Thirty-two undercard acts to discover at Bonnaroo 2015

This weekend is gonna be a busy one, but you don't have to face it alone! We've got everything you need to know about both Bonnaroo and CMA Fest. Scroll down for links to all of our Bonnaroo coverage and click here for all our CMA previews. And be sure to visit Nashville Cream through the weekend, too — we'll be posting tons of photos and updates from the farm.

From Sweden's latest pop phenom to Denmark's dirtiest noise-punk roustabouts, this year Bonnaroo's tent and club stages offer up a SXSW-worthy smorgasbord of underground bands and singers to discover. Here are our must-see picks. A multi-genre world's fair of shit-hot talent, they include New Orleans boogiemen, an 11-piece Greek ensemble inspired by Ennio Morricone, Detroit's freshest, fiercest up-and-coming MC, teenage heavy metal buskers plucked from Times Square, future R&B and EDM sensations, a show-stopping mother-and-son duo from the coffee shops of Kansas City and at least one Malian band making psychedelic desert blues in political exile.

Benjamin Booker

With his Nashville-recorded self-titled LP, New Orleans' garage-rocking youngster bluesman Benjamin Booker had one of 2014's standout debut records. The album's urgent guitar licks and steady-boogying arrangements had a lot to do with that, but perhaps Booker's most notable trait is his raspy, hardened-beyond-his-years howl. It's the kind of redlining blues yelp that underlines the emotion in every lyric and makes for a hell of a live delivery. —DPR

Betty Who

Idolator called her "The Artist That Will Save Pop Music," but while we're not yet sure pop music in any kind of trouble, Australia's Betty Who may at last save your Bonnaroo Sunday night. That's assuming you haven't yet gotten your fill of explosive, glamorous pop hooks, dancey synth stabs and the saccharine levity of pop music in its purest and most potent form. —SG

BRONCHO

After spending the whole day driving, unpacking, walking and getting into your festival group, you're going to need a band like Norman, Okla., power-pop trio BRONCHO. These neon-colored hooks, wobbly power chords and kinetic melodies may very well lure you from fatigue as you soldier through that taxing first night of the fest. —SG

Caribou

For the past decade, Canadian musician Dan Snaith has meshed organic, psychedelic sounds with electronic arrangements under the name Caribou — stepping ever closer to the electronic end of that marriage along the way. With his latest, last year's Our Love, Snaith went pretty much all in as an electronic artist, filling the record with thick dance beats, bubbling synthesizers and catchy, looping, reverb-drenched vocals. Live, expect a bit more live instrumentation, some serious musicianship and immersive grooves. —DPR

Christopher Denny

Ever driven down a remote stretch of interstate in the midnight hours, only to be stopped in mid-scan by an AM radio preacher? Arkansas singer-songwriter Denny has just such a voice, a declamatory I-command-the-dead-to-walk bullhorn that grabs you by the ear on his 2014 album If the Roses Don't Kill Us. If the late novelist Larry Brown had written country songs instead of short stories, this might be how they'd sound. —JR

De Lux

Taking cues from instant disco legends LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads' funkier moments and the heady grooves of Neon Indian, L.A. duo De Lux fills the sleek, sexy disco-pop void left by defunct or inactive bands like The Rapture and Ghostland Obsevatory. Slick grooves, saccharine harmonies and fat keyboard licks abound; De Lux sounds more or less like the David Byrne/Passion Pit collab you think about when you're home alone at night. —SG

Dej Loaf

While we're not ones to judge an artist for using their sexuality as a source of inspiration and creativity, sometimes it seems like that's the only source of inspiration women are allowed to have in hip-hop. Well, Detroit native Dej Loaf is having none of that — she's kicking down industry doors with tough-as-nails lyrics and smoother-than-silk delivery. Expect to see Dej on the big stage by the end of the decade. —SLM

The Dø

You have plenty of options for electro-tinged dream pop with strong vocals. Franco-Finnish duo The Dø, aka Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy, stands out with an experimental bent and a strong undercurrent of funk that draws them toward middle ground between Björk and Daft Punk instead of, say, Chvrches and Beach House. Merliahti's dazzling soprano voice traces elegant melodic contours through Levy's playground of shape-shifting grooves, touching on post-war vocal pop, proto-disco and much more. —ST

Rhiannon Giddens

Always a roof-rattling live act, the Carolina Chocolate Drops frontwoman gave last year's The New Basement Tapes a needed jolt of electricity, and on her T Bone Burnett-produced solo debut Tomorrow Is My Turn she's got material to match her thunderbolt pipes, from the catalogs of Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and unjustly obscure artists such as rediscovered Paramount blues singers Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas. Americana fans, park it here. —JR

Glass Animals

Born from the sleepless nights of med school dropout singer-songwriter and onetime insomniac Dave Bayley, British indie poppers Glass Animals are a testament to the creative power of boredom. Quirky, ear-tickling beats punctuate Bayley's somber falsetto to create an updated, radio-friendly take on '90s trip-hop. —SG

