Unpacking Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival's 2019 Lineup
Bonnaroo 2019
Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival dropped their 2019 festival lineup in January and, depending on who you talked to, it’s either “really awesome” or “meh”. Why the range of responses? Traditionally, Bonnaroo features a diverse group of artists representing literally every genre I can think of when it comes to music. For those open to all sounds and styles, this lineup is truly the ultimate playlist of the newest, best, and most classic artists out there. The festival preaches “Radiating Positivity” and that is exactly the vibe I get from this lineup! Historically, music first came from instruments: from percussion to strings, woodwinds, brass, and even vocals, cultures all over the world celebrated sound with homemade instruments, sharing their talents and performing for listeners. With recent developments in sound and tech, new age listeners are looking towards other mediums to create and experience sound which may be the exact reason why some aren’t as enthused about these lineups as others. Let’s take a look at the history of music and how genres were first developed to better understand the beauty of Bonnaroo 2019’s grand cast.
The History of EDM
Rewind to the 1960s. Rock and roll is in it’s prime with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Grateful Dead headlining festivals and shows much like now. All of a sudden, “reverb” hits a prerecorded sound bite and music spirals out of control. Recordings started to be manipulated, remixed, and reshaped. Drums, bass, and synthesizers were rewoven into prerecorded tracks with “reverb”, revolutionizing dance music. Disco, techno, and even Hip-hop followed in these very footsteps.
Fast forward to 2019, and modern upcoming artists are a little more “roll” and little less rock. Producers use computers to program synthetic sounds faster, louder, and in more complicated patterns than ever before. EDM culture developed along the way; rooted in European discotheque fashion, Kandi bracelets, sparkles, pashminas, and all things PLUR are now as trendy and normal as ever. So here lies our distinction: those who crave organic, authentic music from the musicians who play them live (music “purists”, so to speak)… and those who crave synthetic sound, produced by software geniuses constantly looking for a new sound. This scale is truly a spectrum, where individuals and artists can find themselves appreciating a wide-range of BPMs, instruments, patterns and sounds.
So whether you’re into classic rock, hip-hop, rap, pop, jazz, bluegrass, metal, funk, house, or something else, Bonnaroo brings you the best of the best from every range and genre! This music festival is known as one of the biggest and best music festivals in the US. “The Farm” located in Manchester, Tennessee has hosted tens of thousands of fans for almost 20 years as well as their traditional lineup of classic and trending artists from all decades and genres. On top of all that jazz, Grassroots California is a dedicated vendor and will definitely have a boooth set up this year! Make sure to stop by for all the newest GRC hats, apparel, and accessories!
Unpacking This Year’s Lineup
The first thing I noticed was Phish: not one but THREE sets between Friday and Sunday, which makes Phish-fans and jam fams happy! Next, I noticed GRiZ, (obviously) who delights our ears with the best of glitch, dubstep, sax, and funk. Not only are fans blessed with a Friday Griz-set, but also “Griz Super Jam”, which (as I’ve found out from Griz’ Instagram) means Griz will be directing a Super Jam featuring top artists from Bonnaroo 2019! Current rumors suggest members from Phish will likely perform under Griz’ direction since both Griz and Phish are currently managed by Red Light Management, along with other Bonnaroo 2019 artists AC Slater and Odesza. For someone like me who dreams big and loves blending genres, Cardi B or Post Malone on the same stage would be pretty incredible, too!
The younger, new age EDM Fans and Bassheads should be pretty pumped for this year, though, for real. Big names such as Illenium, Zhu, Gramatik, and RL Grime are spread all over this four-day fest, peppered in with other greats such as NGHTMRE, Sunsquabi, Liquid Stranger, Space Jesus, G Jones, Eprom, Jade Cicada, and Mersiv. We highly recommend you check out female Producer/DJ from Canada, Whipped Cream. Now on Deadbeats’ label, her sets are high-energy and perfect for raging! Read more about her Radiance take over here
THIS Is America
Rap and Hip Hop Fans are treated to big names such as Childish Gambino, Post Malone, Beyonce’s sister, Solange, and comedian and rapper from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, Lil Dicky. Cardi B’s Sunday set will probably be dope af since she came up hard and fast as a female in the hip-hop scene.
The bands taking over the farm should keep the jam fam happy too. The Lumineers, Walk the Moon, The Avett Brothers, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead all made this year’s line up. Artists to watch in this category include one of my favorite girls to sing along with on the radio, Bishop Briggs, and Two Feet, an artist on my Forest and Lollapalooza watch list last year that unfortunately canceled last minute for personal health.
TBH, I’m not sure what to expect from the Grand Ol’ Opry set. I wonder if Nashville’s most revered stage will be sending a list of special guests to perform Thursday night? Or maybe I’ve just totally missed an artist I should know about. If you know more, feel free to tell us in the comments!
Tickets
Tickets for Bonnaroo 2019 are already on sale! 4-Day GA passes are a maximum of $349, and the sooner you purchase, the more you save! Layaway options are a great way to help you get there by making smaller payments over time. This year, Bonnaroo is also encouraging fans to carpool: “Buy 4 GA tickets in one order and get 1 Car Camping Pass FREE!”. VIP Packages, Ambassador programs, parking passes, camping add-ons, and more are also available at https://www.bonnaroo.com/tickets/.