Photo via Bonnaroo’s Facebook page

The 2026 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is in full swing. Following the cancellation of last year’s festivities due to weather, just one day into the event, organizers made the decision to truncate the traditionally four-day gathering this year and instead host a single-stage welcome party on Thursday, officially kicking things off on Friday with a full day of programming. Gates into the Manchester, TN event were also pushed back by a day.

The Strokes—who had previously appeared on The Farm in 2011, when they turned heads with their questionable fashion choices given the heat—served as Friday night’s marquee headliner. The New York-bred garage-rock group, who are touring in support of their forthcoming album Reality Awaits, felt worlds away from Bonnaroo when they first were coming through the trendy, stylish NYC club ranks just a few years before the festival’s inaugural year, but hits like “Last Night,” “Someday” and “Take It or Leave It,” all of which they played last night, have helped the group age into the type of classic, career-minded act that fits comfortably into a high-profile Bonnaroo slot. Their often-provocative singer Julian Casablancas took a few jabs at the sweaty crowd and Southeast in general—as well as his native Northeast—but also said that yesterday’s lineup felt akin to something his band might put together. They also offered a number of surprises. At the start of their show, the musicians busted out the First Impressions of Earth cut “Killing Lies” for the first time since December 8, 2022, and “Life Is Simple in the Moonlight” contained an extended intro. They also offered the first public reading of the Reality Awaits single “Falling Out of Love,” after they performed the tune on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May. Last night, Longwave’s Steve Schiltz continued to fill in for founding Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi, who remains off the road for unknown reasons.

The Strokes’ show came hours into a busy day across the farm. Punky, sometimes twangy Asheville, NC act Wednesday helped welcome That Tent to its new home on the opposite end of the What Stage field after inclement weather caused a slight scheduling delay. (That Tent had been positioned on the edge of the main Centeroo Village since a performance space was given that name in 2003). Singer/guitarist Karly Hartzman mentioned from the stage that her sister had skipped her high-school graduation to attend Bonnaroo, so she was ever allowed to go, making yesterday her first time on The Farm, and Wednesday guitarist MJ Lenderman, who is not touring with the band, has called the 2004 Bonnaroo DVD as an influential recording. Hartzman also drew a chuckle when she described the bouncy, jamband winking “Phish Pepsi” as a country song, and the number drew cheers from the crowd as a festival that was partially based on Phish’s 1990s campouts.

Before The Strokes took the stage, Geese played the same tent, marking their second Bonnaroo show but first since truly breaking out last year with their LP Getting Killed. And their audience easily extended out of the tent’s shadow and into the adjacent What Stage field.  

A number of other recent breakout bands seized the moment with some fun musical selections. On the Which Stage, Mt. Joy—an act whose overall vibe seems tied to Bonnaroo’s ethos—wove a Dead-inspired jam and bit of “I Know You Rider” in “Let Loose” and riffed on The Flaming Lip’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1” during “Julia.” Singer Jessie Murph, who has recently crossed over to pop radio, opened her show with The Animals’ “House of the Rising Son” and covered both Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.” Anthemic Irish folkies Amble discussed Bonnaroo’s international reputation on the What Stage, and GRiZ invited out Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s Ela Melo, who performs at Bonnaroo today, as a full-circle nod to his famed 2023 “Chasing the Golden Hour” Bonnaroo show, when he offered a remix of their “It’s Called: Freefall” since he originally nabbed the special spot after the artful art had to cancel their show for medical reasons. A bit later in the evening, after The Strokes’s performance came to a close, hardcore act Turnstyle drew a massive crowd to the Which Stage while Lil Jon played the first late-night show in the newly relocated That Tent. Major Lazer also brought a full production to their theatrical DJ set, entertaining thousands of fans into the early morning hours.

However, Blues Traveler served as the most direct nod to Bonnaroo’s jamband roots and the H.O.R.D.E. festival that helped lay the groundwork for such free-spirited, improv-friendly events to exist in the first place. Frontman John Popper made a surprise appearance with moe. at the second Bonnaroo in 2003 and the full band has since visited Manchester, TN two additional times. (The moe. and G. Love stickers placed on their organ were clearly visible on the jumbo screens.) The quintet opened with their hit “Run-Around” and focused on favorites like “But Anyway” and “Hook,” as well as their popular covers of Sublime’s “What I Got,” Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and Charlie Daniels Band’s “They Devil Went Down to Georgia.” They also dedicated “Dropping Some NYC” to the Knicks on the eve of Game Five of the NBA finals and honored their late bassist Bobby Sheehan on his birthday with a tender reading of his beautiful “Mountains Win Again.” Following their show, English musician/actor Yungblood and up-tempo Isle of Wright indie act Wet Leg both delivered energetic offerings, and Pride parties took place throughout the festival site.

Thursday’s welcome party contained some excitement as well when a widespread power outage caused Skrillex and Four Tet to be push back their sets a bit. To mark his return to Bonnaroo for the first time since 2014, when he hosted the signature Bonnaroo SuperJam with guests like Robby Krieger, Lauryn Hill, Mickey Hart and Big Gigantic, Skrillex also added a surprise second show on the electronic-focused The Other Stage late Thursday night.

Bonnaroo continues today. Rüfüs Du Sol, Teddy Swims, Alabama Shakes, Mountain Grass Unit and Steph Strings are all slated to perform. A special DJ set tribute to Bob Weir will also take place on the Where Stage.