By Tyler Larrabee and Rusty Odom
Bonnaroo has undergone myriad changes over the years, but opening day of the 2024 installment felt like the old days (welcome back, paper schedules).
Sure, the What Stage was opened for the first time in the festival’s history, and there are now bleachers in the middle of the field in front of the main stage, but the roster of music on tap for Thursday was as thick as any in recent memory.
The run started with Matt Maltese and featured solid shows from jammers like Eggy and Geese; funk power from Say She She; and soulful R&B from Sid Sriram. The Heavy Heavy and Medium Build blazed through scorching sets, as well, and Nation of Language slid through a mesmerizing set that would have made Depeche Mode proud. BigXthaplug dominated an oversized crowd with Southern rap and had a blast in the process (see photo below), while up-and-comers Hans Williams and Happy Landing brought Nashville to the Who Stage with hefty crowds. It all ended with a riot of a set from Gwar and a dance party with Roisin Murphy.
There were a few hiccups, as can be expected on day one, with the most glaring coming when Sid Sriram’s first song and a half were played only through the monitors. The band probably didn’t even know it, as the monitors face the band, but most of the crowd couldn’t hear his best song (the opener), and sound issues were a battle that unfortunately lingered throughout the set.
Yes, there were technical problems, but I mistakenly bought a triple-decker queen air mattress that wouldn’t fit inside my tent. It looked like this:
We all make mistakes, is my point.
Sriram sounded great, though, and his recorded material and famous NPR “Tiny Desk” set translated to the Bonnaroo stage brilliantly.
Pretty Lights’ two sets were silky smooth and proved that an act on the main stage on Thursday is a good idea. More on that below.
Thursday’s biggest highlight for me and an impromptu group of Knoxvillians who found each other at just the right time was Neal Francis’ “Francis Come Alive.”
Francis was the first collaboration of the weekend earlier in the day when he joined Say She She, and it was obvious that he was going to dive in to the Bonnaroovian way. His set featured an 11-piece band and lifted off from the opening notes. An hour later, everyone – both onstage and in the crowd – was drenched in sweat and all the better for it.
Below are a couple more of our favorites, with a gaggle of pictures, to boot.
Why we get up early
After a hectic morning of driving from Knoxville to Manchester, picking up some last minute supplies, getting checked in and setting up camp, we somehow made it in time for Michigander’s 2:30 p.m. start on Thursday. And, man, was it worth all the work. The show featured massive electric guitar parts paired with melodic synthesizer, and together the sound filled That Tent with singalong after singalong. Jason Singer (yes, that’s really his last name) is a masterful lyricist who has managed to capture all of the pain, sadness and confusion of living in the 21st century, and he turns it into a collection of hopeful indie-rock anthems. The crowd was one of the loudest of the day given how early and relatively small it was. Singing and cheering at the top of our lungs, it was good to start the festival with a sense of love and gratitude.
Headliner
This was the first time the main stage has been opened on Thursday in Bonnaroo’s long history, and the experiment went very well. The collection of world-class musicians (which includes J. Cole’s drummer) joined the frontman/synth wizard Derrick Vincent Smith for two sets to put a cherry on top of an amazing Thursday. In contrast to a majority of electronic acts, Pretty Lights does everything live. The band uses real instruments, analog synthesizers and mixing equipment, giving the act complete control over their set and enabling them to perform a variety of styles. And as their name suggests, the lighting and production was incredible and intricate, featuring several combinations of LEDs, moving lights, lasers and even analog mirror tricks. It was a time to dance and also to stand in awe of the entire spectacle.
