Classic rock icon Billy Joel, acoustic modern Americana favorites Mumford & Sons, electronic dance music star Deadmau5, rap hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar and alternative pop artist Florence and the Machine will be among the headlining artists at the 2015 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
Ninety-seven acts, including the headliners for the festival, were announced during a three-hour online event Tuesday in which Bonnaroo fans were given acts to announce.
The 2015 festival will be held June 11-14 on the 70,000-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn. Started in 2002 by Knoxville’s A.C. Entertainment and Superfly Productions, the four-day yearly festival brings between 70,000 to 100,000 music fans to Coffee County and has become one of the most popular music festivals in the country.
The festival has always presented a wide variety of artists from death metal to traditional country and bluegrass to world music to rap. The 2015 event is no less diverse than past festivals.
Included in the line up are former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant with his group the Sensational Space Shifters, modern funk act Bassnectar, classic R&B and rock act The Alabama Shakes, rapper Childish Gambino, modern rock favorite Hozier and metal icons Slayer.
Several of the announced artists are longtime Bonnaroo veterans. My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn and STS9 have appeared at the festival enough to be called regulars.
There are a few surprises on the list, including a reunited Tears for Fears and Rhiannon Giddens without her band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. However, most of the acts fall into what has become typical of the festival — a sampling of the hot acts on modern rock radio, including Tove Lo and Twenty One Pilots, electronic acts, including SBTRKT and Tycho, virtuoso players, including The Punch Brothers and Jerry Douglas, and artists who are on the verge of mainstream stardom, including Americana favorite Sturgill Simpson.
More acts are expected to be announced, including artists who will populate the comedy tent as well as artists who will appear at the smaller tents during the festival.
The festival itself has become a star as much as the acts who are booked to perform at it. The festival has become a rite of passage for many college-age music fans, with many traveling from across the country and even the world to attend.
Likewise, rising performers often see the event as an early highlight of their careers and music veterans regularly create special shows for the event or invite music friends to join them for surprise performances on stage.
For the past several years event organizers have put a limited number of tickets on sale more than a month before the artists have been announced. The tickets have traditionally sold out.
Regular tickets for the 2015 event will go on sale at 10 a.m. EDT on Jan. 17 at www.bonnaroo.com. Prices are $332.25 and then $357.25. VIP tickets are $1,621 per pair. Ticket prices include service charges.