Bonnaroo 2017

Festival guide

As if securing two of the world’s biggest rock bands as headliners wasn’t enough of a coup, Bonnaroo have managed to deliver an entire bill packed with talent. We’ve looked beyond U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to highlight some potential highlights of this year’s festival, which takes place from 8 to 11 June in Manchester, Tennessee. From D.R.A.M. to Margo Price, see our pick of the line-up below.

Top picks

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    D.R.A.M.

    If anyone’s capable of getting the crowd bouncing this weekend it’s D.R.A.M. Offering a joyous fusion of skewed soul, weirdo-pop and trap, his beatific debut album Big Baby D.R.A.M. would have been the undisputed soundtrack to last summer, had it not arrived in October. Friday evening at Bonnaroo will be one of the first opportunities the Virginian rapper’s had to play “Cash Machine”, “Broccoli” and the rest before a US festival crowd. You’d be mad to miss it.

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    The xx

    While The xx have always been spellbinding live you’d probably have struggled to describe them as uplifting previously. That’s all changed with the release of their third LP, which finds Jamie xx taking the lead creatively. Though they’ve managed to retain the crepuscular feel for which they were first famed, I See You is the South London trio’s most extroverted collection to date - capable of moving listeners emotionally and physically - and therefore perfect for festival season.

    The xx - I See You
    • 16-bit FLAC
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    Margo Price

    Offering welcome respite from the sanitized, chart-friendly country music that’s become ubiquitous in recent years, Margo Price channels her own colorful past with remarkable candour. Hedonism, emotional trauma, uncertainty: very little is off limits on last LP Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, which was released via Jack White’s Third Man imprint, and named one of Rolling Stone’s albums of 2016. Don’t miss your chance to hear her Loretta Lynn-esque vocals in the flesh.

Big names

Don't miss

More from the line-up

  • The Lemon Twigs

    Interview

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    It’s good to feel like you’re ahead of the game a little bit.

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  • Dua Lipa

    Interview

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    I’ve learned to open up a lot. There are so many things bottled-up inside of me...

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  • Future Islands

    Interview

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    We don’t write b-sides; it’s all solid gold. It’s like, why write a song if it’s no good?

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  • Warpaint

    Interview

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    When I listen to the record now, I hear that bond – that collaboration – and that level of creativity.

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  • Glass Animals

    Interview

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    I was scared; I didn’t want people to be able to see into my soul.

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  • Royal Blood

    Interview

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    We hung out with Jimmy Page in our dressing room, and grilled him about Led Zeppelin.

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