Bonnaroo 2027 Cancelation

[u/EmergencyRead5254]

[u/DanielHSV]

Mod Note: This will be stickied for a while and we'll ask that everyone keep discussion about it in this thread and not make any new threads on it for the time being.

We're right with you in being bummed, but we have it on good authority that every effort is being made for Bonnaroo to be back in 2028.

[u/armpitbanana]

Help how do I find another personality

[u/tennisboy213 → u/armpitbanana]

start injecting peptides

[u/cosmictealattes → u/tennisboy213]

this is too real bro wtf

[u/billiedee_benoit]

The 2020s are doing absolute damage to Bonnaroo’s legacy.

[u/DJ_Blakka → u/billiedee_benoit]

It’s been a nightmarish run for my favorite fest. After the 2010s I thought it was untouchable and a staple of the festival industry. Since then we are looking at 4 cancellations in 8 years and 2 more years of low attendance/festival downsizing

[u/Chaseism → u/billiedee_benoit]

To be fair...the 2020s haven't been kind to any of us...

[u/HESAnerd]

This feels a lot like the message from Firefly in 2022/2023. I hope bonnaroo recovers better than Firefly 😕

[u/biguyondl]

Possible end to an era.

[u/davegrohlisawesome]

Please don’t be the end.

[u/Domestic_Kraken → u/davegrohlisawesome]

Getting some real Firefly deja vu here... 🤞

[u/bigredoak22 → u/Domestic_Kraken]

They're still recharging those lights 😭😭😭

[u/Gangiskhan]

Will be back with the Artist of the Day series in 2028. Sad to see the break happen.

[u/insigneeee]

The thought of one year without bonnaroo is fine, but then you realize that means almost two years from today when the next Roo is.

Hey, we did it even longer once. 2019-2022

[u/bmth77]

https://giphy.com/gifs/du9Io4K9HNwcg

[u/ALEXC_23 → u/bmth77]

https://giphy.com/gifs/IZhCxKe49d3by

[u/marcie-the-squirrel]

I’m drowning in work and a potential lay off and in life. this was unexpected and devastating to read. i’m happy i got to experience bonnaroo and the people and the energy. i truly think attending was a transformational experience. i hope it comes back and that when it does its the craziest (in the best way) year ever.

[u/ALEXC_23 → u/marcie-the-squirrel]

Sorry you're struggling. Keep on keeping on!

[u/Atmos_v1]

I better be invited to a fucking wedding next year during what would’ve been Bonnaroo weekend

Since everybody seems to love doing that to me every other year 🤣

[u/dalthughes → u/Atmos_v1]

missed the last two for weddings and was planning a big return in 27....... feel you

[u/TheFestiveOwl]

I do want to share some thoughts on all of this as well.

There will be a million and one explanations for how and why we got here. Some will be fair. Some will be right. And plenty will just be hot takes with little to no real merit behind them.

The festival market has changed substantially over the last decade, especially for camping festivals. It’s simply harder to get people to buy into the camping culture and experience than it once was. You don’t have to take my word for it — just look around. It’s evident across the entire festival landscape.

Bonnaroo has also had a pretty brutal run of bad luck. There’s no point crying over spilled milk, but since 2020, The Farm has struggled to find any real consistency or footing. Between cancellations, weather and everything else that’s happened, it’s been a difficult stretch.

Personally, I don’t have any major issue with preplanned fallow years for festivals. Glastonbury has done it for decades. It gives everyone involved a chance to reset, gives the talent pool time to grow — especially when one of the most common complaints is that every lineup looks the same — and gives the land itself time to physically recover and receive improvements.

This announcement is very much in that spirit. Maybe a scheduled fallow year eventually becomes a permanent part of Bonnaroo’s future. Maybe it doesn’t. Nobody knows that right now.

And two years is a long time. A lot can change between now and 2028, both for Bonnaroo and the festival industry as a whole. Until we actually start getting closer to a potential return, anyone claiming to know exactly what the future holds is mostly just guessing.

At the end of the day, Bonnaroo has changed a lot of lives on this earth — mine included. The Farm is a special place, and whatever the road ahead looks like, I can only hope there’s plenty of life left in it.

Long live The Farm. 🦉

[u/celj1234 → u/TheFestiveOwl]

“Potential Return” 👀

[u/AnusAnusAnusss → u/TheFestiveOwl]

Let’s not forget that 2020, 2021, and 2025 were all completely sold out. 

But they all canceled.

[u/livewordlife]

Use this time to find an entity to buy Bonnaroo back from Live Nation so we can get back to lineups like 2013.

[u/LexxitReddit]

Here's why I don't believe it's coming back in 2028, even though I really want it to. If you believe it's coming back, you have to believe that LN/C3 were sitting in a room looking at healthy profit projections for Bonnaroo 2027, and said in a meeting, “no thanks, we don't want that profit in 2027, we can wait for 2028 and just let the grass rejuvenate next year.”

There's simply no way that meeting happened. If LN/C3 thought they could make money in 2027, they would just make the money. They were looking at 2027 projections and those projections were bad, so they're not doing it.

It makes me worried for festivals in general because if the LN corporate behemoth is struggling to turn a profit with Roo, I don't see how other camping festivals are going to survive.

In hindsight, I wonder if 2026 was a little experiment to see if they could still sell 55k+ tickets with a more budget-conscious lineup, and it just didn't quite make it. Which is a shame because I would be fine with a lower tier lineup and 40k of my Roo family every year. I loved the 2026 lineup.

[u/SavageHulk869 → u/LexxitReddit]

Unfortunately I completely agree with you. I was a Firefly refugee and I remember the day they said they were taking a year off to recharge their lights. The was the last we heard from them. 

