Look, there’s no way to sugarcoat it. Being one year into the COVID-19 pandemic fucking sucks. But with the vaccine rollout gaining speed throughout the country, we’re starting to feel a tiny bit hopeful that maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to have a semblance of normal life by the end of 2021. But some are perhaps too ambitiously optimistic. At the beginning of the month, San Francisco-based music festival Outside Lands announced that it’s returning in October. Now other big fests are following suit. Delaware’s Firefly announced on Tuesday that its next edition will run September 23 through 26; today, Bonnaroo declared that it’d be back even sooner: September 2 through the 5th.
Firefly hasn’t announced a lineup, but we can likely expect a similar one to what attendees were supposed to get in 2020, which included Rage Against The Machine, Billie Eilish, Blink-182, and more. Meanwhile, Bonnaroo’s lineup is stacked and very exciting: Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, Run The Jewels, Lizzo, Tame Impala, Tyler The Creator, Brittany Howard, Julien Baker, and plenty of other acts to potentially celebrate returning to normalcy.
These aren’t the only music festivals ambitiously eyeing September dates. New York’s Governors Ball announced back in January that it’s aiming for the same weekend as Firefly. Kentucky’s Louder Than Life and Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful are also set for September.
There’s a chance these dates will have to change once again if conditions don’t improve, but moving major festivals to September is a great idea for post-pandemic times. It’s warm but not too warm, and you’ll be around fewer high schoolers.
Check out the full lineup for Bonnaroo below:
Thursday, September 2:
Grand Ole Opry Featuring Special Guests
99 Neighbors
Andy Frasco
Big Something
Briston Maroney
Dabin
Devon Gilfillian
The Funk Hunters
HE$H
Joy Oladokun
Larkin Poe
Liz Cooper &The Stampede
MIZE
Nubya Garcia
Scarypoolparty
Spock
Sweet Crude
Taska Black
Too Many Zooz
ZiA
Friday, September 3:
Foo Fighters
Megan Thee Stallion
Run The Jewels
Janelle Monáe
Glass Animals
Deftones
Young Thug
Tipper
Jack Harlow
Grace Potter
Primus
Nelly
The Disco Biscuits
Dashboard Confessional
Big Wild
TroyBoi
Marcus King Band
Lennon Stella
Orville Peck
Kim Petras
Turkuaz w/Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew: Remain In Light
SVDDEN DEATH
Omar Apollo
Lucii
Waxahatchee
The Weather Station
Resistance Revival Chorus
LP Giobbi
ATLiens
Mija
Detox Unit
Rome In Silver
Jac Ross
Mdou Moctar
Tripp St.
NotLö
Saturday, September 4:
Lizzo
Tame Impala
My Morning Jacket
G-Eazy
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Phoebe Bridgers
Incubus
Seven Lions
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard
Superjam: Sylvan Esso Presents “WITH”
Kevin Gates
Marc Rebillet
Goose
Subtronics
Surfaces
JID
Jon Batiste
The Band Camino
Ashnikko
Yaeji
Ekali
Tate McRae
Pinegrove
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
Remi Wolf
Wooli
Dr. Fresch
William Black
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Flamingosis
Hero The Band
Level Up
DJ Mel
Almost Monday
Lick
Sunday, September 5:
Tyler, The Creator
Lana Del Rey
Lil Baby
deadmau5
Leon Bridges
Young The Giant
Brittany Howard
Flogging Molly
Boombox Cartel
Greensky Bluegrass
The Struts
CAAMP
Oliver Tree
PEEKABOO
Julien Baker
LSDREAM
Colony House
Flo Milli
Breland
Niko Moon
Jamila Woods
Bill Frisell: Harmony featuring Petra Haden, Hank Roberts & Luke Bergman
LUZCID
Elderbrook
Makaya McCraven