Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival returned Thursday with custom totems, vibrant outfits and music from Spiritual Cramp, Vince Staples, Four Tet and Skrillex – with a two-hour power outage temporarily crashing the party.

Thousands of Bonnaroo attendees swarmed the grounds hours before artists took to the stage – a symbol of the renewed excitement for the weekend after severe weather caused the festival to be cancelled in 2025.

“I like it a lot so far,” said first-time attendee Justin Davenshire, 26. “I like the vibe here a lot. I’ve been to music festivals before and Bonnaroo is really different. The shows are very inclusive and fun.”

After a disappointing wash out at last year’s festival, concertgoers wonder if the four day celebration will be cut short again due to Tennessee’s shifting weather. However, that didn’t stop crowds Thursday from flooding into Great Stage Park.

Bonnaroo’s organizers scheduled a lighter opening day than previous years with only four performances on opening day, all scheduled on the Bonnaroo main stage – the What Stage. 

Amping up with Shotgunaroo and music

Many festivalgoers celebrated the beginning of Bonnaroo before entering the grounds. The fourth annual Shotgunaroo kicked off at 2 p.m. at The Arch, near the entrance of Centeroo, the festival’s central hub of music and entertainment. 

This continuing tradition consists of exactly what it sounds like – Bonnaroo attendees cracking open a variety of drinks to usher in the festival weekend. Shotgunaroo also remains as a way for people to reconnect with each other and make new acquaintances, both to display peace, love, unity and respect (PLUR).

Planet Roo hosted the first musical event of the day with Nashville’s Pitch Meeting group, a nonprofit musical organization that collaborates with local and up-and-coming artists. The performers took song requests from the audience, allowing for an interactive and upbeat experience.

After the opening set, the Planet Roo Party kicked off with line dancing and a spotlight on the Bonnaroo Works Fund, which sponsors several nonprofits at Bonnaroo.

Power outage stops the show

When 5:30 p.m. hit, hundreds of eager concertgoers gathered by the What Stage to rock with Thursday’s opener, Spiritual Cramp. The San Francisco punk band played many tracks from its recent 2025 album “RUDE,” including “At My Funeral” and “Go Back Home.”

Mosh pits formed in the crowd, with attendees dancing and jumping as lead singer Michael Bingham’s invigorating vocals and lyrics demanded their participation. Bingham also encouraged the audience in a Bonnaroovian fashion by reminding people to care for their loved ones – another example of PLUR in action.

“Remember to be kind to each other,” Bingham said. “It’s a wicked world right now. You gotta remember to help your friends. You gotta remember to cheer your friends on.”

Performances continued with rapper Vince Staples before festivities paused when a partial power outage affected The Farm.

At around 8:30, when Four Tet was set to go on stage, many areas in Centeroo lost power, including the What Stage, Ferris wheel, merchandise tents and several food vendors. As a result, organizers delayed Four Tet and Skrillex’s sets by 30 minutes.

Power returned two hours later across The Farm, an hour before Skrillex’s rescheduled performance.

Raving the night away

To cap off the day, electronic music fans crowded around the What Stage to see the night’s headliner, EDM a-lister Skrillex. 

The Grammy-winning dubstep artist began his set at 11:30 p.m., picking up the pace after a tumultuous night. Fans rushed into the pit as bass-boosted electronic music blasted through the speakers.

“This is my first time seeing Skrillex,” said concertgoer Ben Watt, 26. “I might go in the pit and test the waters. We’ll have to see.”

The audience danced throughout the show, not discouraged by the previous outages but anticipating the weekend ahead.

Bonnaroo continues Friday with performances from The Strokes, Yungblud and Lil Jon, among others.