Wherever the rains went this weekend, we’ve thus far been blessed with wild dry skies on the fields of Manchester, TN for the 2015 incarnation of the Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival. With Day 1’s “soft start” proving to be a maniacally thrashing live wire of neon energy, we kicked off Day 2 a lot more sore and weary than anticipated. Nothing a little sunshine and incredible music can’t fix, as Friday’s events kicked off in full by mid-afternoon – plenty of time for recovery from an ungodly run of edible madness in our stupor. Seriously. Don’t mess with that bacon on a stick… especially after two huge donuts and a cheeseburger. No matter how red your eyes are.
Bonnaroo Day 1: Adrenaline Kickoff With Future, Benjamin Booker & More
Day 2 at Bonnaroo 2015 saw some magnificent performances on a shockingly varied bill, from Kendrick Lamar hitting full superstar bloom to Tears For Fears bringing a xerox-level time machine from the ’80s and Against Me’s incredible power of mind-expanding love. It goes on, and you can read on for more, but first, check out this glorious sunset:
There’s nothing quite like a ferris wheel ride at sunset with tens of thousands of like-minded festivalgoers swarming beneath you…
The Impossible Potency of ’80s Nostalgia: Tears For Fears
One defining flavor of Bonnaroo is its throwback performances, but few expected Tears For Fears to step right out of the ‘80s with a remarkably strong set, prefaced by Lorde’s cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule The World”. The duo opened with the original, and followed with more time-machine greatness via “Shout,” “Break It Down Again,” “Head Over Heels,” and even a truly badass cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”.
King of The Level Up: Kendrick Lamar
There’s a reason his fans go apeshit. It’s been two years since Kendrick Lamar graced the Bonnaroo stage, and last time he was concisely fierce but intensely humble, even understated. Now, he’s in full bloom. Backed only by a live band, Kendrick took full command of the stage and the ocean of fans roaring along through “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” a rip-roaring version of “Fuckin’ Problems” and “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. But this was all before turning the entire fuckin’ production up to 20 with a triple-shot run through new songs “These Walls,” “King Kunta” and “Alright”.
Something Old, Something New: Earth, Wind & Fire
While tearing through a jawdropping set of hit-rich disco-funk greatness including “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Shining Star,” “Sing A Song” and more, Earth, Wind & Fire brought out Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar for an onstage collaboration performance. It was a fantastic victory lap for Kendrick, who just went full King Kong on the main stage.
A Little Forgiveness in The Air?
Not likely. This was the only positive Kanye message to be found, with plenty of the opposite.
Love Transformed: Against Me!
Holy shit. The transformative power of support and perseverance was a crackling electricity in the air during Against Me!’s punk-blast set of rockers. Led by grin-beaming frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, who came out as a transgender woman three years ago, the band rocked out to “Teenage Anarchist,” “True Trans” and “Cliche” before taking so much as a breath. There is little question of the enormous impact of energy, positivity and love that comes through at an Against Me! show, and Bonnaroo’s atmosphere of love and ebullience proved that much more beautiful.
Psychedelic Soul Beauty: Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Ben was late, and the kids were getting restless. But the moment he arrived and tore into his delicious psych-rocker delight “Burn to Shine,” all was set to a fine balance. Hypnotically delicate one moment and soul-roaring blues the next, Ben & friends delivered their sonic Midas touch with a near-disturbing ease.
Shredding in The Sunshine: Between the Buried and Me
It’s rare that you’ll hear heavy metal at Bonnaroo, but just like Baroness in years past, Between The Buried & Me utterly decimated their daytime set in a blur of fret-splintering fury and headbanging hair. That is, until Slayer comes to kill on Saturday night.
Bonnaroo Freedom
There’s no music festival quite like it… and here are six reasons why.
All photos: Johnny Firecloud
