It’s hard to describe Bonnaroo in a few words. As someone who, after this past weekend, has thrice been to the farm in Manchester, Tenn., I would like to think I have a good grasp on it—but I don’t think that’s true. Bonnaroo is such an all-encompassing, genre-spanning, diversified group of people, experiences, and music that you really just have to see it to know it.
While I might not be able to describe the fest in one sentence, I do know that this year’s ‘roo was one for the books. With a lineup that nearly surpassed last year’s bill, the best festival lineup of all time, this year featured a wonderfully varied group of acts. Your parents didn’t want you to go “take the molly at the Zedd” on Saturday night? Fine, they could go see Lionel Richie instead! Perhaps Die Antwoord and Deafheaven both terrify you and you needed an alternate activity on Friday night? No big deal idiot, you could go see Friday the 13th in the Cinema Tent!
The fact that Bonnaroo offers such a span of activites can be daunting at times, and the best way to combat this is simply to go with the flow. Submit to your friends who want to wear a striped tank top to the Kalliope EDM stage. Eat the damn falafel that you never liked. Jump into the mushroom fountain (not with your phone though…my heart goes out to those three dudes…) The options are endless. DAHHH!!!
Whilst trying desperately to regain brain function post-‘roo by eating leaves and listening to NPR (that makes u smart again, right? RIGHT?!), I reflected on some of my favorite moments from this past weekend. In no particular order, here are the 7 Best Things at Bonnaroo 2014:
James Blake’s Chest Rattling Bass
One of the UK’s finest exports in recent years, James Blake is an electronic singer/songwriter who released his second LP, Overgrown, last year. Blake’s music is somewhat anomalous—he incorporates elements of modern UK dub/dubstep and 1970s American soul, with a tasteful ear for production.
Having seen Blake’s live set in 2012 prior to the release of his most recent LP, I was psyched to see how the Overgrown tracks would translate live. As one could probably expect, they were amazing. At 9 PM, the crowd was thankfully still flexible with Blake’s softer moments (“A Case of You,” I Am Sold”) but the true magic came when James brought the bangers (“Voyeur,” “Retrograde”). Supported by his remarkable band, which features Rob McAndrews, otherwise known as dub musician Airhead, on guitar and sampler, Blake more than proved his ability to enchant a festival crowd.
Kanye West and the Elephant in the Room
It’s a relief to say that Kanye killed the main stage on Friday night.
But that wasn’t necessarily to be expected. Leading up to Kanye’s set, tensions were high due to the rapper’s last appearance at Bonnaroo 2008. The now-infamous disaster of a show started several hours late and ended with fans booing and throwing items onstage.
So, suffice to say, people were both excited and nervous to see what Kanye would bring on Friday night and boy did he bring it all. Backed by a newly debuted stage design suited for Kanye’s festival shows, Yeezy opened with a fiery “Black Skinhead” and proceeded to play some of his biggest hits (“Mercy,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”) within the first quarter of his set. When he wasn’t playing colossal tracks to deafening applause, Kanye gave a few of his lengthy, boisterous monologues covering the usual topics such as Henry Ford, Walt Disney, etc. He even mentioned the elephant in the room, his last Bonnaroo appearance, explaining, “Pearl Jam came on late and people had written ‘Fuck Kanye!’ on the porta potties.”
But ultimately the controversy didn’t matter a bit. Kanye’s return to Bonnaroo was so triumphant that everyone seemed to agree on one thing: the past is the past and, whether you like his personality or not, Kanye makes some of the best music around.
Disclosure’s Rapturous Crowd
Guy and Howard Lawrence have cemented their reputation as electronic music’s breakout act of the decade. The UK-based brothers play a groovy, snappy sound heavily indebted to Chicago and Detroit house music.
Backed by possibly the most gorgeous stage design seen at Bonnaroo, the brothers played a powerhouse set, stopping only to grin widely and/or thank the crowd. It’s easy to forget how many hits these guys have, considering Settle came out just last year, but between “When a Fire Starts to Burn,” “White Noise,” and, of course, “Latch,” it was evident that the majority of the crowd knew the album by heart. Speaking of that last song, Sam Smith came out in person and proceeded to sing his ass off to finalize the set. And, yep, it was as awesome as it sounds.
Clockwise from upper right: Disclosure, Kanye West, Darkside, and a crowd plus Rob Ford.
Classixx Bringing the Heat
L.A.’s Classixx are a disco infused, up-and-coming electronic duo. When I say up-and-coming I really mean it. These guys put out their debut album last year and are poised to take things to the next level. But, unlike the meteoric rise of peers like Disclosure, Classixx have had a slow and steady ascent. The band has done several modest U.S. tours and is now starting to get the big-time festival gigs. Classixx played a decent if not slightly monotonous headlining set in Madison this March, but man have they improved since. It’s rare to see a band ramp up their live set so strongly in such short time, but Tyler Blake and Michael David have done exactly that.
During disco jams like “Holding On” and synthy bangers like “All You’re Waiting For,” Blake and David swayed enthusiastically and used their backing screen to feature psychedelic videos of guest singers Nancy Whang and YACHT’s Jona Bechtolt. It was evident throughout the early afternoon set that Blake and David love every minute of what they do, and why shouldn’t they? The two have locked into such a groove with one another and their next album is likely to earn them a much bigger audience.
Darkside Playing the Best Set of the Weekend
I really can’t stress how much everyone needs to see Darkside. In just a few short years, producer Nicolas Jaar and guitarist Dave Harrington have built one of the most thrillingly unique acts of the decade. Fusing subterranean electronic grooves with live vocal and guitar loops, Darkside make the music that you’d wanna hear at 2:30 AM on a Saturday night. OH AND THAT’S WHAT TIME THEY PLAYED AT BONNAROO. Bless you Superfly Productions for your ever so keen insight.
Jaar and Harrington, decked out in their sharpest black attire, came out looking like time travelers blessing us with dance music from 2030. The duo makes ample use of their entrancing, stunning stage design and they also make ample use of the low end in a sound system. On standout tracks like “The Only Shrine I’ve Seen,” Harrington would layer hypnotic loops while Jaar went mad scientist on his electronic rig. The duo would build and build and build before blasting the audience with heavy bass and drum grooves. Unlike the trendy, buzzy crowd I was a part of at Darkside’s Chicago appearance in January, the Bonnaroo crowd loved every minute of the uncanny, immersive grooves that Harrington and Jaar pour themselves into. It was truly a miraculous set and it was the best set I saw at Bonnaroo 2014.
A$AP Ferg’s Wholly Enjoyable, Mildly Terrifying Party
It’s easy to underestimate the Sunday crowd at ‘roo. By day 4 (and for some day 5), one wakes up feeling a bit exhausted, or uninterested in “turning up,” as the kids may say. But when A$AP Ferg took the stage on Sunday afternoon with temps at a weekend high, people were ready to get feral.
With a DJ and a few New York emcees in tow, Ferg played all the hits from last year’s Trap Lord with unrelenting ferocity. After diving in the crowd several times Ferg summoned the ladies of Bonnaroo to the stage, telling everyone to crowd surf them up. And, unsurprisingly, in about two minutes he had 50 girls fighting to get an onstage selfie with the Trap Lord.
The smashing success of the 4:15 PM set was both a testament to the dedication of roogoers and the fact that A$AP Ferg is one of the most thrilling rappers around.
Omar Souleyman’s Stage Presence
Originally a wedding performer in North Syria, singer Omar Souleyman established a reputation through bootleg tapes and his unique take on traditional musics. The 48-year-old singer released his first widely distributed album, Wenu Wenu, just last year and has toured since, playing both clubs and festivals.
Souleyman’s sound is a fusion of traditional dabke music and electronic dance music, but fortunately this is much less awkward live than on paper. At Bonnaroo, playing a Thursday night set at That Tent, Souleyman ran through hits off Wenu Wenu with the help of a quick-fingered keyboardist/DJ. For someone who’s fairly new to playing to festival crowds and who doesn’t seem to speak any English, Souleyman’s stage presence was remarkably sound. Throughout the set he swaggered across the stage, stopping at points to interact with the crowd and ignite the 4/4 clapping. While Souleyman’s recorded music can sound a bit repetitive at times, the live set was a straight up, awesomely globalized dance party.