The Bonnaroo 2008 lineup just got announced late last night. The headliners of the festival are surprises to me — I purposely avoided any rumor mill this year — and I’m sure they’ll be surprises to the mainstream contingent that may or may not decide to go to this megafest on that farm down in Manchester, TN come June 12-15, 2008.
The headliners announced are Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, and Kayne West. Hrm.
Pearl Jam is a nice headliner to feature but seems slightly unimpressive considering their headlining gig last year at Lollapalooza 2007. That was a great set, by the way. Metallica seems 100% out of place at this festival, which isn’t a statement meant to conjure up all those “Bonnaroo is a jamband festival” arguments that are no longer valid. I don’t know, it just seems off to me. Jack Johnson is also headlining Coachella 2008 so it seems a little unimpressive that they’ve got him doing Bonnaroo as well. Differentiation is something we all cherish in these lineups and that’s definitely evident as you get to the “long tail” of the lineup. My Morning Jacket is always a treat, The Raconteurs are going to have a killer year regardless of what festivals they’re booked for (already Coachella and Bonnaroo), M.I.A. will get the crowd hopping, Umphrey’s McGee will get the crowd shredding, and Battles better get a mainstage slot. It gets plenty more eclectic as you read down the lineup.
2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Lineup:
Pearl Jam
Metallica
Jack Johnson
Kanye West
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Phil Lesh & Friends
My Morning Jacket
The Allman Brothers Band
The Raconteurs
Willie Nelson
Death Cab for Cutie
B.B. King
Sigur Ros
Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road
Ben Folds
O.A.R.
The Bluegrass Allstars Feat. Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton
M.I.A.
Umphrey’s McGee
Iron & Wine
Yonder Mountain String Band
Swell Season
Talib Kweli
Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival
Gogol Bordello
Broken Social Scene
Robert Randolph’s Revival
Rilo Kiley
Mastodon
Lupe Fiasco
Against Me!
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Pat Green
Ozomatli
Tegan & Sara
Solomon Burke
Drive-By Truckers
!!!
The Avett Brothers
Israel Vibration
Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck
Phil Lesh / Larry Campbell / Jackie Greene
Aimee Mann
Ladytron
The Fiery Furnaces
Orchestra Baobab
Ghostland Observatory
Jose Gonzalez
Dark Star Orchestra
Minus the Bear
Donavon Frankenreiter
Lez Zeppelin
State Radio
Battles
Jakob Dylan
Two Gallants
The Sword
Vampire Weekend
Little Feat
Nicole Atkins
The Felice Brothers
Mason Jennings
MGMT
The Lee Boys
Black Kids
Serena Ryder
Steel Train
Grupo Fantasma
Back Door Slam
Bonnaroo Comedy:
Bonnaroo Late Night Chat About with David Cross
Janeane Garofalo
Zach Galifianakis
Jim Norton
Brian Posehn
Mike Birbiglia
John Mulaney
Michelle Buteau
What do you guys think of this? We normally find this festival as the largest point of discussion as the musical new year begins, with people scrambling to determine if they want to go and how hipster they should snark on the lineup. If that even makes sense. I, for one, wouldn’t want to attend for the headliners, although I’ll admit that seeing “Master of Puppets” live is somewhat of a lifelong dream for me. I’d go for all the up-and-coming artists that would play the smaller tents. And given the festivities and the vibe and the sheer fun a festival like this would allow for (assuming you don’t get sunburned), Bonnaroo is once-again a festival no-brainer. Go to this.
