Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off on Thursday June 13th in Manchester, Tennessee with temperatures in the upper 80’s and fans flocking from around the globe. The four-day event brings thousands of people to a 700-acre farm, referred to as “The Farm” for a lineup of amazing artists set to perform on ten different stages.
Day 1 saw 29 artists perform on five of the ten stages at the festival. Headlining the main stage for the night were electronic music producers Pretty Lights and Chris Lake. We caught a few of the performances later in the day, making for a perfect start to a great festival weekend.
Michigander, an indie-rock singer from, you guessed it – Michigan, opened up at That Tent. The band drew in a large crowd despite the heat and had them dancing along to their heartfelt tunes. The lead singer and guitarist Jason Singer wore all black and played on his black and white checkered electric guitar. The band was super chill and the audience definitely felt the same vibes.
The media were treated to an interview with GWAR and other performers over the weekend for a Q&A session. GWAR is always fun to interview and take photos with. They never disappoint with their raunchy brand of humor and entertainment.
At 5:00p.m singer-songwriter Sid Sriram took to the stage in That Tent where he got comfortable with fans by taking off his shoes. Sriram gained widespread popularity for his ability to effortlessly blend Indian classical music influences with contemporary R&B, pop, and soul. His carnatic singing abilities were so unique and beautiful and were perfectly accompanied by the gradient of colors that made his backdrop. We first saw Sid make his 2024 festival debut at Coachella earlier in the year so he was must-see Thursday artist.
Durand Bernarr brought his high energy and fun fashion to This Tent. The soulful singer from Cleveland, Ohio wore an all shredded denim outfit topped with a big denim cowboy-type hat. Bernarr had such an energetic stage presence that captivated the attention of the audience. His original music is a unique blend of R&B, soul, funk, and jazz. Bernarr won the day for best performance in our opinion with his style and stage presence.
Around 9:30p.m. rapper BigXThaPlug brought some rap flow to This Tent. After a few songs the artist took off his shirt revealing his fully tattoo covered body. He wore a hefty gold chain with the number 600, representative of his self-created record label. BigX brought out fellow rapper Ro$ama for many of his songs as well as Yung Hood. He ended out his set with some of his most popular songs like “Mmhmm” and “Levels.”
Pretty Lights delivered an almost four-hour double set of eccentric EDM beats. The artist wore a hat with his “PL” logo and a red sweatshirt. He yelled out to the crowd, “What an honor to be in this beautiful festival on this opening night! We made a little song…the sun machine is going down and we’re trying to have a party!”
The set started off with some laid back and softer electronic sounds, but as the sun went down the beats got crazier and the crowd grew. The group played an incredible 37 songs during their set opening with fan favorite “Blue Sky Both Ways” and their electronic take on the classic “Sound of Silence.” As Pretty Lights live mixed their beats, the LED screen behind them paired their music with trippy visuals. The stage was covered in colorful lights that moved and flashed to the beats of their songs.
Come back soon to stay up to date on the next three days of Bonnaroo 2024.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig