Larkin Poe
As has become tradition, familiar players from across Music City’s music scenes will be on stages big and small at Bonnaroo this year. Fresh off the release of Neon Pill, their first album since 2019, Nashville-via-Bowling Green rockers Cage the Elephant are on What Stage at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, warming up the crowd for headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers. Blues-rocking duo Larkin Poe, whom we last saw making a guest appearance during Elvis Costello’s three-hour marathon at the Ryman, are at What Stage at 3 p.m. Friday. Following a spring packed with tour dates behind her stellar, funky, forward-leaning LP What Now, Brittany Howard graces Which Stage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday; in the wake of last year's excellent Weathervanes, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit take Which Stage at 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Ahead of a big summer opening for The Head and the Heart, rocking singer-songwriter Jason Singer has been teasing lots of new music, and he and his post-Pixies power-pop band Michigander will warm up with the first set for this year at That Tent at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
There’s also a wealth of talent from within Nashville proper and close by to be found on Who Stage, and it’s worth seeking out, especially if you haven’t been to Bonnaroo in a while: The stage is bigger and better than ever, and the lineup is stacked. In addition to Molly Grace, who plays at 2:15 p.m. Sunday (read more about her in our Sunday write-up), you’ve got electronically enhanced rockers The Foxies at 9 p.m. Thursday — from their electroclash-meets-No Doubt single “Timothée Chalamet” to their 2023 full-length Who Are You Now, Who Were You Then? they’ve got a catalog stocked with body-movers.
Jobi Riccio
On Friday, Who Stage’s Nashvillian complement includes Abby Holliday at 2:15 p.m., whose recent singles blend dance-pop underpinnings and an intimate writing style that’ll be especially appealing if you’re into boygenius. At 3:30 p.m., see songsmith Mon Rovîa, whose family fled the Liberian capital city he takes his moniker from to escape civil war when he was a child, and who has a knack for gentle songs that carry a heavy weight. And Cookeville-based Dan Spencer brings his special concoction of country and metal at 4:45 p.m., in the wake of his new LP Return to Your Dark Master and appearances at CMA Fest.
Big-bearded, gentle-voiced songsmith Paul McDonald and his band The Mourning Doves will appear at Who Stage at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, as will indie rockers Jive Talk (8:30 p.m.), who recently announced their signing to Warner imprint War Buddha with the hard-charging single “Rat People.” Songsmith Jobi Riccio, who continues to make waves in the wake of her excellent debut LP Whiplash, will join in as well at 3:30 p.m.
The who, what, when, where and why of CMA Fest and Bonnaroo 2024
