Early this morning the Bonnaroo 2020 lineup announced, and we are FREAKING OUT about this lineup!!
Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, and The 1975 are among the headlining pop acts, not to mention the incredibly talented Leon Bridges, Jason Isbell, Tenacious D (that's Jack Black's band), Young the Giant, DaBaby, and Young Thug.
Obviously you're excited about the big acts, but I want to give you five more acts to bookmark if you're planning on going to The Farm in June. With a lineup this strong, you have to know that narrowing it down to five was a tough task - but I'm going to give it my best shot.
Tones and I
Yes, this the artist behind the viral sensation "Dance Monkey," which you either love or hate. That said, you may not know about her other songs, which quite frankly might surprise you. Tones and I has a distinctive, can't-miss voice and a style that sounds like nothing else on the radio right now. Look, "Dance Monkey" is weird and quirky and gets your attention, but when that quirkiness is harnessed into a really meaningful, lyrically clever pop song, it's a totally different animal. Take, for example, her follow-up single "Never Seen the Rain," which for some reason reminds me of a mid-90s bubbly pop record like Len's "Steal My Sunshine".
Tones and I is playing on Friday night (the Miley Cyrus night).
The Band CAMINO
Interestingly enough, The Band CAMINO almost ended up snagging the local opener nomination for our #LiveLifeLove concert back in November, but since technically they're from Memphis, we decided that would be bending the rules a little too much. Anyway, they're a FANTASTIC pop/rock band. I'm super bad at comparisons, but if you grew up on early 2000s pop/punk, you'll love these guys. The instrumentation sounds reminiscent of Something Corporate back in the day, but the vocals sound much more like you'd expect to hear in 2020. You'll get an early taste of them when they open up for Dan + Shay at Bridgestone Arena in March, and then you'll be able to see them on Friday night at Bonnaroo - the same day as Miley and The 1975.
Dermot Kennedy
Love Lewis Capaldi? Dean Lewis? Okay, cool, you should check out Dermot Kennedy. He's playing The Farm on Saturday night (that's Lizzo night), and if it wasn't for Jason Isbell playing the same day, you could argue that he's the most talented pure musician on that night's lineup. The Irish-born singer/songwriter has developed a huge following through festivals - he's played Lollapalooza, South by Southwest, ACL, and Coachella, but this will be his first stop at Roo.
Surfaces
If you don't look closely at the lineup, you might miss Surfaces. They're way down the lineup on Saturday, and understandably so when you compare their pedigree to the bigger acts on the bill. Surfaces says their "music exists to spread love and positivity across the world, for those hurting, for those lost." The Texas-based duo, for lack of a better term, sounds like a day at the beach. They fuse jazz, soul, reggae, and hip-hop together for a really unique sound that you'd expect to come from the West Coast.
You can't listen to a song like "Good Day" and, well, have a bad day after that.
Dashboard Confessional
Okay, this is cheating, because I shouldn't have to explain to you who Dashboard Confessional is. Chris Carrabba was like, the ORIGINAL poster boy for emo music in the mid-2000s. So maybe it's my admitted nostalgia for the days of MTVU, or maybe it's just because he's incredibly talented, but come on...who doesn't want to hear "Screaming Infidelities" live? YOUR HAIR IS EVERYWHEREEEEEEEEEE.
Also, wait a minute, did we know that Aaron Paul was in that video!?!?! Mind. Blown.
Anyway, honorable mentions to our good friend Lennon Stella (you should definitely see her), The Struts, who are INCREDIBLE live, Denzel Curry, and Mt. Joy. Oh, and are we just going to glaze over the fact that Nelly is coming out to perform "Country Grammar"? No. No, we will not glaze over that.
Roo 2020 looks spectacular, so hopefully we'll see you there!
