Nation’s Top Artists Headed To Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival announced its daily schedule last week that includes more than 160 bands with Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder and Dave Matthews Band headlining the event.

First-tier festival Bonnaroo kicks off Thursday, June 10 with a day molded by a full-bodied undercard. Nashville’s Non-Commissioned Officers slide into an afternoon slot at the Troo Music Lounge with Frontier Ruckus following.

Some of the top picks for the night will include progressive metal group Baroness, Sweden’s Miike Snow, Neon Indian and Blitzen Trapper. England’s The xx will bring their low-fi, new wave sound to That Tent at 11:30 p.m and will prove to be one of the top acts for the night.

The schedule follows tradition and gives attendees several choices as set times will likely conflict with groups that you desire to see. This is part of the game when you provide top-shelf talent but makes it stand in the limelight.

Getting into the meat of the fest, Nawlins’s favorite Trombone Shorty will open Which Stage at noon Friday. For the mellow fan, a low-key way to open up the day would be with East Tennessee’s Jill Andrews at 1 p.m at Café Where.

Some other noteworthy acts are Carolina Chocolate Drops, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, The National and Les Claypool. Nashville rockers Kings of Leon will headline the night before some late night dilemmas start to set in. The Flaming Lips will be performing Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” at midnight along with The Black Keys at the same time. After this, LCD Soundsystem, Kid Cudi and some funky bounce music from Galactic will provide some tough choices.

Saturday is when the late nights and lack of sleep will start to creep up and the yearning for a fresh set of legs will kick in. Dave Rawlings Machine, composed of Rawlings, Gillian Welch and Old Crow Medicine Show will uplift the soul during a mid-afternoon slot.

To catch all the afternoon has to offer before Stevie Wonder headlines, you will have to be speedy. It is packed with Norah Jones, Isis, The Avett Brothers and Jimmy Cliff. Not to mention, a dreaded time slot that mixes The Dead Weather, Weezer, Jeff Beck and John Prine.

After Wonder, Jay-Z will bring his golden tongue and spotless delivery for the first late night slot. Following will be an ensemble that includes a DJ light show from Deadmau5 and a full-blown metal attack from GWAR. The Disco Biscuits take the stage at 2:30 a.m. and will more than likely play until daybreak.

Going into Sunday, the schedule is a little more flexible as the Japandroids start a day that is filled with a more “classic” touch with Kris Kristofferson, Blues Traveler and John Fogerty and his bag of CCR tricks.

In the late evening, French rockers Phoenix will provide a mod-rock spectacle while Zac Brown Band will warm up the crowd for Dave Matthews Band who will close the fest in fitting fashion.