Bonnaroo Day 2 was a busy day, full of 40 different artists and headliner Post Malone, who thousands of people waited through the hot day to see during his 11p.m. set. Friday saw bigger crowds, more performers, and higher temperatures than Thursday with temperatures in the 90’s as the sun beat down and breezes nowhere to be found. We had a packed day of wonderful performers to see.
Opening up This Tent was Baby Queen, an alternative-pop artist. Lead singer Arabella Latham delivered an emotion filled set in a sheer gown embroidered with numerous symbols as well as knee-high Converse with rainbow laces. She sang a slew of songs from her most recent 2023 album Quarter Life Crisis.
Mdou Moctar, a rising musician from a small village in Niger takes his inspiration from the musical sounds of the Taureg people. His music has become a blend of traditional Tuareg melodies and rhythms with contemporary influences, including rock, blues, and electronic music.
The first group to take on the What Stage was Larkin Poe, an American roots rock band fronted by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell. They are known for their soulful harmonies and a blend of blues, rock, and Americana influences. The sisters wore all denim outfits and jammed out on their guitars together. They opened with “Summertime Sunset” and kept the rock going with songs like “Bad Spell” and “Strike Gold.”
The ladies also stopped by the media tent to speak on a panel about female empowerment in the music industry about their female inspirations.
The Japanese House, fronted by indie-pop singer Amber Bain, hit the Which Stage at 3:45 p.m. wearing a simple red tank top and denim jeans. The backdrop behind Bain was of a blue sky with clouds, which accented her synthy pop tunes. After singing songs “Sunshine Baby” and “Dionne,” Bain surprised guests with a playthrough of her up and coming single “:)” which will be her newest since her 2023 album In The End It Always Does.
Chicago born singer David Kushner who gained widespread popularity from his moody pop song “Daylight,” performed in That Tent. Wearing a barely buttoned Hawaiian shirt and khaki cargo pants, Kushner sang and played his guitar to his emotional ballads. Behind the singer and his accompaniment, elemental images shone across the backdrop.
Faye Webster transported the crowd to a blue laundry room, with washers and dryers and hanging blue clothes behind her as she delivered her ethereal set. Dressed in a blue and white striped button down and matching pants, it was hard not to be drawn in by her mix of soft indie-folk and alternative rock. The singer always has a way of drawing the crowd into her infectious beats.
Blues guitarist and singer Gary Clark Jr. took over the Which Stage at 5:45 p.m. with his band and back-up singers. The Texas native jammed out on his guitar in an orange shirt, orange sunglasses, a black bucket hat, and dark brown pants. Clark gave the crowd an electrifying performance full of guitar solos from himself and his guitarist King Zapata. Gary is truly one of the guitar heroes of the modern era.
Alternative rock band GROUPLOVE had fans jumping and singing during their set at This Tent. Popular from their hit song “Tongue Tied” in 2011, the group has not lost their relevance and has continued to gain popularity. They captivated the audience with their electric energy and headbanging, keeping the crowd constantly engaged and wanting more.
Over on the main What Stage, singer and rapper Dominic Fike showed the crowd his genre-blending music that combines elements of pop, hip-hop, and indie rock. He sang a hard rock version of his popular song “Baby Doll” and a remake song he made with Paul McCartney “The Kiss of Venus.”
Memphis Native and social media sensation Key Glock took over the That Tent at 7:30 p.m. for a high energy set of back to back hits. The rapper took the stage after an intro with backing dancers and a giant white bust of his head in the background.
Maggie Rogers headlined the Which Stage and brought some energy to the night at 9:45 p.m. The folk-pop singer serenaded the crowd with her upbeat and catchy songs in a sultry black dress, performing to one of the biggest crowds she has seen. During her song “Love You For a Long Time,” a Kiss Cam scanned the crowd and fellow artist Dominic Fike also made an appearance during “So Sick of Dreaming.” Rogers seemed joyful in her performance and told the crowd that she had been dreaming about attending and playing this festival since she was 16 years old.
Finally, at 11:00p.m. rapper and singer Post Malone walked out to headline the What Stage as the sky filled with fireworks. He looked super chill wearing a custom “Mavs” jersey with the number 88 and Malone across the back. The Mavs were in a battle with the Boston Celtics for the NBA championship so Posty was showing his clear allegiance. The opening song was “Better Now,” accompanied by a string quartet. The set was full of pyrotechnics, fireworks, and even Red Bull skydivers. At one point I thought the stage was actually on fire in one of the biggest pyro displays in this festival’s history.
Halfway through the set, Post Malone welcomed who he said is the greatest guitar player on Earth, Billy Strings. The duo performed an acoustic version of Malone’s 2018 song “Stay.” Strings’ smooth acoustic sounds brought new life to the vulnerable and slow song.
Of course, Malone had to add in some of his most popular crowd pleasers: “Congratulations” and “Rockstar” which were met with fans singing every word. The set ended and guests waited for the three-song encore that Malone sang out to the crowd. As soon as his set was over, fans rushed to the Which Stage to see T-Pain.
Masked in the color of the overhead lights, singer and rapper T-Pain focused his set on many of his older tunes. T-Pain included a run of his hits from “Low” to the comedic Lonely Island collaboration “I’m On A Boat.” He even included a surprising cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” It was a good thing that many of the festival-goers knew the words to his songs, as he left it up to the crowd to sing out sizable parts of his songs. Despite this, it was still a great set.
Closing out That Tent was singer Stephen Lee Bruner, better known by his stage name Thundercat. His song “Them Changes” went viral on TikTok in recent years and brought some well-deserved attention to his groovy R&B songs. His set consisted of 14 songs and an encore of his Tame Impala team-up, “No More Lies.” Shrouded under psychedelic lights, Thundercat wore a Mean Girls shirt, an LA Dodgers hat, and some gold chains on his neck to finish out That Tent strong.
Catch us at The Farm again for the remaining two days left of Bonnaroo 2024.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig