Bonnaroo or Bust! The Good, The Bad, and The Completely Unnecessary
by Angela Samartano, Editor
02.20.2013
At first glance, the Bonnaroo 2013 lineup kind of seems like a joke. “Paul McCartney, R.Kelly, and “Weird Al” Yankovic walk into a room…” would be the likely scenario of how that joke would start. The reality is, 2013 will bean extra special experience for the Bonnaroo Music & Art Festival attendees who make the yearly pilgrimage to Manchester, Tennessee. While Bonnaroo is not an entirely electronic music festival, it draws in some of the biggest talents in the universe on a yearly basis.
This year’s main headliner is none other than the legendary Sir Paul McCartney. The Beatles member recently performed at the 12.12.12 Benefit for Hurricane Sandy at New York City’s Madison Square Garden,commanding a standing ovation for his performance that night. With McCartney heading down to Tennessee this June, it will be rather interesting to see the variety of patrons that Bonnaroo brings in this year. Joining him on the laundry list of stellar acts are Billy Idol, ZZ Top,as well as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers that are sure to drive in an older, more diverse crowd for sure. Only a festival such as Bonnaroo can combine these legendary performers with new school bands,electronic music acts, hip hop and pretty much every other genre under the sun.This all aids to the beauty of the festival, bringing us an east coast equivalent to California’s Coachella Music & Arts Festival.
To break this 2013 lineup down even further, my prediction for fan favorites will include Mumford & Sons, The XX and Passion Pit, who all have had a major year in music. Between selling out shows on their own, Grammy nominations, and massive fan bases, these groups will be big crowd creators this year at Bonnaroo.
Unexpected and downright weird additions to the lineup include Weird Al Yankovic, a trip outside of The Closet from R.Kelly,a comeback attempt from Wu Tang Clan who are also featured on the Coachella 2013 lineup, and The Tallest Man On Earth whose name sounds more like a circus act than a blues singer. Even Daniel Tosh comes as a surprise to the festival, who’s commonly known for his Comedy Central program Tosh.0.
The electronic music lineup for this year’s Bonnaroo is pretty impressive as well. Although there are no festival signature ‘headliners’, the robust lineup includes Pretty Lights, Porter Robinson, A-Trak, Boys Noize, Wolfgang Gartner, Clockwork, Araabmuzik, and more. Judging from the EDM lineup so far, the people of Bonnaroo have a acquired a taste for a harder sound with DJ/Producers who range from electro to dubstep to techno.
With more artist announcements to be made, we are left to wonder who will grace Tennessee with their presence at Bonnaroo this June. Tickets for the festival will go on sale this Saturday, February 23rd at 12pm EST. Judging the way music festivals have been selling out in record times, be sure to wake up bright and early to be sure you are ready to head over to Bonnaroo.com on time!There will be options to pay in full as well as payment plans for both VIP and General Admission passes.
Bonnaroo Lineup:
Paul McCartney
Mumford and Sons
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Wilco
A$AP Rocky
The xx
Passion Pit
David Byrne & St. Vincent
Pretty Lights
Of Monsters and Men
Billy Idol
Grizzly Bear
Nas
Foals
Amadou & Miriam
Wolfgang Gartner
Wild Nothing
Lord Huron
Deep Valley
Killer Mike
Daniel Tosh
Japandroids
Big KRIT
Jim James
21 Pilots
Macklemore
Ryan Lewis
Stepkids
Beach House
Gaslight Anthem
Local Natives
Dirty Projectors
Baroness
The National
Calexico
Lumineers
Dwight Yoakam
The Vaccines
Holy Ghost
Death Grips
R. Kelly
Alt-J
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Cat Power
Wu-Tang Clan
Purity Ring
ZZ Top
Milo Greene
Boyz Noize
Björk
Matt and Kim
Tame Impala
Animal Collective
Glen Hansard
Futurebirds
Soul SuperJam (Jim James with John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste (of the Meters), Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Weird Al Yankovic