Björk at Bonnaroo

Björk Guðmundsdóttir

Adding to the list of new and profound acts to make an appearance at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival 2013 is the Norwegian sensation from Reykjavik, Iceland, Björk Guðmundsdóttir.  Björk’s music is wildly exotic and has covered all genres of music from folk and acappella to electronic dance music and punk in her thirty or so years being a solo artist. The common factor between all of her styles is the overlaying of her amazing voice that resonates over whatever beat is being played with it.  The most striking of Bjork’s set at Bonnaroo Music Festival was her on stage attire.  She was dressed in a very odd dress and her entire head was surrounded on all sides by thousands of six inch long needles.  Musically, Bjork’s set at Bonnaroo contained a wide variety of styles of music, and was accompanied by a group of twelve background singers/performers.  Her choice of songs came from throughout her career, and included “Hyperballad,” “Crystalline,” and “Pagan Poetry.”  Appearances in the US are quite rare for a European sensation such as Björk Guðmundsdóttir, so she was sure to satisfy her army of fans present to watch her show.  

Of Monsters and Men at Bonnaroo Music Festival

Of Monsters and Men

Lighting up the Which Stage on Friday afternoon for an hour was Of Monsters and Men, an Icelandic pop and folk band with their own very unique sound.  While their 2011 album launched them into stardom in Europe and Australia, this five piece group is in the midst of gaining popularity in the United States.  Of Monsters and Men is led by Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson on acoustic guitar and vocals.  They are backed by Brynjar Leifsson on lead guitar, Kristján Páll Kristjánsson on bass, and Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson on drums. 

Of Monsters and Men is one of those bands that is fits only a very specific niche at a large scale music festival such as Bonnaroo, but the crowd full of American youths signify the demand for such odd Nordic music. 

Paul McCartney Raises Bar at Bonnaroo

Paul McCartney

Arguably the most epic headlining act in the history of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was Sir Paul McCartney, playing Friday night at this year’s event.  Bonnaroo always has a way to go over the top in many aspects, especially in the magnitude of performances.  It seems like every year has a way of outdoing the year before, and this year was no different.  Sir Paul and his band came onstage to a cram packed crowd of seventy thousand or so screaming fans on the What Stage.  The performance from this 71 year old (70 at the time) was nothing short of magical.  Supporting McCartney was Rusty Anderson on lead guitar, Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums, Paul Wickens on keys and Brian Ray on rhythm guitar and bass.  McCartney cycled through playing his Höfner 500/1 bass, acoustic guitar and piano.  Over the course of two and a half hours, this group of powerhouse legends played 38 songs, the majority of which came from The Beatles’ and Wings’ repertoires.  They played all of the best and biggest hits that Sir Paul has been a part of from the past five decades.  The fans in the crowd knew every single one.  There were so many highlights from the show, including Highlights from the main segment of the show included “Eleanor Rigby,” “Hey Jude,” and “Back in the U.S.S.R.” among numerous others. 

Paul McCartney at Bonnaroo Music Festival

Phish Closes House at Bonnaroo

Phish at Bonnaroo

Headlining this past year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was the jamband of all jambands, Phish, who gave it their all for two full sets of music on the infamous “What Stage.” This band has quite the reputation for putting on an epic live show, and Bonnaroo was no exception. As usual for the Sunday night headliner, there was no other music on any of the other stages. Needless to say it seemed pretty apparent that they had the biggest crowd of the weekend. There were people as far as the eye could see for this truly remarkable feat of light and sound.

Kenny Rogers Spanning Generations at Bonnaroo

Kenny Rogers

One of the best things about Bonnaroo Music festival is the variance in the acts that you can witness over the course of one weekend. You can go from the jam bands and the electronica to more classical country acts such as the likes of Kenny Rogers, who played early evening in the “Other Tent” on Sunday, June 10th. Regardless of whether or not you are a fan of country/western music, you have to give it up for a superstar like Kenny Rogers, who has been in the musical spotlight for almost fifty years. Over the course of an hour and 15 minutes, he crooned out all of his hits from the course of his career. This
show drew an audience that you don’t see at most music festivals today. It was an interesting blend of older ladies and gentlemen wearing their cowboy hats as a tribute to this music legend and typical drunk music festival goers. What was even more astonishing took place later that evening during the
headlining act of the weekend: Phish. Kenny Rogers got on stage with the mega jam band to play Rogers’s song, “The Gambler”. Lionel Richie came out to perform with Kenny Rogers during his day set.