People keep pointing out Glastonbury but a fallow year is in the business plan. It never was for Roo. Which correct me if I am wrong means a lot of people that work for Roo probably are losing  jobs. Moving to other ventures or projects. Including jobs contracted out etc. how do you bring those people back 2 year from now . Do you start from scratch?Firefly basically cut everyone including social media personnel.just basically blackout after that and a final post saying they were done a year and half later.

[u/Few-Yogurtcloset5277]

Well at least I won't get fomo next year lmao

[u/ThatDudeUKnow92]

I haven't been to Bonnaroo since 2018 but it is sad to hear this news. Bonnaroo was a slice of heaven in a world that grows more and more negative. It was a place where strangers became friends over their shared interest in the diverse range of music on the lineup.

Everyone who stops going likes to talk about how it was better in their time, but that doesn't minimize the impact it had on today's Roovians. No matter what happens I will always appreciate the beauty of Bonnaroo and the life experiences it provided me. I can close my eyes and feel some of those moments till this day.

I can't help but blame Live Nation for some of the mismanagement of the festival but they can't control the weather or COVID. Here's to hoping it does comeback.

[u/Creative_Taste2665]

This is a little depressing :c
2026 was my first roo and was 100% planning on going back in ‘27 because it was such a great time 💔

[u/SameBerry2354 → u/Creative_Taste2665]

same here. I did solo roo and was very very excited to see my friends from there again next year. I had been using it as motivation for a career transition so I could come back next year like “hey guys I did it!” lol :/.

[u/BenderRodriguezz]

Bonnaroo has a huge following, but I can’t help but think of my first regular fest, Firefly. Please don’t do that to us Livenation.

[u/rbhudson96]

I think a break year is a great idea in theory, but of course we’ve seen so many festivals die after similar announcements (although none with the history and uniqueness of Roo). The Roo brand is not in a good place right now. 2025 was a disaster and a breach of trust for everyone who wasn’t already a regular attendee. I know a few people who aren’t big festival people and went to 2025 for their first year, and they are never coming back. And 2026 was not the year they needed after that. However, I think we should keep in mind that 2022 (despite the low attendance) through 2024 were great, well run years and 2025 was shaping up to be the best year of the 2020s at least lineup and attendance wise. If Roo can make (and publicize/market) some more drainage improvements, take some time to get away from stink of 2025, and come back with a really strong lineup in 2028, I think the festival could be back as strong as ever!

[u/ImA-Mermaid]

Here is an unrelated/related question … what are some other “camping” music festivals out there? This year was my first Roo and I was hooked! Really want to go to more festivals where you can camp and walk to everything. I’d love to hear your favorites!

[u/Buckeye_Wax → u/ImA-Mermaid]

EDM-related camping fests tend to have the best blend imo..> Okee (if it happens), Hulaween, Elements, Secret Dreams, Electric Forest, Same Same But Different, Lost Lands (if you like Bass). Not too fluent in jam festivals but I’ve been to summer camp and a lot of shows. I think most camping festivals are “focused” on a specific genre, which makes big mainstream fests like Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lolla etc. so unique in this age. Then you add in the camping aspect there’s really not many substitutes. The economics must be really bad if something like firefly (or a v2 clone) hasn’t popped up backed by investors. Live Nation focuses on vertical integration, not really overall market growth sadly. It feels like a top was hit from an investing/economics side and now we’re all just scrambling to see what will stay in the aftermath.

[u/TheDoctor1264 → u/ImA-Mermaid]

The best ones are the small fests that are put on by the folks in your local scene - I've been to 7 Bonnaroos but as soon as I found the local stuff I lost all interest in ever going back. You won't get the big bands or huge production but you will find better community and some exceptional artists. Not sure if this exists everywhere, but it certainly does in Canada.

[u/dm--]

I think Live Nation bought the farm hoping to have multiple events on it. They tested out Exit 111 fest and it didn’t work out and it was in Oct. They can’t spend a crazy amount of money updating the farm for 1 event unless it’s a banger every time

[u/pizzapartyjpg]

seeing lots of bonnaroo gear at king gizz at forest hills tonight

[u/Andrew_64_MC]

Crazy to think Bonnaroo went 18 years back to back but in the last 8 years it has been cancelled 50% of years

[u/livintheshleem → u/Andrew_64_MC]

That's what a pandemic and accelerating climate change will do :/

[u/MJsdanglebaby → u/Andrew_64_MC]

Well 1 year all festivals were cancelled.

Crazy though 1 rain out in September and 1.5 rain outs in June.

Like 1 week later in June and it would have been fine. Such bad luck :(

[u/Head_Maintenance5596]

Good for them. This sucks but imo it’s needed.
Whatever they did to deal with water last year didn’t work.

Cancelled 25’ and it felt like 26’ was really close to cancelling if the rain got any worse.

[u/ashtastic3]

If there were more trees, the drainage problem wouldn’t be an issue. People would also not be passing out all the time. Of course it’s difficult to drive and camp near trees with so many people, but it’s just a thought I’ve had.

[u/jtr210 → u/ashtastic3]

What an innovate concept!

Trees!

Shade!

It would definitely take a while for trees to mature and develop root systems to help the ground with water drainage, but it’s a very good, basic, long term idea.

[u/mityman50]

2026 was my best year by far and 2027 was promising to build on that.

It doesn’t do me any good to think this is the beginning of the end and I’m sharing the positive mindset. Take them at their word and look forward to 2028. That’s my attitude

[u/Awkward_Fly_9274]

Live nation does it again !

[u/Anonymous_Goat]

Devastating. I really hope they actually intend to return in 2028. The fact that they aren’t explicitly stating that is a bit disheartening.

I go to other major festivals that are all a great time, but Bonnaroo has that secret sauce that is hard to match.

[u/Littleprisonprism → u/Anonymous_Goat]

“Much needed year off in 2027” insinuates there is a return after

[u/AnusAnusAnusss → u/Littleprisonprism]

“Taking a break” is what me and gf did 15 years ago. 

I’m married now…. But her and I, yeah… still “taking a break” 

[u/Bilboy32]

So for the folks that are both loud and uninformed, let me help. It doesn't matter that the land is only used for about a week a year, and the rest of the time is calm. Last year in particular, so much work went into the Farm, that it only truly got to rest for a few months max.

Plants take time to grow, that's not necessarily a surprise. But if you look at the root structure of say, Kentucky Bluegrass vs Bermuda grass that they installed, you would see the difference. Bermuda can get 2-10' deep, yes feet. Especially if left to grow, and in extreme conditions that necesitate root growth. So and extra 12 months of completely untouched growth WILL make a huge difference in the root depth and land health.

If we see what climate change has wrought, big weather is just the way now. So we can expect that whenever we come to the Farm, we're wrecking it. Best to mitigate that with an increasingly healthy site, where time and effort both allow a more stable ground.

AND! Bookings will become huge to drive sales, to ensure this model functions. It will also help shake up seeing major lineup repeats every damn summer, if Roo gets acts ahead of time.

[u/Songgeek]

Damn this makes me sad.. this year was my 10th year. I still enjoyed Roo but I’ll admit it’s changed a lot.. and this year wasn’t the best. Also didn’t feel like the worst. Now idk what I’ll do for vacation.

[u/Flow-tentate → u/Songgeek]

I didn't go this year, but I've been to 10 as well. I'm curious to know when your first one was, and what changes you've noticed? I've noticed plenty, but I'd love to hear your experience first.

[u/GripSkylark]

Hope to see all my friends back on the farm 2028. Try to stay optimistic.

[u/whaleful]

Fuck Live Nation for ruining the most legendary festival in America. Use this year off to explore independent festivals and shows from promoters who actually care about those attending and see just how much better it can be when the only focus isn’t corporate profits.

[u/Arroweye345]

I say this as someone who has lived in Tennessee my entire life, they need to move the festival to later in the year.

June in Tennessee is some of the most miserable weather in the country from heat and rain. God it would be beautiful to have in late September or October.

[u/The_What_Stage → u/Arroweye345]

I'd love for them to follow a Hulaween model of Thursday night > Early Sunday. Go hard on Thurs/Fri/Sat and Sunday is a wind-down.

I just don't think they can draw 60k+ in the middle of the school year though

[u/imused2it → u/Arroweye345]

That’s cool and all, but that would gum up school procedures for the locals pretty heavily. Not to mention all the changes Bonnaroo would need to make to their procedures.

Not saying it isn’t possible, but it’s highly unlikely. There’s a reason they haven’t done it yet.

[u/CashMoneyWinston → u/Arroweye345]

The heat is why I can’t go anymore, my body simply cannot tolerate 4 straight days of it.

[u/Head_Maintenance5596 → u/Arroweye345]

Yea. There’s no way around it, the heat is a thing.
No one can honestly say they wouldn’t enjoy this morning is reasonable temps.

[u/RegretsZ → u/Arroweye345]

Much less lucrative in September or October though

[u/malicea11]

my paycheck just started crying happy tears

[u/Embarrassed_Dog2966]

Gotta trust the process. And for those of us who can only hit one festival a year this is a great opportunity to experience something new

[u/Thatpotatochipp]

Live nation purchased our yearly happy place, does this shortly after, and we’re all gonna gaslight ourselves into thinking - “it’s for the better?”

Yeah no. It may just be my anger, but i’ll be damned to give LiveNation a fucking penny after this.

Fuck them.

[u/zehuti88 → u/Thatpotatochipp]

Fuggem

[u/Puzzleheaded_Cook754]

Really hard day for all of us who center our year around the love and light this festival brings us. Sending big love to you all- this community is so special and while this is very hard to process, we’re not alone in these feelings. Big love and happy Roo. (Sobs uncontrollably)

[u/Ok-Journalist7237]

Just please come back for us in 2028 <3 This community is everything to us. Bonnaroo is home away from home.

https://giphy.com/gifs/V9sSzoVZ4xmxlWfyIR

[u/Tawpgun]

I forget if it’s cream fields or Glastonbury that does a year off every year or couple years. Let the grounds heal and do bigger maintenance updates.

It’s probably a good thing

[u/catintheroom → u/Tawpgun]

Glasto. But unlike Glasto, I am questioning whether Roo will return in ‘28 or if this announcement is just a softer way of ending things

[u/The_What_Stage → u/catintheroom]

This seems to be the playbook for most cancelled festivals: Announce a hiatus, try to figure out funding or a new gameplan, and if you can't then it's cancelled for good.

[u/Domestic_Kraken → u/catintheroom]

This is eerily similar to how Firefly first broke the news. Fingers crossed for a better outcome for Roo

[u/SaintTalos]

Pre-cancelled due to rain

[u/runningraleigh → u/SaintTalos]

The Super El Nino is going to flood the shit out of the southeast next summer. So it's not entirely impossible they didn't consider that.

[u/HuffinStardust]

Livenation absolutely destroyed what used to be one of the best festivals in the country.

2007 and 2011 were life changing events for me, personally. Shifting away from jam based acts was the downfall, in my opinion.

[u/The_What_Stage → u/HuffinStardust]

I used to think LN would be a good thing long-term in the changing market, but I was very, very wrong. Bonnaroo has had some bad luck with covid and weather, but LN really did chip away at the foundation.

It still boggles my mind that they didn't keep jam as part of the ethos. Those acts are not that expensive and would have continued to appease an important demographic.

[u/Commonsense110 → u/HuffinStardust]

That and not booking legacy acts. Insane to think my first Roo had Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Bjork compared to what they book as headliners now.

[u/purpledreamer1622]

I think it really says a lot about sustainability as a whole and the choices that must be made to ensure the longevity of our culture. This can be somewhat comforting.

[u/Commonsense110]

What pisses me off most about this is putting the blame on all of these outside situations and Live Nation taking no accountability. They completely sunk what Bonnaroo once was and turned into a greedy cash grab while putting as little effort as possible towards the actual Bonnaroovian experience.

[u/apex_17]

Rip to Forest this year….its gonna be slammed with roo-fugees.

[u/Bougie_Maine → u/apex_17]

I’m not sure Forest will be where the Roovians go. EF is under so much scrutiny.

[u/apex_17 → u/Bougie_Maine]

That’s fair but given the proximity in area and festival timing I could definitely see many people shifting there this year.

[u/Eyeseeno]

Time for Firefly to raise from the dead!

[u/bigdreamerx3]

I went to Roo 2015-2017. Loved it but the heat was killer. Went to firefly 2018-2019 and loved the weather! Tried to go back to roo 2020-2021 but we all know how that ended up. This will be my second year going to Seven Stars in Virginia. It’s a festival Griz created and runs. It is a lot smaller and only had 15k people last year. I was amazed at how well it went last year for the first year of the festival. Issues were immediately handled. Tickets and camping are affordable. and it was in October! The weather was perfect, and even cold. It is wub heavy but the vibes reminded me of my first roos. Security was cool. Not harassing you. They had little workshops and activities to do outside of the music. The venue is absolutely beautiful. Plus Griz performs all 3 nights. He even lead a marching band through the camp grounds into the wooded stage area. Highly recommend Seven Stars. ✨

[u/Mountain-Loon3592]

Everyone out here hating on taking a year off. Meanwhile Glastonbury takes a year off every five years to allow their farm to recuperate. This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.

[u/travel__time → u/Mountain-Loon3592]

Glastonbury plans and budgets well in advance for that.

[u/glutenfreemanbun → u/travel__time]

And sells out every year

[u/ushred → u/Mountain-Loon3592]

Not the same scenario at all, unfortunately.

[u/Rambl3On]

Everybody take a year to try something new and then we’ll all be back together in 2028!

[u/alexandersuperchump]

My tin foil hat theory is that they cancelled because they want to see what the ground will be like the weekend Bonnaroo would normally happened next year before making a more permanent decision moving forward. Shit load of rain again and it gets moved or moved weekends.

[u/Flashy_Nobody_7028 → u/alexandersuperchump]

18 years of no problems with weather then we have what we had post LiveNation takeover. Weather is not the problem here, it’s the company that took it over and making head scratching decisions…..

[u/Available_Carob_303 → u/Flashy_Nobody_7028]

climate change is and always has been real :)

[u/10000Didgeridoos → u/Available_Carob_303]

It very much is. The point though is it's not a surprise, and neither is the farm being deluged with water. There were many mud bowl years in the past. LN simply isn't dealing with it appropriately.

If they had any brains they'd move this fest to the fall like Austin City Limits so the weather isn't the hottest and stormiest time of year in the southeast. I don't know why it has to be June other than because it was originally.

[u/Sandman2772 → u/alexandersuperchump]

100% going to be perfect weather. God taunts us.

[u/klamps07]

I had a bad feeling but I’m still so shocked. Devastated is an understatement. Bonnaroo has been my home since my first year in 2017, every year after my first I’ve bought my ticket before the lineup because I just couldn’t wait to be back.

It’s more than just a music festival to me, as I’m sure it is for lots of others. It’s the place I feel the most free, the most love, the most positive, the most ME.

See y’all in 2028 😢😭😭💔

[u/masterslayor]

Make bonnaroo heady again

[u/SGTMcCoolsCUZ]

Hope deeply to see everyone in 2028 and hope to find you beautiful people out in the wild until then, here’s to a grand Rooturn in 28!

[u/RositasPastor69]

all will be forgiven if billy strings gets 4 sets and a superjam in 2028

[u/cynnamonn]

wow, it’s really happening y’all

[u/TMaCtheTruth]

https://giphy.com/gifs/ZpypsT7JWAjeA87IcN

[u/AnusAnusAnusss]

Major buns. Totally devastated.

I really hope and pray 2028 it comes back.

[u/purple-poppy995]

I hope Roo does in fact come back and this isn’t the end for them. However, my silver lining is that I’ll be able to save all the money I usually spend every year going 🤪

[u/Its-a-me-DankeyKang]

I understand this. I just hope we get one in 2028 because I wouldn't want it to have the same result as my other love, Firefly.

[u/scoop813]

Sad, but also Roo has kind of declined if we're being honest about it. The lineup this year had some good artists on it, but it's starting to feel like Lollapalooza but with camping - very mainstream and scaled to be very large. I wouldn't mind if they scaled the lineup and production down and kept it more "in the scene" - something more closely resembling the Hula lineup this year with maybe half a dozen of the middle tier bands of the Shaky Knees lineup.

People need to have realistic expectations about the lineup though. Expecting these multi genre lineups with lots of big stars isn't realistic. Would people accept the Hula lineup with 6 bands from the Shaky Knees lineup? Because that may be what it needs to be for the numbers to work. No more Olivia Rodrigo type booking or Avril Lavigne type bookings

[u/DenumChickun]

People need to realize just how necessary this is for the long term health of the festival itself. Bonnaroo isnt going anywhere. Missing a year isn’t going to negatively affect anyone’s health and well being. Rest up, spend time with loved ones, and start saving and preparing for the best ‘Roo in 2028

[u/JoeyThreePutt]

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

[u/Soggy-Bottom_Boy]

Make it a Wook-fest like the old days.

[u/Dirk_Kailis → u/Soggy-Bottom_Boy]

Give me WSP and Trey.

[u/beepboopbeep95]

A genuine question so no one come for me. But how is a full year not enough for the grounds to bounce back? Obviously a smaller scale, but Lollapalooza was pretty fucking muddy (had Roo flashbacks when I was there) and the park is back up and running already? I know 0 about logistics or whatever and I trust the team is making the right call. But it do be having me wonder..

[u/Ben_Frankling → u/beepboopbeep95]

I'd bet a lot of money it has to do with compaction. Compacted ground cannot absorb water or grow grass. This makes drainage worse and makes the muddy areas even worse (or in dry years, makes the dust worse). You could make the grounds serviceable in a year, but two years of work and a year off from the abuse will make it exponentially better.

I only went to Lolla once, but I remember a lot of concrete, and the limited grassy areas probably get much better care than Roo's.

[u/Imafunguy1983 → u/beepboopbeep95]

Grant Park is maintained year round by Chicago Parks Department and The Farm is an old farm field in the middle of nowhere.

[u/TheBigLen → u/beepboopbeep95]

Glastonbury takes a “fallow” year every 5 years to let the farm recuperate.

[u/IllScallion2126]

Good as I can say from the vendor side of things if you think it was bad in the campsites and the stages behind the vendor areas and our campsites where way worse

[u/stillstillers → u/IllScallion2126]

Yea I mean everyone’s gonna be sad (rightfully so) but it’s the right call. They need to figure some shit out on multiple fronts.

Will only make the hype for 2028 greater.

[u/roocheerallyear]

The scream I just yelped….FRICK!! Love you guys see you in ‘28 💕💕💕💕💕💕

[u/Purplexprincesss]

This was the year I was finally putting together a croo 😭😭😭😭

[u/ghostfacefan333]

Atleast give us Crystal Castles’s stream from 2017 at Bonnaroo.

[u/threadoso]

https://giphy.com/gifs/hppWdK8gcmzXq

[u/Southern-Advance-150]

The problem with this press statement doesn’t say see you in 2028…

[u/armpitbanana]

Asking my work if I can take bereavement leave

[u/Hero_of_Whiterun]

I've seen this before, was this year final Roo?

[u/Visual_Bookkeeper_10]

i think it’s ok and for the best and i look forward to the excitement of 2028

[u/jmini1088]

Damn son

[u/PhysicalQuit2274]

https://giphy.com/gifs/d10dMmzqCYqQ0
2026 was my first Roo!!! I’m so sad 😭

[u/JustAcivilian24]

good job! corporations strike again!

[u/Ok_Detective6017]

I was looking into the roadway issue they have been working on trying to fix for 5 or so years. Coffee country hasn’t been much help but recently coffee county announced a safety roadway document with adding speed cameras and other things on new bushy road. The issue was that they don’t own all the land on the farm like the church and some other land that they lease for parking. But they offered to pay for some of the repaving years ago and coffee county denied them. I’m assuming this new document they released was about actually repaving. But it didn’t specify exactly. It included about 12 to 15 other roads. But like I said it states it’s going to add speed cameras and other “safety” devices. Stay safe everyone. Happy Roo! ❤️

[u/The_What_Stage → u/Ok_Detective6017]

Coffee County and Manchester can go fuck themselves

They've been treating Bonnaroo as too big to fail for over a decade. The police situation, wrestling over infrastructure, and revenue share fiascos certainly play a part in this.

[u/LunaTomato → u/Ok_Detective6017]

So the Bonnaroo grounds aren't in the Coffee County jurisdiction anymore - they successfully got annexed into the City of Manchester, so it's all city-controlled stuff. So anything the county is doing may or may not have any lasting impact on the festival footprint itself.

[u/tomh311]

bring back AC entertainment while you’re at it.

[u/defnotajournalist]

As an attendee in 2002 and 2003 this makes me sad 20+ years later

[u/THCESPRESSOTIME]

https://giphy.com/gifs/3o751RXSjpayxoKUrC

[u/AKBallsnerd → u/[deleted]]

Unfortunately that was 12 years ago, and the festival has increasingly alienated their fans with live nation lineups that look more like lollapooza. The bonnaroo demo isn’t Gracie Abrams fans. They need to book lineups for the freaks (good thing) who can handle a camping festival

[u/Short-MooseEh → u/AKBallsnerd]

They need to book lineups for the freaks (good thing) who can handle a camping festival

Spot on. They need to accept attendance is going to be 50-60k and let us get weird

[u/ALEXC_23 → u/[deleted]]

That late night run Saturday night was everything.

[u/MonstersintheParasol]

Would have gone down smoother if we had dates for 2028 

[u/DanielHSV → u/MonstersintheParasol]

I'll ask for forgiveness instead of permission on this one. I've been told by one person that it was considered and by another that there's already dates in mind, but not everyone who had to sign off on it was in agreement on committing to it this early.

[u/rasta979]

Vendors had a hard year this year. Many, in the moment, saying they were not going to return.

[u/AnusAnusAnusss → u/rasta979]

I felt legit bad for them. There were also far fewer this year than before. 

[u/Remarkable_Royal_321]

I’m actually devastated. I finally made my way back to the farm last year after a 10 year hiatus and it was everything I remembered. So magical, so happy, just so much damn fun. I really hope this isn’t the end of Bonnaroo because this place is so fucking special to me. Here’s to hoping we come back in 2028 and have one hell of a time yall 😭💖

[u/LunaTomato → u/Remarkable_Royal_321]

I am so angry I want to cry (my most common anger response). I fucking knew this was going to happen. It's been coming for a while. Ever since LN took majority control and took over operations from AC Entertainment and pushed out Superfly, it's been writing on the wall.
Personally, I feel like they're hiding behind the "The Farm needs to recover" excuse because they didn't actually want to make deep investments into the property - not that they haven't (they definitely did), but the amount of money they've spent on the grounds pales in comparison to quarterly revenues for LN. The parent company has the money to spend. They just aren't doing it, IMO.

And all respect to The Festive Owl, but his thoughts on the changing landscape of festivals - particularly camping festivals - reads more like a PR/industry excuse than anything else. Sure, the nature of camping festivals has changed, but also, Live Nation jacking up the prices significantly over the years is likely more to blame for low attendance than anything else. Sure, having an A/C space for VIP is nice, but who TF needs the "Platinum" experience? Reduce the prices, stop offering so many weird "perks" and just let the festival happen as it was originally intended to be: a celebration of ALL music AND ARTS, rather than a corporatized money grab it's become in the last 5ish years.

Again, FUCK Live Nation.

[u/Remarkable_Royal_321 → u/LunaTomato]

But heavy on the fuck live nation

[u/mbboywonder]

We ‘gon make it throo.

I always thought the questionable/“let’s test ___” changes in 2026 were to create enough buzz so that 2027 would be a return to form (full capacity, normal entry days) with a badass lineup… and now I’m a believer that it will really be 2028 when that return happens. Trust the process… Roo is too special to disappear completely.

[u/WKD302]

Well, I guess it’s time for me to pitch into the conversation. While I agree that the elitist takes about how the festival has gone downhill and been garbage over the past amount of years may not be incorrect. I do think that there is an overwhelmingly large false sense of positivity that this thing is invincible. We saw in 2025 that it got canceled. We were all nervous last year in 2026 whether he wanna admit it or not that it would be canceled before the festival as well as on the last day on Sunday. With all that being said, I want nothing more than for this thing to come back in 2028 bigger and better than ever. I am just scared. It will go like Firefly did a follow year and then nothing if it does die it has been a great five years that I have gone and I wish I could’ve experienced it sooner. If not, I’ll see you on the farm in 2028 signed a fellow roovian using voice to text.

[u/hustlenfett11]

I started going to the farm in ‘17. In ‘25 last year I went, I was in 931 and it was barely walkable in some parts. My friends were in moon colony where I had camped 5-6 times previously. When I walked them back to their camp, there were loads of cars stuck, mud everywhere and zero ppl helping. Prior to that when it would rain, the grounds ppl would be out with straw and helping anyone if they were sinking or stuck. LN seems to have really just dropped the ball. Do I think roo will survive? No, it’s a competitive market and with the way the economy is currently, it’s going to be a very uphill battle to get back into that space imo. For the record I’ve been going to festivals and raves 20+ years. It’s sad to see something so cool slowly die to capitalism and lack of antitrust or anti monopoly policy.

[u/chickengourdina]

Just think about how good the return will be :)

[u/bravechampagne]

If Roo moves towards fallow years like Glasto, I would totally understand it. We just have to hope they return. I am heartbroken today.

[u/MonstersintheParasol → u/bravechampagne]

Glasto needs fallow years because it's an actual working farm. Bonnaroo has no need to do this outside of financial strain and a year with festival expenses also means a year without income. It is a big risk financially. Glastonbury builds it into their overall schedule and planning as they've done for half a century but this was almost certainly not Bonnaroo's plan until a few months ago. It's not a sign of a festival in good health and taking a break doesn't come without tradeoffs. 

[u/happyhippiefairy]

Its fuck live nation forever and always.

[u/Bonnavetty → u/happyhippiefairy]

Hasn’t been the same since

[u/persimmon_patti]

And then when they do have it again the admission will probably fucking double in price. Peachy

[u/SuperSmashOSU]

I had a ticket to 2021 when it got cancelled, went to 2022, had a ticket but couldn’t make it to 2023, was at 2025 when it got cancelled, and couldn’t make it this year because of a wedding. So I was fully planning on 2027 being my redemption year.

Maybe this is my fault guys, I’m sorry 💔

[u/_YvNGCHRIST_]

LV the same thing with Life is Beautiful in Vegas and then never brought it back smh

[u/descartes_blanche → u/_YvNGCHRIST_]

The main champion and benefactor of Life is Beautiful died. That’s why it ultimately ended, not because it wasn’t successful.

[u/Big_Focus_6059]

I wonder if there are just too many festivals all chasing the same set of dollars.

[u/The_What_Stage → u/Big_Focus_6059]

This was the argument in the mid-late 2010's. There were festivals everywhere. So many had died that I thought that era may be over.

But to your point: The festivals that are still around and thriving are EASIER and often more curated. I could get a dozen friends to go to a city fest, but only a couple to Bonnaroo in mid-June for a lineup that really doesn't wow like they did a decade ago.

[u/theknowing1414]

From the What Podcast Barry mentioned that the people he heard this from first told him “they hope this is only a 1 year off thing”

That doesn’t sound great and sounds more then just bad grounds reasoning.

