From its humble beginnings as a jam music weekend rooted in rural Tennessee, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has morphed since its 2002 inception into a mainstay U.S. music event unlike any other.
In 2025, it continues to set trends as a one-of-a-kind event by introducing a groundbreaking 360-degree spatial audio experience – called the Infinity Stage – plus an inaugural ‘Roo Residency, performed by psychedelic-rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
Bonnaroo takes place Thursday through Sunday at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee.
Read about these highlights and more as Sidelines staff outlines what’s new at Bonnaroo in 2025.
Immersive audio on the Infinity Stage
This year’s Bonnaroo debuts what could be a groundbreaking feat for live music experiences – the Infinity Stage.
The 360-degree, hemispherical stage created by Polygon Productions represents one of the latest forays into the immersive audio craze. Dismissed for decades for being impractical, stereo sound is now cherished around the world. This could be the same outcome for immersive, multi-source audio.
Companies like Apple and the owners of Madison Square Garden have made efforts to bring similar technologies to the masses due to increasing availability and interest. Apple’s introduction of “Spatial Audio” on Apple Music in 2021 and Madison Square Garden’s enigmatic $2.3 billion Sphere in Las Vegas have drawn much acclaim and even disdain from some music enthusiasts for the same reasons as stereo.
At the open-air Infinity Stage, three domes will emit sound, immersing Bonnaroovians into “surround sound on steroids.” Will artists such as Rebecca Black do it justice, or prove that it’s just another fad? – Parker Johnson
A ‘Roo Residency
For the first time, festival organizers booked a ‘Roo Residency with Australian genre-bending group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – which plays three sets in three days. The group plays This Tent on Friday, This Tent on Saturday and the Which Stage on Sunday. Known for long jams and genre-blurring psychedelia, the band makes a perfect fit for the first weekend residency on The Farm. Festival-goers can look forward to dancing with the spinners – and dodging plenty of neo-hippies –during any of these three sets. – Kerstie Wolaver
The Love Shack returns, baby
On the north end of the main grounds, festivalgoers can find Snake and Jake’s Love Shack, a place to party during the festival – or maybe meet a new dating interest (called “Bonnaboo,” duh). Taking over the Centeroo barn from previous years’ House of MatROOmony, the Love Shack includes late-night DJ sets, EDM line dancing, speed dating and a whole lot more, according to Bonnaroo’s social team.
Snake and Jake’s isn’t new to the Roo scene. In years past, the company hosted a Christmas-themed rave at the same location. —Liv Rapier
Luke Combs: A country headliner
Luke Combs will knock your boots off.
As one of the biggest country acts seen at Bonnaroo (and the second-ever Thursday night headliner at the festival), Combs performs at 9 p.m. on the What Stage. Combs returns to Bonnaroo after a 2017 performance promoting his debut album, “This One’s For You,” which took country music by storm, thanks in part to his breakout single “Hurricane.”
Combs now plays the main stage, bringing his career full circle with the help of a new album, “Fathers & Sons.” Whether you’re a longtime fan or hoping to witness a moment in Bonnaroo history, Combs should rope in festivalgoers with his Southern twang and country storytelling. – Wren Bailey
No bandanas…?
Alongside these changes came at least one notable cut to Bonnaroo this year. Since its debut in 2002, Bonnaroo has greeted festival-goers with free gifts alongside tickets in the mail. The fan favorite of these handouts? Bandanas, introduced in 2010, became a tradition for the next 14 years.
Colorfully designed and seemingly practical, these pieces of fabric became keepsake staples that decorated shelves or memory boxes. But this year, festival organizers cut the tradition, leaving fans to dig out throwback bandanas or create homemade versions of the popular festival season headgear. – Wren Bailey
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