Bonnaroo, the annual music festival held at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee, was cancelled this year due to severe weather. The event, which began on June 12 with Luke Combs as the opening headliner, was halted the following day after hours of delays and an evacuation notice.
Organisers have confirmed that the festival will return next year from June 11 to June 14. However, several changes have been announced, including a reduced capacity. Campsites in areas most affected by flooding will not be used, resulting in more dancing space. Camping entry will begin on Wednesday, but the main programme will start on Thursday evening with an epic welcome party on the What Stage, rather than a traditional headliner. All other Centeroo stages will be fully programmed from Friday to Sunday.
Bonnaroo also plans to invest in campground improvements and flood prevention projects. While many fans welcomed the reduced capacity, others expressed disappointment over the changes to the Thursday line-up. On Reddit, one user said: 'Taking away Thursday Tent acts? Is that not insane to anyone else? Are they cutting costs by not paying artists for that day then?' Another added: 'Taking a full day of music away is rough. Especially since it's the smaller artists, this is how I've discovered a ton of artists.'
Some attendees were more optimistic, with one writing: '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.' Another noted: 'I'm fine with everything in this announcement... But why would they change Thursday like that? That definitely doesn't seem like something anyone ever asked for.'
This is not the first time Bonnaroo has been cancelled due to weather; the 2021 edition was halted by flooding from Hurricane Ida.
