Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana
Yesterday, June 14, Manchester, Tenn.’s Bonnaroo Music Festival returned for its second full day of programming. Following an exhilarating first series on Thursday, which brought on sets from Pretty Lights, Say She She, Eggy, GWAR and more, the festival came to full swing on Friday as the main What Stage opened for a full day of performances. Some standout moments from day two included next-level engagements from Larkin Poe, Khruangbin, Gary Clark Jr., Maggie Rogers, T-Pain, Interpol, Faye Webster and Thundercat, but jam fans found greater thrills in the day’s surprise sit-ins.
When evening rolled in, Bonnaroo honored its roots with the jam community by slating Joe Russo’s Almost Dead as the headline act in the That Tent. The scene favorite quintet opened with a freely flowing jam before opening out into its expertly-honed Grateful Dead covers, letting loose “Foolish Heart,” “Minglewood Blues” and Bob Dylan’s “Tell Me, Momma,” as well as setlist staples “Eyes of the World” and “Shakedown Street.” As JRAD rounded towards the end of its set, the group welcomed all three members of alt-folk forerunners Bonny Light Horseman–who performed earlier in the This Tent–to join onstage; collectively, the ensemble set off a ripping “Row Jimmy” that brought the show out to a thrilling conclusion of “Truckin’,” JRAD’s single most performed track.
As side stages came to a close, all eyes fell on Post Malone, who headlined the festival from the main What Stage. Sidestepping from his present country bent–which came to a head with the recently-released Morgan Wallen collaboration “I Had Some Help,” currently commanding the US pop charts–Post delivered a set of the hits, just as he had at Gov Ball last week. After dropping triumphant fan favorites like “Better Now,” “Zack and Codeine,” “Goodbyes” and “Take What You Want,” the star lit up an explosive treatment of “Rockstar” complete with towering pyrotechnics. Through the flam, fans could spot the imposing silhouette of BIlly Strings, who joined Post to add lightning quick picking to the fan favorite. Strings–a longtime friend to Post–remained onstage for a stripped-way-down rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues.”
See the sights from Friday in the gallery below, courtesy of photographers Nathan Zucker, Josh Brasted, Ismael Quintanilla III, Pooneh Ghana, Leone Julitte, Roger Ho, Taylor Regulski and Charles Reagan. Bonnaroo continues today and through the weekend, concluding on Sunday, June 16. For tickets and more information on the festival, visit bonnaroo.com.
