Kendrick Lamar has been announced as one of the headline performers for this year’s edition of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
On Tuesday (January 10), festival organizers shared the news via a press release that also announced the full line-up for the annual festival. It is scheduled to take place between June 15-18 on the Bonnaroo Farm, located 60 miles southeast of Nashville.
K. Dot leads the way for Hip Hop at the four-day festival while joining him on the bill will be his cousin Baby Keem, Lil Nas X, Three 6 Mafia, J.I.D., Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson, Yung Gravy and more. The pgLang rapper will take the stage on day two.
Fans looking to be a part of the festivities can get early access passes on Thursday (January 12) exclusively on the festival’s official website.
Those who won’t be able to attend will get a chance to catch select live-streamed performances thanks to Hulu returning this summer as the festival’s official streaming partner. Additional special footage and behind-the-scenes looks will also be available for fans to indulge in.
Kendrick Lamar’s set at the 2023 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be a part of the fourth leg of his massive The Big Steppers Tour. The first three legs took place in North America, Europe and Oceania, respectively. Leg four is reserved for summer festivals and has Lamar visiting countries such as Spain, Poland, Netherlands and more.
One of the last times fans saw K. Dot on stage was last month when he wrapped up the third leg of his tour with back-to-back shows at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. As Kendrick finished his set, he left with a message for the roaring crowd.
“With that being said, from the bottom of our hears, we love y’all and we will be back,” Kendrick stated.
Kendrick Lamar released his fifth studio album — and first in five years — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in May. The 35-year-old also released a plethora of visuals to support the LP, with the most recent being for the gripping “Count Me Out,” which showed Kendrick opening up to a therapist played by legendary British actor Dame Helen Mirren.
Kendrick also snagged eight 2023 Grammy Award nominations for his latest album. He’s picked up nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video for “The Heart Part 5,” along with Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Melodic Rap Performance.
As someone who’s been a 5+ Bonnaroos, it really went to hell as soon as it sold out to live Nation. Now Bonnaroo is like every other festival. They’re all the same, all owned by live Nation. The best festivals around still aren’t owned by the power players.
I got to go in 2013 and had the time of my life. Sad if its gone to shit
I was there that year too! It was wild, and SUPER hot lol. But yeah, it sold late 2015, and you could tell it was all corporate in 2016, so that’s the last time I went. All prices skyrocketed, rules got more strict.