Back on The Farm after 10 years, finding a festival changed by time but still powered by the same openhearted spirit.
By John Flannagan and Rusty Odom
Photos by Bill Foster
Ten years is a long time to be away from a friend.
The friend in this case is Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.
It’s long enough for the festival grounds to evolve, for the business behind the event to change hands, for a pandemic and weather cancellations to alter the rhythm of The Farm and for life itself to make four or five days off feel like a luxury. But when the chance came together at the last minute to return to Bonnaroo, I took it. Sometimes the best plans are the ones that barely have time to become plans at all.
Bonnaroo has never stopped changing, and that is part of the point. It is easy, especially from a middle-aged perspective, to look at a lineup and decide it was better when it belonged more directly to you. But festivals were not built to stay frozen in the years we first loved them. They belong to the kids coming through the gates now, to the fans hearing their favorite bands in a field for the first time and to anyone still willing to show up with open ears. Bonnaroo still draws people of every age, but its pulse remains young, generous and curious. The positivity that has long defined the festival is still there, radiating from the crowds, campsites and the late-night walks between stages. Those chats on the way are just as good as the shows themselves if you take time to be present.
The last time I walked these grounds, in 2016, Bonnaroo was entering a new era. Permanent bathrooms had arrived, helped along by a permanent water line, and Live Nation was taking more control of a festival that had already become a defining part of modern American music culture. Since then, the event has endured the same disruptions that the rest of the world has experienced, including the pandemic and weather-related cancellations. In all, I missed only six iterations of Bonnaroo, but those 10 years felt like a lifetime.
I did not make it for all four days this time, but the two days I spent on The Farm were enough to remind me why Bonnaroo still matters. The routine came back quickly: chasing sets, talking with strangers, discovering new sounds and logging more miles than my legs were prepared to traverse. Midnight Generation, Confidence Man, the SuperJam and Amyl and the Sniffers were among the moments that helped turn a short trip into something that felt, once again, magical. After a decade away, stepping back onto The Farm felt less like returning to a place that had passed me by and more like visiting an old friend who had grown older without losing the spark that made you love them in the first place. Here are a few of our favorite moments from this year’s festivities. – John Flannagan
Midnight Generation
It was several years ago when I was this unbearable about a band at Bonnaroo. It was 2018 when Australian fuzz indie-rock band Pond played, and every conversation I had on The Farm ended with me saying, “Make sure you see Pond.”
They delivered that year, but when you are that adamant to that many people, you start pondering the possibility that the people you urged to go would be underwhelmed.
Well, I did it again in 2026, and once again the band came correct.
Midnight Generation are an indie electronic band from Chihuahua, Mexico, and they throw parties. Their sound reminds me of Daft Punk or Parcels, and after discovering them near the beginning of their online presence a year or so ago, I always wondered how fun they would be in a live setting.
They were at the top of my must-see list going into the weekend, and when the schedule placed them at 1:45 on Saturday afternoon, I knew I would need to take it easy on Friday night.
The crowd bought in from the opening minute of their set, and the show presented the happiest moments of my time at Bonnaroo in years. All those friends, both new and old, whom I had begged to attend were smiling from ear to ear, and a few of them even gave me the ol’ wink and thumbs up. Check this band out however you so choose, and make it a point to see them live if they come anywhere close to you. – Rusty Odom
Confidence Man
Saturday afternoon and evening offered a run of sets that captured Bonnaroo at its best. It was joyful, unpredictable and powered by artists who knew exactly how to work a festival crowd. From choreographed electropop to bruising punk rock and a rain-soaked SuperJam finale, the day delivered several of the weekend’s most memorable moments.
Confidence Man wasted little time transforming an early afternoon slot at the newly relocated That Tent into Saturday’s second party. Now positioned behind the What Stage, That gave the Australian electropop duo a bright, sun-soaked platform, and the group matched the heat with a set built on sharp choreography, big hooks and relentless crowd engagement. Following Midnight Generation’s opening dance-floor momentum, Confidence Man kept the afternoon moving with a high-energy performance that felt both polished and loose enough for Bonnaroo. By the time the group closed with an extended version of “Holiday,” the crowd was fully locked in, leaving the tent with the kind of wide smiles that signal that a festival day is off to exactly the right start. – JF
Amyl and the Sniffers
Later in the afternoon, Amyl and The Sniffers brought a harder edge to a packed Which Stage crowd, proving just how quickly their rise has accelerated. Just a few years removed from smaller festival stages, the Australian punk band now looked entirely at home in a prime slot on Bonnaroo’s second largest stage.
Frontwoman Amy Taylor remains the band’s undeniable center of gravity, commanding the stage with a kinetic presence that recalls the danger and charisma of classic punk performers while still feeling distinctly her own. The set balanced raw fun with pointed conviction, including a backdrop declaring zero tolerance for sexual assault and harassment.
Songs such as “Security” and “U Should Not Be Doing That” sent the pit into motion, while much of the 90-minute set drew from last year’s “Cartoon Darkness.” The set moved with such speed and force that it seemed to pass in a fraction of the allotted time. Once again, the Australian music scene proved itself to be one of the most reliable exporters of festival-ready acts. – JF
Kesha’s SuperJam
The biggest surprise of the weekend may have come from Kesha’s SuperJam, which turned a format known for joyful unpredictability into a tightly executed, crowd-pleasing spectacle. These sets can sometimes feel uneven, especially when guest lists and limited rehearsal time collide, but Kesha proved to be the ideal host.
She opened with a slowed-down version of “TiK ToK” before guiding a rotating cast of guests through a set of pop and rock favorites from the past quarter century. The highlights came quickly: Margo Price joined for “Seven Nation Army” and The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” and Blondshell took on Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” and Icona Pop’s “I Love It” with a burst of energy.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise added “Mr. Brightside” for the first big singalong, while Weird Al Yankovic delivered one of the set’s most unexpected turns with Sia’s “Chandelier.”
Still, the defining moment arrived at the close when Kesha led “Purple Rain” just as rain began to fall over The Farm. It was the kind of perfectly timed festival scene that cannot be manufactured, and it gave the SuperJam a finale that felt both theatrical and genuinely moving. For even the most seasoned festivalgoers, Kesha’s set found a way to surprise.
Who knows what the future holds for Bonnaroo, but 2026 showed that The Farm still holds its magic. – JF
