Bonnaroo will return next June, despite this year’s edition of the music festival being canceled due to severe weather.
This year’s event at the 700-acre Great Stage Park farm in Manchester, Tennessee got underway Thursday, June 12 with country star Luke Combs as the opening night headliner. However, the festival was halted the following day after hours of delays and even an evacuation notice.
In a new statement posted to social media, Bonnaroo announced that it will return to the same venue next year from June 11 to June 14.
Organizers also announced several changes to the event, stating: “Campsites located in the areas most affected by flooding will not be utilized. This will result in a reduced capacity on The Farm (more dancing space).”
They added that while camping entry will begin Wednesday: “We’ll kick things off on Thursday evening on the What Stage with an epic welcome party. All other Centeroo stages will be programmed in full Friday through Sunday with your traditional Centeroo Experience.”
This marks a difference to previous years when a headliner would take the stage Thursday evening.
Bonnaroo also said it would be dedicating funding to campground improvements and projects, including to prevent flooding.
On social media, many fans reacted to the news by praising plans for a reduced capacity but complaining about cuts to the Thursday line-up.
On Reddit, one fan wrote: “Taking away Thursday Tent acts ?? Is that not insane to anyone else? Are they cutting costs by not paying artists for that day then? Let's see how this pans out.”
Another added: “Taking a full day of music away is rough. Especially since its the smaller artists, this is how I’ve discovered a ton of artists I never knew about…”
Other fans were more positive, with one writing: “[I don’t know] about y’all, but reduced capacity sounds great to me. Also ecstatic about having late night EDM in Centeroo instead of the trek to [Where In The Woods] every night.
“I’m fine with the Thursday. I’m sure stuff will still happen like new late night stage but also just an excuse to find other Roo people to party with in the campgrounds.”
Another said: “I’m fine with everything in this announcement (the Where In The Woods change is basically like Kalliope, which was the best realistically). But why would they change Thursday like that? That definitely doesn’t seem like something anyone ever asked for or imagined. Just confusing...
“Everyone saying that it’s reduced capacity in exchange for one less day seems reasonable, but I guess we’ll see how much capacity was reduced. Ultimately if it’s reduced a noticeable amount it could be worth it and a better weekend overall. Plus, what caliber of artist will be on Thursday? Will it be headliner caliber? Will it still be a multi genre day, and how would that work on one stage? Still lots of unknowns, but I am cautiously optimistic…”
This year’s festival was not the first edition of Bonnaroo to be canceled due to weather. The 2021 edition of the festival was halted by flooding caused by Hurricane Ida.
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