Dumpstaphunk Stays Funky Summer and Winter

Dumpstaphunk

 Bringing the funk back to Bonnaroo Music Festival, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk tore up the stage at the ‘Other Tent’ late night on Friday, June 9th 2012. The New Orleans funk quintet did not disappoint their fans one bit as they lived up to their high energy performance expectation. One of the highlights of the set was a funktastic rendition of David Bowie’s “Fame” that really had the crowd getting down and dirty in the warm Manchester, Tennessee night.

Art vs. Science - Bonnaroo Debates Music and Fun

Art vs. Science

Art vs. Science is an three piece techno-pop band from Australia that gave a lively performance at

the 2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival. Their short afternoon set at the Sonic Stage on Saturday, June

9th was a very unique sounding medley of house beats, rock & roll, and synthed out keyboards. This

distinguishing blend of musical styles and influences gives them a style that they can call their own.

For being a newer band they definitely had a hugely confident stage presence, being dressed in silver

space suits and knowing exactly how to get the crowd hyped. 

Alice Cooper Rockin' Bonnaroo Music Festival

Alice Cooper

On Saturday June 9th, 2012 in “That Tent” at Bonnaroo Music Festival saw a performance by none other than 70’s and 80’s metal icon Alice Cooper. This show was yet another contribution to Bonnaroo’s recent theme of hosting nostalgic rock performances from the past thirty years. The crowd was a testament to this, consisting mostly of the older portion of the Bonnaroo attendees. Despite this being his sixth decade being a musical performer, Cooper and his band gave a high energy performance that was surprisingly entertaining. The foggy backdrop on the stage matched the costumes that Cooper and his cronies were wearing; they looked as if they came straight out of an 80’s hair-band music video from a cheesy horror movie.

Alice Cooper

GZA & Wu-Tang Clan at Bonnaroo

GZA

To close out “This Tent” on Saturday, June 9^th at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was an iconic performance from none other than GZA (Gary Grice) performing the album Liquid Swords with Groupo Fantasma playing his background beats live. GZA, who gained notoriety as a founding member the legendary Staten Island based hip hop ensemble Wu-Tang Clan, brought back the hype that has been surrounding the LP since its release in 1995. 

Colin Hay Gets Back to Work

Colin Hay

Colin Hay, the front man from the Australian 1980’s super-group, Men at Work, made a
performance at the 2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He played three shows
during this monster of a festival, hosting upwards of 80,000 festival goers over the course of four days.
His short 30 minute set on the Solar Stage on Friday, June 8th is seen below in the photos. It captured a
smaller crowd for those willing to brave the mid-afternoon sun. Everyone who thought they would get
their retro music fix from a full blown energetic Men at Work concert was dead wrong.

Ludacris at Bonnaroo

Ludacris

Christopher Bridges, known to the world as Ludacris, played to a rousing a near 25,000 person crowd at last summer’s Bonnaroo Festival on June 8, 2012 at This Tent.  Born in Illinois and raised in Atlanta, the hip-hop artist is part of the Dirty South music genre.  The rapper has won three Grammy awards, appeared in numerous films, and owns several companies including his own Cognac liquor brand.

Festival Survival Guide Bonnaroo and Beyond

Gearing up for Bonnaroo and other other weekend long festivals takes some thought, planning, time and money.  Thinking ahead though will make your festival experience a lot more fun and in the long run save you time and money during the festival where time is precious.  Needs will vary depending on your needs and level of desired comfort but here are some suggestions and things to consider.  Enjoy our illustrated Bonnaroo and Summer Festival Survival Guide from Concert Photos Magazine!

Words and Concert Photography by David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions Concert Photography Archives

Bonnaroo Arch

Bonnaroo Music Festival Crowd Photos

The 10th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival attracted around 80,000 music fans last summer to see, hear and experience an huge plethora of bands that came from across the globe to perform.  The mid June festival, held in Manchester, Tennessee, frequently saw temperatures over 100° degrees during the 4 day event.  During the course of four incredible days this summer and photographing at least 30 performances at Bonnaroo, I captured many photos of the crowd during and between the performances.  Many people having lots of fun—that's what you'll see in this gallery.  To play a slideshow of the Bonnaroo crowd photos, click on any photo.  Then click on the large image to scroll through or use your mouse roller.  Visit Performance Impressions concert photography archives to see photos from the last 10 years of Bonnaroo Music Festival including 29 galleries from performances at Bonnaroo 2011.