Bonnaroo returns to Manchester, Tennessee June 11 through 14 with a 2026 lineup that leans heavier on rock and electronic than recent years. Skrillex headlines Friday night. The Strokes headline Saturday. RUFUS DU SOL closes Sunday with Noah Kahan playing the alternative anchor slot. Kesha is hosting the 2026 SuperJam on Sunday night, which has historically drawn surprise guests including Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, and Stevie Wonder over the festival's twenty-year history. Single-day passes opened Monday with four-day GA passes still available at 425 dollars before fees.
The undercard rewards the deep listeners. Turnstile, Modest Mouse, Major Lazer, Japanese Breakfast, Tash Sultana, Passion Pit, Freddie Gibbs, Gorgon City, and GRiZ all sit on the second tier. Geese, the Brooklyn band whose sophomore record landed on most major year-end lists last year, will play That Tent Saturday afternoon. Tedeschi Trucks Band returns to the festival for the first time since 2019. Weird Al Yankovic is performing a late night Saturday set called the Bigger and Weirder Saturday Late Night Roovie, which is exactly what the festival's loyal audience signs up for every year.
Hip hop has a smaller footprint than recent editions. Freddie Gibbs is the only top-tier rap booking on the schedule. Festival sources told Pollstar that several rap headliners passed on the offered slots in favor of European festival routings or solo arena tours running this summer. The economics of the genre have shifted. A top-shelf rap act can earn 800,000 to 1.4 million dollars for a one-night arena routing through Live Nation, which often beats the Bonnaroo offer for a single Sunday night slot. Country has a similar gravitational pull this season with Stagecoach absorbing most of the touring acts.
Festival organizers also announced expanded camping infrastructure. The Plaza area at the center of the farm has new permanent shade structures. Charging stations have doubled. A new shuttle from Nashville International Airport runs hourly during the four days at 50 dollars round trip. The festival has invested heavily in the on-site experience after attendance dipped during the rainy 2023 edition. Live Nation, which now owns Bonnaroo through its acquisition of Superfly Productions in 2015, has poured roughly 12 million dollars into Great Stage Park infrastructure since 2023.
For Tennessee residents, the festival is a meaningful regional economic engine. A 2024 study from Middle Tennessee State University estimated Bonnaroo's annual local economic impact in Coffee County at 53 million dollars. That includes ticket sales, vendor revenue, and the spillover into Manchester and Tullahoma hotels and restaurants. Locals have a sometimes complicated relationship with the festival, but the four days each June anchor a meaningful part of the county's tourism calendar. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development funds a portion of the festival's marketing in exchange for the visibility.
Tickets remain accessible by festival standards. The four-day GA pass is 425 dollars, plus payment plans that break the cost into four monthly installments of roughly 110 dollars. VIP runs 1,599. Platinum runs 4,295 and includes air-conditioned suites and front-of-stage access. Compare that to Coachella weekend one, which closed at 599 for the cheapest GA pass before fees this year. Bonnaroo retains a price advantage because it sits on a working farm in rural Tennessee and runs lower per-day overhead than the Indio festivals.
For first-time attendees planning the trip, the practical advice is the same as it has been for years. Bring more water than you think you need. The Tennessee June heat is real and the festival routinely sees temperatures above 95. Sturdy shoes matter because the walks between stages are long and the dust gets thick by Saturday afternoon. The campground gates open Wednesday morning, and most veteran attendees arrive Wednesday afternoon to set up before the heat peaks. Phone reception across the farm is decent but the festival app handles schedule changes faster than text messaging.
The four days end Sunday night with RUFUS DU SOL on What Stage and Kesha's SuperJam wrapping the festival on Which Stage. Schedule conflicts will force tough choices, especially Saturday night when The Strokes overlap with Major Lazer and Geese. Veteran festival-goers tend to plan their Saturday around one or two anchor sets and let the rest of the day move organically. Bonnaroo is the festival where you discover the act that becomes your most-played album by August. The 2026 edition has the depth to deliver that experience again.