Photo courtesy of Mason Jar Media.
WUOG sent two writers to Bonnaroo this past weekend. After braving the heat, driving to Athens for summer classes and coming back onto the grid, they have given us a wrap-up of the weekend.
Thursday
I am ashamed to say that before Bonnaroo, I have never heard of Jungle. Thankfully, I was able to stumble upon these stars, and I would highly recommend that you do too. This band of modern soul captivated a crowd of about 10,000 people. With upbeat, natural flowing vocals and subtle rhythmic choreography to accompany the singers, it became impossible to look away from the stage. It was difficult for me to tell who was the lead, because each and every one of the singers and musicians delivered constant intensity into the music. If you are looking into their work now, I would suggest starting with their song “Busy Earnin,”and according to the roar of the crowd at Bonnaroo during this piece, I believe they would agree with me on this one as well.
-Faisal Gedi @faisalgedi
Dej Loaf was able to move the crowd at That Tent, continuing the positive vibes that radiated through the festival. With hits such as “Try Me” and Kid Ink’s “Be Real,” she caused an eruption from the crowd. With her additions of ad lib over her tracks and her DJ exuberating restless energy, her performance was hype to say the least.
-Kim An Ta
Friday
Gabriel Garzon Montano was able to show us his versatile roots and inspirations as he performed songs from his album Binshoune: Alma del Huila. His voice was beyond capable of resonating an intimate feeling through the audience. His diverse talents were seen as he played his own music on the keyboard, accompanied by his drummer David. During the show, he performed “Sour Mango,” which cannot be found anywhere else unless one sees him live. And of course, Gabriel sang his soothing song “68,” which was featured on the famous rapper Drake’s song “Jungle.” With such a celestial voice that can reach seemingly impossible notes, and authentic music that created rhythmic pulses through the audience, I would say seeing him live was without a doubt an experience I could not forget.
After his show, Gabriel showed his audience his pure love for his listeners by coming off of the stage and talking to each and every one of us. When talking to him, he answered my questions on what his vision for music is and if he had any advice for up and coming artist. Gabriel replied saying that his goal is to create feel-good music for his listeners, and his advice to the up and coming artist would be to imitate all of the great artists who causes a yearning fire to start inside of you whenever you listen to their music and to work on your craft as much as possible. It is clear that he is well onto reaching his goal.
-Kim An Ta
Photo courtesy by Jasmine Zaman
On Friday night, it seemed that everyone at Bonnaroo was at the DeadMau5 show. And without delay, DeadMau5 did not disappoint the thousands of Bonnaroovians in the crowd. The producer was able to cause simultaneous dancing with his wide selection of progressive-house music.
-Kim An Ta
Photo by Faisal Gedi
As one of the most anticipated performances of the night, the audience spanned from the What Stage all the way to the entrance of Bonnaroo for Kendrick Lamar. He performed songs from his previous album Good kid m.A.A.d city and his newly released album, To Pimp a Butterfly. Kendrick settled any uncertainties of his talent as he tirelessly rapped some of his hit singles with the help of hisdie-hard fans who shouted the lyrics to “King Kunta” even louder than him. The enormous stage featured clips of scenes from a city that seemed to be Compton, the hometown of the rapper and the theme of many of his songs. His albums, particularly To Pimp a Butterfly, is a progression of stories and lessons from his life, and so the effects added on greatly to the narration seen in his raps. After performing “m.A.A.d city” and causing a wave of excitement through the audience, Kendrick vowed to come back to Bonnaroo next year.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi
Earth Wind and Fire created a feel-good environment Friday night, playing their countless hits such as “September” and “Let’s Groove,” causing any lingering souls of the festival to flock to the Which Stage where the music was vibrating from. Not only were they performing their old-school hits, but they then brought the new school artists, Kendrick Lamar, who was performing not too long before Earth Wind and Fire, and Chance the Rapper, onto the stage as they shared the night with these icons of funk.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi
The Do, an indie pop band from France and Finland, created a feeling of dancing on clouds. The singer’s, Olivia Merilahti, voice carried over the instruments ever so softly, yet with enough punch to where it was still as electrifying as the music.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi
Saturday
We heard a compilation of amazing artists at Super Jam such as SZA, Chance the Rapper, Metallica’s Rob Trujillo, DMC, Jack Antonoff, Reggie Watts, Eric Krasno, and Pretty Lights perform 80’s hits, allowing the audience to groove and sing along to each and every performer’s cover after being introduced by the hilarious Zach Galifianakis, whose first concern when entering the stage was what the Wi-Fi password was. With so many artist performing back to back on one stage, it soon became difficult to focus on the talents, especially when many of the songs being performed were not their own. Nevertheless, it was clear that SZA and Jack Antonoff definitely stole the show with their duet of Queen’s classic “Under Pressure.”
