies anything any critic can say about it. That’s a lesson more valuable than any ticket price and what will be most remembered from Bonnaroo 2018.