The Growlers

"Beach Goth" is not only the name of an annual festival hosted by Costa Mesa, Calif., rock 'n' rollers The Growlers, but also a term that's been applied to the band itself. If that sounds a touch insufferable, don't hold it against them — they actually make a melodious, mellifluous, easygoing strand of surfy stoner pop that feels far more natural and pleasant than a day at the beach wearing JNCOs and heavy eyeliner. —DPR

Hurray for the Riff Raff

If a lack of bench depth in Americana troubles you, hear Hurray for the Riff Raff and be at ease. Sonically, they've perfected an effortless blend of early rock and folk styles from Appalachian to zydeco, with frontwoman Alynda Lee Segarra's resonant voice dancing gracefully over the top. But their songs, intimate and detailed portraits that ring with the voices of the unheard, are the ultimate reward for listening. —ST

Iceage

In the event your 'Roo won't be complete without a proper mosh pit, Danish punks Iceage are your second-surest bet considering Slayer is also on the bill this year. Delivered loud, fast and raw, straddling the line between chaotic and melodic, Iceage's hooks are peppered with rootsy twangs and wrapped around angsty, drunken themes of misspent youth. —SG

Imam Baildi

If you are going to pick a band name you could do much worse than sniping the nomenclature of one of Greece's most delectable meals. And if you're going to pick a band that updates classical Mediterranean sounds for the modern world you could do a whole lot worse than Imam Baildi. Equal parts soul-seduction and spaghetti Western swagger, this 11-piece outfit is a sultry transcontinental adventure in sound. —SLM

Little May

Not since Silverchair has a trio of Aussie whippersnappers made a splash so quickly. With Soundcloud and Spotify streams in the millions, the Sydney-spawned indie-folk outfit's self-titled debut EP offers only a taste of what's to come. Singers Liz Drummond, Hannah Field and Annie Hamilton's smoky, ghostly harmonies on the sparse and spooky "Hide," the dreamy to driving "Bones" and the blissfully delicate "Boardwalk" would sound sublime echoing through the Ryman. But for now, this Thursday evening appearance on The Who Stage — as part of a showcase for Mumford & Sons guy Ben Lovett's Communion Music collective — will have to do. —AG

Mick Jenkins

After a long weekend of revelry and exuberance, why not close out your festival discoveries with some heavy shit? Mick Jenkins speaks truth to power, dissecting a culture of consumption and corruption with an attitude and exactitude that has been missing from hip-hop for nearly a generation. The Chicagoan's songwriting favors the earworm, his wordplay trains on the center brain and his spine-tingling beats aims straight for your soul. —SLM

Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Pianist and singer Jon Cleary arrived in New Orleans as a teenager in 1980 and immediately began absorbing the styles of icons like Professor Longhair and Allen Toussaint. Heavy-handed production weighs down some of Cleary's studio albums, but his live show is unadulterated boogie. Don't be surprised if a spontaneous second-line parade forms during the set. —ST

Jungle

Better run back to the campsite and grab your boogie shoes because this seven-piece British space-soul crew is going to light the dance floor on fire. These Mercury Prize-shortlisters scorched the U.K. festival scene last summer, and you can expect them to bring the same heat to Manchester, Tenn. Jungle specializes in mind-bending grooves and noggin-twisting synth washes, so expect transcendence to be de rigueur at this midnight set. —SLM

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Breakout Aussies Tame Impala don't have a monopoly on exceptionally good psychedelic rock from lands Down Under. Goofily named seven-piece outfit King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard — the band's live lineup features two drummers and an array of guitarists — make a less sophisticated and more visceral take on psych rock that calls to mind killer live acts like Thee Oh Sees and King Tuff. Raw, entertaining stuff. —DPR

Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear

Oh, to have seen the Independence, Mo., duo of 26-year-old Ward and his 63-year-old mom Ruth when they were still playing venues the size of Third Man Records' Blue Room. That'll teach you to snooze on an act with buzz this heavy. Their debut LP Skeleton Crew is as gorgeous and arresting as it is unclassifiable: stirring, gnomic songs that draw upon a century of folk, country, R&B, even '60s pop, yet meander down their own melodic and lyric paths, following the lantern of Ward's uninhibited howl. Got plans for this slot? Reconsider. —JR

Mini Mansions

Mini Mansions — the glammy electro-pop trio fronted by Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman — didn't quite steal the show when they opened for Tame Impala weeks ago at the Ryman (if anything, that award goes to the oscilloscope that was rigged up to Impala frontman Kevin Parker's guitar). But Mansions' set was nonetheless really good and really transfixing, complete with a slowed-down cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and myriad cool, catchy sounds and tones. —DPR

MØ

Danish electro-pop singer MØ swan-dived onto our radar by way of recent collaborations with Iggy Azalea and Major Lazer, as well as recent appearances at Coachella. Using primal 808 beats, pulsating synths and an expressive, compelling and versatile voice, MØ delivers a dulcet and danceable neo-soul groove sure to hit a home run with fans of Grimes and Twin Shadow. —SG

