Bonnaroo has announced Virtual Roo-ality, a free three-day livestream airing on Youtube, a replacement for a physical festival this year.
Taking place between Thursday, September 24th, and Saturday, September 26th, the virtual event will feature a mix of classic archival sets from past iterations of Bonnaroo, alongside special new performances.
Included in the archival footage is The White Stripes’ iconic 2007 headline set; Beastie Boys’ 2009 appearance, which happened to be one of the group’s final live shows; performances by Metallica, Tears For Fears, and James Brown can also be revisited.
There will also be 35 new performances from artists such as Denzel Curry, Action Bronson, Nathaniel Rateliff, and David Lynch. Yes, really. The Mulholland Drive visionary will be in Conversation on Meditation, Creativity, and Consciousness with meditation leader Bob Roth.
It won’t just focus on music. Virtual Roo-ality will feature other programmes, including a series of conversations presented by Hayley Williams. The Paramore singer is curating the Sanctuary of Self Love, covering topics like mental health and gender. Charli XCX and Laure Jane Grace are some of the panelists taking part.
Big Freedia will offer up a cooking tutorial for her “Booty Poppin’ Potatoes” and the aforementioned Bronson will host Food Conversations with Action Bronson. Virtual dance parties, campfire tales and many more events will also be part of the event. It’s going to be a packed three days of things to watch.
The event will also be used for a good cause. Virtual Roo-ality will raise awareness for the ACLU Foundation and Headcount, a non-partisan organisation that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy.
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Donations collected during the virtual weekend for these and additional organizations will be made by the Bonnaroo Works Fund.
This year’s physical version of Bonnaroo was cancelled, of course, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of now, the festival is hesitantly slated to return live in Manchester, Tennessee from Thursday, June 17th, until Sunday, June 20th, of next year.
Check out ‘Hotel Yorba’ by The White Stripes at Bonnaroo:
