Bonnaroo fans braved the heat yet again for day three of the music and arts festival, bringing another chock-full day of tunes with a star-studded lineup.
Earlier sets in the day included Nashville singer-songwriter Jobi Riccio, Ryan Beatty, d4vd and Bakar.
Around early evening, Brittany Howard took the stage, followed by Jon Batiste, Jamaican feel-good artist Sean Paul, Americana's Gregory Alan Isakov and up-and-coming pop singer Reneé Rapp.
An Emo Superjam led by Dashboard Confessional brought the house down, and Nashville's own rock band Cage The Elephant brought the heat.
Prior to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' headlining performance, here are some of Saturday evening's top moments.
Brittany Howard sizzles in afternoon Bonnaroo heat
Grammy-winning singer Brittany Howard, formerly of the band Alabama Shakes, took the Which Stage in the blazing afternoon heat on the Farm at Bonnaroo Saturday afternoon.
She didn't let the staggering heat bother her as she rolled onto the stage flashing peace signs and immediately grabbed the crowd's attention with her massive voice and guitar chops.
Her show flowed effortlessly from a bluesy vibe to a more funky, '70s feel with songs like "Stay High," "He Loves Me," "Georgia," "Prove It To You" and "Patience."
She told the crowd she is all about "peace, love and humanity" and that we are all brothers and sisters.
"We are all we've got, so we better start acting like it," she said. "I hope you all have a beautiful night and make some friends, because that's what I'm going to do."
Jon Batiste gets crowd in a New Orleans vibe
If there's an instrument that musician, singer, songwriter, composer and all-out performer Jon Batiste can't play, fans at Bonnaroo didn't see it Saturday night on the Farm.
During his blistering set, he moved from the acoustic guitar to electric, keyboards to samples, drums to the melodica and saxophone and finally, the piano with ease and mastery.
Donning an iridescent, gold, sequined suit, Batiste and Washington kicked the show off with "Cry," before rolling into "Tell the Truth," and "Freedom." Batiste and singer Desiree Washington "Desz", who was a force onstage, took turns singing, dancing and having the time of their lives.
He then took a moment to tell the crowd how grateful he was to be at Bonnaroo.
"It is a beautiful gift to share this with you all," he said from the stage. But then he had to set the tone of how the next hour was going to go.
As beach balls bounced across the top of the crowd and totems waved above in the setting sun, Batiste said, "Where I'm from in New Orleans, people are not as still as you all are when we play this music. So I need to see you all moving and groovin'. Shake what your mama gave you."
Next up was the reggae-tinged "Raindance," and from then on out, the show turned into a full-on celebration. Batiste spliced in "If You're Happy and You Know it," which he played on the melodica and the crowd took care of the claps, and even teased a little "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In."
Sean Paul turns the 'Temperature' up with Jamaican pop and rap set
Sean Paul hit the stage at This Tent at 6:30 p.m., leading the crowd into the evening with his Jamaican pop music.
Wearing bright pink pants, a "Dutty" black tee shirt (a reference to his album "Dutty Rock") and sunglasses, Sean Paul worked the stage alongside backup dancers wearing bright red outfits, DJs, a band and another rapper/hype man.
"Bonnaroo! I wanna know which ones of you has been down with Sean Paul from day number one!" Paul said.
Standing in front of a Jamaican flag, he played his "Cheap Thrills (Remix)," "Bailando," and hits "No lie" and "Gimme the Light." His high-energy reggae and dance hall set included sing-alongs, a call and response to the "Seven Nation Army" bass line, and Paul handing over the mic to the audience for a portion of "Temperature."
Gregory Alan Isakov brings intimate set to huge crowd
Gregory Alan Isakov performed at That Tent as the sun began to set over day three of Bonnaroo, hitting the stage for a 7:45 p.m. set. Isakov’s ambient, folksy singer-songwriter tunes accompanied the sunset colors perfectly.
In cloudy blue lighting and wearing a flat-brimmed hat and flannel, Isakov crooned on the song "The Fall," and was backed by soaring harmonies on "Miles To Go," a song where he gently played the harmonica.
Supported by a band with a violinist, upright bassist and banjo player, Isakov played songs from his newest album, "Appaloosa Bones," as well as some of his older hits like "Big Black Car."
"We all come from Colorado...it’s such an honor to be here. Thank you so much," Isakov said. "We don’t tour a lot and we don’t honestly play a lot of festivals…this has been really fun," he said with sincerity.
Isakov’s set brought a quieter, intimate vibe to a huge Bonnaroo crowd—making a large music festival feel like a private performance.
Reneé Rapp draws massive crowd with high-energy sunset show
Reneé Rapp got the crowd singing and dancing just as the sun set over the Which Stage Saturday night. Donning a black mesh top and black long, Diesel shorts emblazoned with "78," Rapp chatted with the crowd, let them do some of the singing and put on a high-energy show.
After her hit "Not My Fault," Rapp, who emoted Billie Eilish vibes, told the crowd she was happy to be back in the South.
"I'm from North Carolina, so not too far from here," she said, adding "I'm just in a good mood."
She sang "Pretty Girls," "Colorado," "Bruises" and "Follow You," before pointing out a totem in the crowd that then showed up on the massive video screens. It had a rolling digital display that read "Let's hear those Broadway vocals."
The crowd roared as she said, "If you are a theater kid and you are loud like me, I need a vocal. Can you do that for me?" Then she launched into "The Wedding Song."
Rapp's contagious energy, coupled with her powerful belt and bellowing R&B vocals riffs and runs had the crowd going crazy. She held the eager audience in her palm, asking them to sing along and pointing the mic out their way on song "Poison Poison."
Rapp's evening performance confirmed that this is just the start of her reign at music festivals.
Dashboard Confessional's Emo SuperJam gets Bonnaroo singing with feeling
The Dashboard Confessional Emo SuperJam was more like hundreds of your closest friends jamming along to your favorite mixtape than a concert. It was part top-shelf, star-studded cover band and part karaoke party as seemingly everyone in the massive crowd knew all the words to every song.
Artists such as Medium Build, Trousdale, John O’Callaghan of The Maine, and The Beaches took turns on stage jamming in various versions of the SuperJam house band. They rolled through sing-along hits such as “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, “Misery Business” by Paramore, “Teenage Dirtbag,” by Wheatus and “Say It Ain’t So,” by Weezer.
While those were the most well-known songs, Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba dug deeper in curating a celebration of the emo scene, bringing together Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate, Tim Kasher of Cursive, Geoff Rickly of Thursday, Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade, Anthony Green of Circa Survive and Ian Grushka of New Found Glory along for the ride.
Together they took on emo favorites including Something Corporate's "I Woke Up In A Car", My Chemical Romance's "I’m Not Okay (I Promise)" and Taking Back Sunday's "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team)."
The crowd danced and sang and expanded way beyond the borders of This Tent Saturday night, nearly doubling the size of the intended space.
Bonnaroo 2024: Dashboard Confessional's Emo SuperJam plays Paramore, My Chemical Romance. See the setlist
At times it was hard to hear the band members singing into microphones because the crowd drowned them out. "So far this has been the time of my life," Carrabba said about halfway through. A sentiment echoed with the closer "Hands Down" as all the guest stars took the stage together.
The SuperJam was definitely the biggest sing-along party of the weekend.
Cage the Elephant gives rousing, gritty rock 'n' roll performance
There was a fiery start to the night on the What Stage when Cage The Elephant began their set with bursts of fire, taking the stage as the last set before headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Lead singer Matt Shultz wore a red shirt and suit pants along with an "LA" baseball cap and sunglasses. Kicking off the show with song "Broken Boy," the energetic frontman delivered gritty rock vocals—sometimes punk-like—accompanied by the band's recognizable alternative sound.
"Bonnaroo we are Cage The Elephant! We are happy to be back. A lot of history!," Matt Shultz said about their time at Bonnaroo. He added that they've had a lot of amazing experiences at 'Roo, both as concert goers and performers.
Guitarist Brad Shultz played electric riffs as he got into the groove on "Baby Cry," bouncing with his guitar while his brother, Matt Schultz, moved around the stage. Matt Shultz would jump, collapse, wave his hands in the air, even curl into a ball on the ground and pop back up as he sang.
"It’s almost unbearably hot, but I can bear for you guys," Matt Shultz said.
"Neon Pill,” their new album’s lead single, came mid-set, adding a grittier, but morose, layer to the set. Leading into the song, Matt Shultz said that "everyday is a blessing." The tune nods to his bouts with medication-induced psychosis, which he received treatment for in 2023, and captured beautifully in song.
Of course, the classic hits ruled the show. "Trouble," started with singer Matt Shultz in the crowd, stealing a fan’s witch hat to wear. "Ain't No Rest For Wicked" ended with a crazy drum riff. "Cigarette Daydreams" had the crowd screaming: "You can drive all night / Lookin' for the answers in the pourin' rain."
Then, Matt Shultz asked if the crowd was ready for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Cage The Elephant got the rock 'n' roll ball rolling just right for the evening's headliner.
Melonee Hurt and Audrey Gibbs are music reporters at The Tennessean. You can reach them at mhurt@tennessean.com or agibbs@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bonnaroo 2024 hot moments: Jon Batiste, Reneé Rapp, Cage The Elephant