Rustie

He's 22, he's Scottish, and he's about to leave a smoldering crater where Bonnaroo used to be. Rustie is one of these digital savants; these stadium-hip-hop futurists who are taking the art of electronic music into weird and wonderful places. Given his gorgeous sound design and ear for propulsive melodies and sublime grooves, don't be surprised when Rustie returns for a late-night set on a bigger stage in a couple years. —SLM

Songhoy Blues

When radical Islamists took control of northern Mali in 2012, they outlawed music in an attempt to break spirits. That ban has had quite the opposite effect. They Will Have to Kill Us First, a documentary about Malian musicians in exile, is making the festival circuit. It features the young members of Songhoy Blues, who are now playing Mali's hypnotic blend of centuries-old traditional music and electric blues all over the world, beginning with a U.S. tour opening for Alabama Shakes. —ST

Kandace Springs

Nashville native Kandace Springs' YouTube videos have plays in the thousands rather than millions, but one of the singer's early fans is Prince, who was impressed enough to invite her to perform at Paisley Park during the Purple Rain 30th anniversary party. So far, Springs has released only a four-song self-titled EP, but it's an ample showcase for her incredible command of soul and jazz. —ST

Son Little

While it'd be hyperbolic to say we're in the middle of a blues revival (that already happened, duh), we would say that we're in the midst of a blues reboot, and Anti- Records artist Son Little might be the dude pushing ctrl-alt-delete on the whole culture. Using the basic building blocks of the blues (y'know, the fundamentals of American music), Little creates a reflection and refraction of contemporary society that is as vital as it is hummable. —SLM

Strand of Oaks

Transparently taking obvious cues from Dinosaur Jr. worked for bands like Built to Spill and The Breeders. And it works for Strand of Oaks, the Philadelphia-by-way-of-Indiana ensemble led by singer-songwriter Timothy Showalter. Case in point: "Goshen '97," the slacker-mouthed, life-embracing opening salvo from the band's 2014 fourth LP HEAL is an all-out fist-pumper with bendy guitarmonies and a howling, reverb-dusted chorus that brings back fond memories of Superdrag's My Bloody Valentine fascination. But Showalter offers much than power-pop hooks and J Mascis worship, as the record effortlessly toggles from chilly, pocket-sized New Wave numbers to big, heartfelt Americana ballads and spaces in between. —AG

SZA

Saturday afternoons are made for chill vibes, and Kendrick Lamar's labelmate SZA has quite possibly the chillest in these United States. Z, her 2014 full-length debut, slides deeper and deeper into lackadaisical grooves and sun-soaked melodies that recall the most creative of '80s dance floors, while staying firmly within the contemporary R&B zeitgeist. SZA might be alt-y now, but you can expect to see her on the big chart by decade's end. —SLM

Tove Lo

Hailing from the land of ABBA and early sunrises, this prodigy of super-producer (and fellow Swede) Max Martin is already a chart-topping pop star in her homeland. And with her sleeper single "Habits (Stay High)" hitting No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, America isn't too far behind. The song — a confessional synth-pop sendoff to lethargy and poor lifestyle choices in the weed haze of a post-breakup shame spiral — is one of many standouts off Tove Lo's debut full-length Queen of the Clouds, an album full of pristinely produced trash-pop romps about being unapologetically imperfect. —AG

Unlocking the Truth

The latest scuttlebutt is that New York City metal outfit Unlocking the Truth has already told its label to piss off. Which according to our totals means this gang of juvenile shredders, best known for their mega-viral Times Square busking videos, have already accumulated a lifetime's worth of street cred before they could get their driver's licenses. So yeah, these teenage metal dudes are pretty much cooler than any of us could ever hope to be. So be cool and watch them christen the tent stages on Thursday evening. —SLM

The Very Best

This London-based duo's latest album, Makes a King, layers charismatic Malawi-born frontman Esau Mwamwaya's Chichewa-language vocals over Swedish DJ/producer Johan Hugo's rippling waves of beats and spacy atmospherics. Fans of Vampire Weekend and M.I.A. are already on board from their collaborations on the duo's 2009 full-length debut Warm Heart of Africa; live, this could be one of the weekend's most spine-tingling shows. —JR

Ryn Weaver

You'd have to have been there to remember a pre-pop-star-status Charli XCX whipping a turnt-up but criminally small crowd into a delirious rave during an early afternoon Other Tent set in 2013. Those of you who missed it may never forgive yourselves, but you can least learn from past mistakes and make sure to catch surefire pop-star-to-be Ryn Weaver's Thursday evening Other Tent set. With playful xylophones and finger snaps flickering over bouncy verses and a stomping symphony of synthesizers blowing out colossal choruses, the 22-year-old California newcomer's viral hit "OctaHate" is one of the most irresistibly incandescent pop songs of 2015. And there's more where that came from. —AG