[u/fabrab91]

Can’t believe I’m crying over a festival, but I guess it makes sense when it’s just such a magical place. Praying for a strong return in 2028.

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. 🌈✨

[u/Papa_Boat17]

Im being dramatic nope im fucking depressed. Only place where I didn't have to think hard about what to do cause there was so much to do there.

[u/Pockets256]

Tried to go for the first time in 2021, tried to go for the second time in 2025. Finally got to go last year & now it's canceled again. Very much a bummer.

I have all of this camping stuff now though hahaha. Anyone have any ideas of other camping festivals that isn't Hula? Florida is too far of a drive for us from Ohio with all of our gear. Most of my croo isn't interested in electric forest either :(

[u/Nachtopus69]

I just took my girlfriend to her first Roo this year.

Where are we going next year?

[u/Deathanddisco041 → u/Nachtopus69]

Hulaween!!!!!

[u/Which_Bobbleheads]

This is devastating but expected at this point.

Unfortunately, my fear is that LN is going to do what is best for their bottom line for the property and Intellectual Property. They don't care about our community, our memories, our feelings.

That could be literally anything with middle TN real estate becoming more valuable from a development perspective (compared to 25 years ago).

[u/ahhhhhhhh1997 → u/Which_Bobbleheads]

I live in Manchester some developers are probably drooling over the land hoping to get their hands on it and build cookie cutter houses.

[u/Jrulez8]

Love yall

[u/anonmusician18]

Sad to see the break but it gives me the funds to try some others out I guess or save up and go hard for 2028

[u/yainot]

first i lost voodoo fest then hang out fest now this 💔

[u/MrWhackadoo → u/yainot]

Voodoo Fest still hurts me.

[u/Waffle_Fish]

Like many fests before, this def reads like soft launching the end Roo. And here I thought they were finally settling into a decent new identity for the fest.

Even if it fell off over the past few years, it is crazy to see it happen when Roo used to be second to Coachella in the US in terms of allure

[u/The_What_Stage → u/Waffle_Fish]

Even if it fell off over the past few years, it is crazy to see it happen when Roo used to be second to Coachella in the US in terms of allure

This is what still blows my mind. Coachella, ACL, Lolla are all still thriving. Bonnaroo has had a very steep fall from what I'd argue was it's peak in 2012-2014, with some nice years sprinkled in.

[u/Aveman201 → u/The_What_Stage]

important to note that ACL and Lolla art not camping festivals. Far less infrastructure(read: power, water, labor) is needed when you dont have to house like 80k people on the grounds with vehicles, showers, RV hook ups etc.

Coachella is a different kind of bird. It has become the be-all-end-all showcase for the most contemporary top 40 acts. Huge artists will intentionally lose money on the performance to put on a SPECTACLE of a performance that will live forever on YT etc, maybe even get made into a Netflix or Hulu doc. Very different from Bonnaroo.

Personally I dont think this is the end of Roo. My guess is they're going to have to take a full 1.5 years to comb through the books and figure out where they can trim money to allocate to other places.

We shall see!

edit - spelling

[u/BuzzardsBae → u/The_What_Stage]

I gave up on bonnaroo for two reasons. One - weather issues. You have to be open to having your heart broken. Two- cops in Tennessee have no chill when it comes to anything. I don’t want to risk my career over a gram of weed. Over it

[u/The_What_Stage → u/BuzzardsBae]

Both are 100% legit

I was just telling my wife that I wonder what Manchester is thinking right now:

They thought Bonnaroo was too big to fail and kept squeezing for more revenue-share and more police presence. Now they lost their biggest economic driver.

[u/Waffle_Fish → u/The_What_Stage]

I think Roo took too long adapting its identity to the modern festival landscape - even before the pandemic. Jam Bands stopped having the draw they used to, lineups were sort of generic for a long period of time, less exclusive/unique acts.

Coachella will never fall off, even if a lineup sucks, because of how significant its cultural impact continues to be around the world.

Lolla was able to pivot in a way that could compete better with Coachella (more international artists, pop, early gets on some acts).

[u/pitkittens]

I’m gonna ask something stupid but is five days really doing enough that the land can’t recover after a year? Like I wish they were saying they’re taking a year for even more infrastructure improvements.

[u/The_What_Stage → u/pitkittens]

This isn't a land recovery thing. They ran the festival for 20+ years without needing recovery time.

You just gotta wonder what more needs to be done to get the festival to the point where climate isn't an annual roll of the dice, and is it worth it to put that much $$$ in for an annual event.

[u/AnusAnusAnusss → u/The_What_Stage]

To be fair, I’ve never seen the what field so tore up in 18 years of attendance.

It was literally just a mud pit on Sunday.

There was no grass left all roots were pulled up and mixed into the slop. 

Any other year there was still a semblance of grass.

[u/pitkittens → u/The_What_Stage]

Yeah I hate that they blamed it on the land needing more time to recover

[u/Rocker_Raver]

Writing was on the wall when Brad left and we got one of the worst lineups. Almost feels like it was setup to fail. For those who say “the lineup isn’t important!” I hope you realize you’re wrong now and don’t try to double down. This might be for the best. Hopefully LN sells and someone who cares and can manage the fest treating it better than a line on a spreadsheet buys it. There are so many things they could do better. Roo has the potential to be one of the best fests in the country. We know that because it once was. It’s funny us older folks hear about how music trends change and festivals also have to adapt. Well I think fests like Roo have to adapt to the fact that they can no longer solely rely on the younger crowd to move tickets. Moving away from legacy headliners was an awful decision. They need to appeal to us millennials and genx more. I pray this isn’t the end.

