Festival Frenzy 2023: Listening Local

Bonnaroo always brings artists representing tons of different musical traditions from far and wide to Middle Tennessee, but there’s also a substantial amount of local talent in the mix. That’s easy to see on Thursday, when you could spend your entire day seeing only musicians from Nashville. Among those are Grammy-winning ’grassers Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, who’ll give you a preview of their forthcoming LP El Dorado at 5 p.m. at That Tent, and hometown heroes Diarrhea Planet, who play That Tent at 11:45 p.m.

In the refresh of Centeroo that fans saw for the first time in 2022, the Who Stage was enlarged and moved to a new spot. This year, it will showcase a variety of Music City folks including wide-ranging pop ’n’ rockers Nordista Freeze at 4 p.m. and The Medium at 5:15 p.m., post-grunge rockers with bite Venus & the Flytraps at 7:45 p.m. and purveyor of jazz-inflected, electronically enhanced instrumental wizardry Rich Ruth at 9 p.m. Out in the general admission campground, you’ll have additional chances to see many of the local Who Stage performers (and those from elsewhere) throughout the weekend at Plaza 2: Toyota Music Den. Speaking of the campground, seasoned country songsmith Kendell Marvel will bring his Honky Tonk Experience showcase to Plaza 1: Galactic Giddy-Up at midnight on Thursday, while Hogslop String Band has sets there at 8 p.m. Thursday and at 1 a.m. for Saturday’s night owls.

The roster of Nashvillians is a bit lighter on Friday, but not without standouts like indie rockers Arts Fishing Club (Who Stage, 2:45 p.m.) and glamster Gyasi (10:15 p.m.). Locals are all over the big stages on Saturday — see our daily breakdown for notes on Sheryl Crow, Jenny Lewis and Devon Gilfillian — but don’t miss out on indie-pop crew Colony House (This Tent, 2:45 p.m.). 

Sunday, your homegrown players include country hitmaker Kip Moore (Which Stage, 1 p.m.), who released his fifth LP Damn Love in April, and roots-rockin’ songsmith Cecilia Castleman (Who Stage, 5:15 p.m.), who’s recently released a spate of singles produced by Don Was. Meanwhile, ever-evolving rock ’n’ pop institution Paramore, stopping in on the tour for their latest LP This Is Why, warms up the main What Stage for Foo Fighters at 7:15 p.m. And if you’re planning to extend your Sunday night into Monday morning, much-loved Nashville DJ crew Sparkle City Disco closes out the fest at Where in the Woods, going on at 1:30 a.m.

Festival Frenzy 2023

The who, what, where, when and why of this year’s Bonnaroo and CMA Fest