-Kim An Ta
Photo by Faisal Gedi
Childish Gambino whose music cannot be pinned to just one genre, graces the Which Stage Satuday night with his singing, rapping, and dancing that emulated what I would describe as a modern day, ruffled up, Michael Jackson. As the crowd waits for Gambino minutes before the show, they began chanting “worldstar, worldstar” from his popular song ‘Worldstar’ from his album Because of the Internet, which he soon performed. The persona of Childish Gambino was like no other. There seemed to be moments when he was possessed by the music and his body was simply the vessel for the beat. Even though Childish Gambino said he would not perform another song from his previous album Camp after his 2014 concert in Atlanta, the artist couldn’t help but perform ‘Bonfire’ from that album, which he did with just as much energy as his newer songs.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi
Photo by Faisal Gedi
I was amazed by Jack Balfour Scott’s quivering and yearning voice. As he leads the Mispers as they performed songs that had a rushing tempo, back to ones that were slow and melodic. The impressive Hannah van den Brul beautifully accompanied the band with her violin, and played an important role in their song “Brother.”
-Faisal Gedi @Faisal Gedi
Photo by Faisal Gedi
Gary Clark Jr., as a veteran of Bonnaroo, knew exactly what he was doing when he performed countless, riveting guitar solos on the Which Stage. His soulful music captivated a large audience, as he has done in the year of 2011 and 2012 at Bonnaroo. My favorite song from the Texan was “Bright Lights,” with its unforgettable chorus.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi
Photo by Jasmine Zaman
Not surprisingly, Mumford & Sons were seen at the largest stage of Bonnaroo, the What Stage. The band captivated the audience with songs both old and new. Songs such as “Believe” from their album Wilder Mind and ‘” Will Wait,” created a ginormous sing-along through the audience as everyone banded together as one big Bonnaroo family that night.
-Kim An Ta
Photo by Faisal Gedi
Bonnaroo had its fair share of international music, seen in the performance from Songhoy Blue, the band that originated from Mali. Their upbeat songs, catchy hooks, and use of Western sounding guitar riffs, creates a great combination for one to groove to. Though their songs are not in English, they give more than enough reason with their drumming and guitar solos for listeners to drop by.
–Faisal Gedi @faisalgedi
Photo by Faisal Gedi
Along with Songhoy Blue, another international band would be Kaleo from Iceland. This indie band has a good bit of pop, rock, and folk to their sound. The lead singer’s lightweight voice can sing you to sleep. But of course, with over a 100 degrees of heat, it was impossible to be sung to sleep with “All the Pretty Girls.”
-Kim An Ta
Sunday
Photo courtesy of Zachary Chatham
Florence & The Machine continues to surpass all expectations. Her voice is clearly one of the most unique voices of our time, with a band that can keep up with her fluidity. Her resonating notes had Bonnaroo captivated, as she took us out of this world.
-Kim An Ta
Photo by Zachary Chatham
Twenty One Pilots the entire audience bumping to songs such as “Stressed Out.” With catchy rhythms, one can easily pick up the beat and sing along too. This group’s ability to not be categorized into just one genre has given this generation a fresh new sound.
-Faisal Gedi, @faisalgedi