Festival Frenzy 2019: Bonnaroo Thursday

There are fewer performances on Thursday than any other day of Bonnaroo, and there are fewer artists you’re likely to recognize. All the same, the first day of this year’s fest is peppered with heavy hitters you’ll want to put on your schedule.

Three standouts happen to be labelmates on New West Records. One is All Them Witches — read more on them in our guide to Nashville artists playing Bonnaroo above. Another is Caroline Rose, an indie-rock savant who’s performed in Nashville often enough that we’ll give her honorary-local status. She plays her thrashing garage- and New Wave-indebted pop songs at That Tent at 5 p.m. Rose never pulls a punch with her cutting, honest lyricism, and if her recent show at The Basement East is any indication, her set will be the perfect thing to get you psyched up for the weekend. One more New West signee, youthful North Carolina-bred and British Invasion-schooled rootsy rockers The Nude Party, will take over That Tent at 9:30 p.m. The sextet’s self-titled 2018 debut reveals a group of goofy guys with thoughtful and seriously catchy songs, and their raucous shows were a highlight of AmericanaFest 2018.

German-Canadian pop star bülow comes to the Southeast fresh off her win for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at this year’s Juno Awards. Her trap-influenced sound, emotional maximalism and Gen-Z swagger have been attracting new fans since her 2017 breakout single, “Not a Love Song,” and you can catch her at the Who Stage at 9:30 p.m. The Comet Is Coming will bring an apocalyptic, psychedelic trip to This Tent at 11 p.m. The electronically enhanced trio from London bridges jazz and dance music while fusing fluid, chaotic sax riffs, ominous keyboard harmonies and ferocious beats. The result is an infectious concoction that’s perfect for ringing in the best weekend of the summer. 

Ordinarily, something introspective might not seem like the best way to cap off your night, but trust us on this one. The 24-year-old Saba is an indisputable great of the Chicago hip-hop scene. Early on he garnered attention for features on records by both Chance the Rapper and Noname, but he’s getting noticed now for his solo work. His second album, 2018’s CARE FOR ME, is a sweeping survey of his blues and jazz sensibilities, and offers an intimate portrait of his experiences with grief and loss through his affinity for storytelling. His set at That Tent is a late one, starting at 1 a.m., but you don’t want to miss it.