ROO COVERAGE: Day Three (Saturday) | Day Two (Friday) | Day One (Thursday)
Sunday’s forecast of early afternoon, festival-high temperatures followed by evening thunderstorms appeared to persuade a portion of festivalgoers to pack it in before the day’s fantastic lineup of music. Sunday is always a tricky beast at Bonnaroo. Your body generally hates you and the temptation to beat traffic and get on the road burns in your mind. For those who overcame this desire Sunday, there was plenty to be grateful for, including Tom Petty, metal and bluegrass themed stages, and David Byrne.
See below for highlights from Sunday:
JEFF the Brotherhood
JEFF began their first tent performance at Bonnaroo to a large crowd who clearly didn’t give a s*** about the heat. Fans eagerly stage dove, moshed, and threw hot dogs, and generally tested the resolve of the photo pit barricade as the Nashville duo roared through crowd favorites “Hey Friend,” “Ripper,” and “Sixpack.” The brothers plan to take a few months off from touring to work on their next record, look forward to that next Spring.
Baroness
Photo from BaronessMusic.com
Continuing Bonnaroo’s unofficial Explode Your Eardrums Showcase at This Tent, Baroness followed JEFF the Brotherhood and gave fans yet another chance to test the barricades. Baroness is a part of one of the most inspirational storylines from this year’s Bonnaroo, where their performance is a part of their first tour back following a devastating bus crash last year, which left band members hospitalized for weeks and ultimately led to the departure/replacement of their bassist and drummer. From the start of their Sunday afternoon set, it was obvious that the band was happy to be back in front of their fans. The band drenched themselves in sweat as they shredded and bellowed through a set which was heavily weighted by songs off their 2012 album, Yellow & Green. These guys have an amazing chemistry and their songwriting seems to get better with each record.
David Byrne & St. Vincent
As great as they sound on their 2012 collaborative LP Love This Giant, this duo’s kindred nature is most apparent in a live setting. The twosome leaned and gyrated around on-stage like robot siblings, playing nearly every song off their album along with several Talking Heads numbers (‘Wild Night,” “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” and “Burning Down The House”). What is perhaps most amazing, is how well Byrne’s voice has aged, arguably sounding better than ever. Backed by a full brass section, their arrangements came across perfectly in this setting. The whole set felt like a party that could have easily closed the festival.
Bonnaroo “Best Of” Awards
Best Food
3. Zorba The Greek
2. Spicy Pie
1. Savory & Sweet Tacos (Knoxville, TN)
Best Guitar Work
3. Jim James (Superjam)
2. Benji Lysaght (Father John Misty)
1. William Tyler
Best Set of the Weekend
3. Animal Collective
2. William Tyler
1. Rock N Soul Superjam
Befitting of the eclectic, genre-hopping fan experience, here’s a musical chairs take on “Wild Wild Life” from David Byrne & St. Vincent’s set on Sunday:
