Bonnaroo Music Festival to pause for 2027
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The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, held annually in Manchester, Tennessee, since 2002, will not take place in 2027, organisers confirmed in a social media statement. Producers C3 Presents, owned by Live Nation, described the hiatus as a "much-needed year off" and a difficult but deliberate decision intended to strengthen the festival's future. The announcement ended weeks of fan speculation, as promoters, who usually confirm the following year's dates well in advance, had gone unusually quiet after this year's event without explanation.
The pause follows a turbulent stretch for the festival, including a Covid-related cancellation in 2020, a hurricane-forced cancellation in 2021, and a rain-shortened event in 2025 that sent fans home early. Despite millions of dollars invested in infrastructure improvements ahead of the 2026 edition, which featured acts including Noah Kahan, Modest Mouse and Turnstile, a storm on the final day still forced an evacuation and further cancellations. Organisers have since surveyed attendees about the festival's future, including possible changes to its traditional June scheduling, with a break in the UK's Glastonbury Festival cited as a precedent for such "fallow years."
- Bonnaroo festival will skip 2027, organisers confirm
- Move follows years of weather-related disruptions and cancellations
- C3 Presents call it a "much-needed" break to improve the event
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Bonnaroo is a large outdoor music and arts festival that has run every summer since 2002 in Manchester, Tennessee, drawing tens of thousands of fans and big-name performers over several days. It is now run by C3 Presents, a promoter owned by Live Nation, the world's largest concert and ticketing company.
In recent years the festival has been repeatedly hit by extreme weather, forcing cancellations or curtailed events on several occasions, including issues linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, a hurricane, and heavy rain. Organisers had invested significantly in site improvements such as drainage and roads to try to prevent further disruption, but weather problems have continued to affect the event.
The festival matters both as a fixture of the US summer touring calendar for musicians and fans, and as a business run by a major entertainment company, so decisions about its future have knock-on effects for artists, local businesses in Tennessee, and the wider live-music industry.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The festival has endured a sequence of unprecedented setbacks—weather-forced cancellations and evacuations even after substantial infrastructure investment—that have compromised attendees' experience and the festival's reputation. A deliberate hiatus allows organisers time to fundamentally address scheduling and venue constraints, drawing on precedents like Glastonbury's successful fallow years. This represents prudent, forward-thinking management intended to preserve the festival's long-term cultural and financial viability rather than accepting annual disruption.
The case against
A full year's pause appears a disproportionate response to weather challenges largely beyond anyone's control, and inflicts real hardship on thousands of vendors, workers and fans who depend on the festival economically and culturally. Rather than abandoning 2027 entirely, smarter solutions—such as shifting the June date to a less storm-prone season, enhancing contingency protocols, or relocating the venue—would address underlying issues without sacrificing an entire year. A prolonged absence risks eroding the festival's cultural momentum and market position in a competitive landscape.
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Originally published by Rolling Stone as “Bonnaroo Taking ‘Much-Needed Year Off’ in 2027”.