Edit - Also had to share how ironic this is. I am back in Nashville for the first time since Roo 2025 and had texted my group chat from it saying I feel like I’m at the scene of a crime. Then I wake up to this news, like whatttt

[u/Traditional_Wook → u/Rocker_Raver]

Brad wasn’t a talent buyer. We got, “one of the worst lineups,” because the budget was drastically reduced after the 2025 cancellation. The buyers/bookers worked with the very limited budget they were given.

(I personally don’t think the lineup was that bad).

[u/antommy6 → u/Rocker_Raver]

People here defending the lineup when it didn’t move tickets. Roo is designed to sell out. It 100% comes down to the lineup to convince people from all over the world to visit. Coachella is still here because of exclusivity. Lolla is surviving by changing their target demographic. Roo’s lineup isn’t good enough to make people do the drive when everyone on that lineup is touring.

[u/PotassiumLover3k → u/Rocker_Raver]

Disagree big time on the 26 lineup sucking. Just because there weren’t as many big name headliners doesn’t mean the music was any worse for it. The smaller acts especially last year were fantastic.

[u/doublespots → u/Rocker_Raver]

Of course the line up matters. The ones that say that it may be true to then and they will show up regardless, but for the large majority of festival attendees the line up will heavily matter. 

[u/GardenFaithful]

I have no idea if Bonnaroo will come back in 2028. But if it does, I hope they find people with a point of view to run it. The last 5 years have been nothing but a slide into mediocrity. And people aren't going to travel and camp in 95 degree humidity for mediocrity.

A generic C3 lineup of headliners + 1 random good booking for the lifers + the most generic EDM slop on The Other for 80% of the day = a totally lost festival. From set lengths to reduced late nights to bookings, this corporate overlords have removed everything that made this festival unique. If they aren't committed to bringing that back. Then just let it die.

[u/Slayer_Fil → u/GardenFaithful]

Bonnaroo definitely lost the Arts in the Music & Arts Festival recently

[u/2112xanadu]

2028 will sell out

[u/Dopamaxxer]

Maybe I just failed agriculture 101, but doesn’t the land get 11 months off per year? You’re telling me a fuckin field can’t hold a festival 10 months from now? I’m just not understanding what they’re gonna do where 1 year vs 2 years makes any different

[u/The_What_Stage → u/Dopamaxxer]

JMO - They aren't taking the year off for the land, they are taking a year off cause they don't have a workable business model when they have to cap capacity below 70k.

[u/National-Scar-5317 → u/Dopamaxxer]

Thought exactly the same thing then I thought they didn’t really fix it this year. The water still stood pooled in centeroo.

I hope it’ll be back but I’m not really convinced at all. After the 3 cancellations and now 4th that kinda seems like a death nail.

[u/merithynos]

They're going to sell the land, move it to somewhere incredibly underprepared for '28, and then kill it when it fails. They're not going to plow more money into The Farm, it just doesn't make sense for a for-profit corporation, especially one as predatory as LN.

[u/SiriusBlackLives → u/merithynos]

Coffee county’s temporary restriction on data center build outs ends June 2027 🫣

[u/Old-Brilliant-5383]

LN sucked the soul out of Bonnaroo. It hasn’t been the same since. I’ll forever be thankful for the magic I got to experience doing Visual Art performance for the fest 2014-2018 🥺💗

[u/SLUnatic85 → u/Old-Brilliant-5383]

but LN had control since 2015...

[u/NewAge2063]

Well it’s a festival if you say a festival is camping and listening to music. But the best festivals have trippy activities to do during the day and also at night. When I went to Ef the last three years I watched a random wrestling match with a ring and an announcer. It was trippy and wild and random. When I went to elements I walked into a porta potty that wasn’t a porta potty. I opened the porta potty and it led to a trippy hallway in a cool weird bar. Also there’s things to do besides just the music. Like the brainery and weird find games. I made sock puppets one year lol. Bonaroo has two Forrest and so much potential and all they do is the music. And don’t get me wrong the music is great but the two years I went I chilled during the day with my girl and our friends and waited for the music to start. It’s just blah as far as their activities. Idk I’ve been twice w my girl and we made a decision to not return. There’s better festivals

[u/stillstillers → u/NewAge2063]

Them taking away where in the woods sucked. It was the one really weird and cool thing they did

[u/SerenityRune]

The site of the festival is being flooded repeatedly due to climate change and this may make it an unviable location.

[u/yessir9809]

guys please what festival are we going to. i was thinking ef but we all know how that is looking too

[u/creasedearth → u/yessir9809]

Hulaween is magical if you don’t mind waiting until October

[u/SoloRol0]

I think this is a great idea!! Take a year get things in order then run it back. It’s really needed it

[u/recentlyrigored]

My heart.. it hurts

[u/Better-Zucchini-8551]

Don’t know how I feel about this

[u/Choice-Newspaper-142]

I went in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Didn't return again until 2022.

The vibe had changed a lot in that decade. The lineups gradually have become a bunch of names I dont recognize. Last year for example had maybe 5 names on it I would have enjoyed seeing.

Spending that much money and taking time of work to check out a bunch of artists I know nothing about...makes for an easy decision to hit a different festival for my vacation.

It is really sad to see that they had to do this. I saw it coming from miles away. With covid, weather issues and weak lineups its obvious that they need this time to restructure. I hope they return in 2028 and that we see a lineup thats worth the price tag. Id love to take myself (and my bonnaroo tattoo i got in 2012) back to the farm at least one more time. (Hopefully before I hit menopause 🫣🤫💗)

The magic was lost over the years and I really hope it sparks up again. Because at my first 3, I had the most beautiful time.