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Early Highlight: Dungen
This Swedish indie/psychedelic rock band blew us away in the early afternoon in the Other Tent. Singer/composer Gustav Ejstes (who writes and performs all songs on the band’s albums), has composed some of Sweden’s best musicians, evident in their performance. The band’s style weaves together elements of progressive/psychedelic rock, jazz, and folk to create intricate compositions, containing multiple parts and tempos. Ejstes is a captivating frontman, constantly running around on the stage, often playing a flute or tambourine, when not showing off his unique vocal style (in Swedish of course). For both old fans and new, Dungen brought tons of energy with their improvisational jams and soaring solos, winning over plenty of new fans in this enthusiastic crowd. -MM
The Heat: Kamasi Washington
There may be nothing for fun than a funk/jazz party at Bonnaroo. Before taking the reigns of the SuperJam later in the weekend, Kamasi Washington proved to us why he not only deserved that duty, but has become the true modern ambassador for jazz music. Backed by his band The Next Step, Washington mixes elements of funk, jazz, hip-hop, electronic, to prove he creates jazz like no one else. Joined on stage by his father, Rickey Washington, the band ran throw fantastic instrumental tracks that at different points featured a homemade keytar, drum “conversations”, and of course, Washington’s masterful work on the saxophone. The band was precise, yet loose. Commanding, yet laid-back. Often with funk and jazz music, it’s difficult to strike those balances. We can’t wait to see what’s to come for Kamasi. -MM
Evening Spotlight: Leon Bridges
There are many different aspects of Leon Bridges 17-song sundown performance on Friday that we could talk about. For instance, how both his music and fashion style legitimately make you feel as if you’ve went back in time to the beginning of the soul music revolution. We could talk about how entertaining his dance moves are, how cross-generational his music is, or just how precise each note played by each band member seems to be. We could even talk about how he resembles Al Green, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke on any given song. But what I really want to talk about, are the last 4 songs of this amazing Bonnaroo set.
After the well-known “Coming Home”, Bridges launched into 4 songs that I believe define his true greatness. The first was a cover of Ginuwine’s “Pony”. The crowd absolutely loved it, enjoying it almost as much as the band itself. What was likely the best cover of the weekend was followed by his tracks “Pussy Footin” and “Mississippi Kisses”, where Bridges and Co. delivered one of the funkiest, booty-shaking parties in Bonnaroo history, encouraging the crowd to “let me see you do your thing”. As the set seemed to be over (because we didn’t think it was possible to follow something that spectacular), Bridges ended with the lyrically powerful and tear-jerking “River”. It was near perfect. As our dancing shoes wore out and with our adrenaline still pumping, the soothing rhythm and sing-a-long of this song seemed to bring us back to reality. This set from Leon Bridges was, in a way, cleansing, and will hold a special place in our Bonnaroo memories. -MM
Fan Video of Leon Bridges performing Ginuwine’s “Pony”
Sunset Show: M83
Following a legendary set from Leon Bridges, and during our adrenaline-fueled anticipation of LCD Soundsystem, came France’s popular electronic band, M83. Here came our first realization that the sound at the Which Stage would be near perfect this year, as the group performed much of their 2016 album, Junk, and crowd favorites such as “Midnight City” and “We Own the Sky”. As the band opened their 9:45 set with “Reunion” (which sounds straight from The Breakfast Club), the massive crowd energized, the mesmerizing light show began full force, and it was clear this would be one of the weekend’s most talked about sets. M83 proved their ability to near hypnotize an audience with soothing, electronic melodies, greatly assisted by the distant, spacey vocals of Anthony Gonzalez. M83 was in the perfect slot, on the perfect stage, to begin the night of true electronic rock pioneers.
Headliner: LCD Soundsystem
It took around 5 minutes into the opening song, “Us v. Them”, for all doubts to vanish regarding LCD Soundsystem’s headliner status. This powerful, momentum-driving song captures the true essence of the band, which had the captivated crowd dancing long before lunging into their known staple, “Daft Punk is Playing at My House”. Armed with a massive disco ball that floated around the stage, LCD marched through their best songs, never faltering in energy or quality. After sound checking for hours on Thursday, the show’s sound was flawless, with each instrument (and there are a lot of them) perfectly balanced, which is often a challenge on the main stages. Murphy & Co. are experts at organizing their setlists. Transitions such as “Tribulations” to “Movement” to “Yeah”, allow the audience to seamlessly go from an EDM dance club, to a head banging punk show, to a jump-around sing-a-long without even noticing. Other highlights included “Dance Yrself Clean”, “You Wanted a Hit”, and a beautifully appropriate “All My Friends”.
The passion and energy James Murphy himself put into this performance was incredible, above and beyond any live performance I’ve watched online. The band’s sound is extremely technical and exhilarating, blending genres and styles that no one will ever be able to recreate. The crowd was extremely small for a headliner, but those in attendance witnessed a truly special and unique performance, proving you don’t need a large crowd to produce one of the best headlining performances in Bonnaroo history. -MM
Late Night: Tame Impala
Tame Impala were one of the most anticipated late night sets in years.
The Aussie five piece pushed through enough confetti to choke Wanye Coyne en route to one of the most crowded Which stage dance parties that festival saw all weekend. “Let it Happen” correctly opened the show and set the tone for what would ultimately be an entertaining show from beginning to end. The band did stop with over 30 minutes remaining in their allotted time, but they made the most of the material they performed. Tame Impala are one album away from being able to put together a full two hours of excellent live material. Whether or not they are willing to build a set of that length will determine if they stay at the subheadliner level or make the step to the top line of the largest festivals in America.
Late(r) Night: Blood Orange
With a tank top tucked in to his loose fit jeans, we couldn’t tell if Devonté “Dev” Hynes was 19 or 50 during Blood Orange’s late late-night performance at Bonnaroo. We had no trouble, however, realizing that staying up late and making the walk to The Other Tent as the clock neared 2:00 AM was the correct decision. This R&B/SoulSynth outfit completed what was the most entertaining night in our decade+ years of dancing on the farm. Track after smooth and poignant track commanded the small but dedicated crowd to scrape its last bit of energy and when it was over, we all wanted more, even though it was well in to the night (or next day, if you’re one of those people). Blood Orange was one of the first Roo clues this year, but the excitement for this rare performance seemed to get lost in the lineup by many. To those who were there, kudos to you. For those who weren’t, catch this act next time.
Saturday – Sunday – More Images – Home
A Bonnaroo Interview with Eric Krasno (Lettuce/Soulive)
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