All has been quiet on the Bonnaroo 2027 front, and fans are starting to get concerned that festival organizers are pulling the plug on the Manchester, Tennessee staple.
The four-day music event that’s typically held in June every single year might be in danger of getting the axe. Why? Because after they wrapped up their 2026 edition in a couple of months ago, Bonnaroo has been very quiet. That’s not normal for the annual Manchester festival, as in the past, they’ve quickly turned around and announced dates in July for the following year’s event.
We’re now almost all the way through August, and there’s still no confirmation that Bonnaroo will continue in 2027.
Why wouldn’t Bonnaroo – one of the most recognizable festivals in the entire country – come back? Well… one thing I’ll say is that it was very important for the festival organizers to pull off their 2026 edition. Prior to that, the festival had been canceled due to weather 3 of the last 6 years.
This year, the Tennessee music festival got lucky dodging the rain and severe weather that can often stir up in the south in the summer months. That led many to assume festival organizers would feel comfortable running it back in 2027. But instead of sending out an update about Bonnaroo returning next year, the only thing that the Bonnaroo team sent out after this past June’s event was a survey asking if participants would be more likely to go to Bonnaroo if it was in September.
That at least gave some comfort to Bonnaroo faithful amidst the lack of information. The music festival switching their dates from June to September in 2027 isn’t a big deal, right? It could even help for the event to be better. However, in an update from The What Podcast (which is a show about Bonnaroo), host Barry Courter didn’t sound very confident when he said this:
“I will say this… we are monitoring some news out of Bonnaroo, just to let you know we are aware. We’re watching it. When we know more, we will let you know more.”
@thewhatpodcast What’s going on with #bonnaroo ♬ original sound – The What Podcast
That doesn’t seem like a “Bonnaroo is just pushing things back a couple of months in 2027” kind of vibe…
Festival Owl, a popular anonymous source for festival news, chimed in today and wasn’t all that comforting either:
It’s also important to note that the city of Manchester, Tennessee – along with their emergency service personal – haven’t heard a peep about the festival happening or not happening in 2027. These events take months upon months of planning, and in year’s past, Bonnaroo would already be in contact with the city and working on booking artists for the following year.
Right now, Bonnaroo fans are just hoping that they hear the festival is pushed back a couple of months rather than canceled altogether… but if the event organizers do come out and say they aren’t returning in 2027, or they are “taking a pause,” that would be par for the course when you look at the current state of music festivals.
Festival pauses and cancellations have become commonplace in the past couple of years. Festivals like the Iron Hills, Country Roads, and Watershed (the Pacific Northwest’s largest country festival) have all made the tough decision to waive the white flag in the past year or so, with most citing “softer than expected demand” as the main reason for shuttering.
We’re entering into a time where more and more festivals are struggling, postponing to future dates, and even closing up shop altogether. It’s truly become a crowded landscape, and despite many bigger festivals faltering, it seems like a new festival pops up every single year.
There’s also the issue of cost. Festivals need to charge fans a certain amount to justify putting on the whole kit and caboodle, and that price can sometimes be too steep for even the most passionate music lovers. Tack on the fact that festivals often require fans to travel, book lodging, and pay for food and drinks… and you’ve got yourself an economic activity that not everyone can pull off during these times.
That being said, I don’t think anyone ever thought that Bonnaroo would be in danger of not moving forward, even with the unfortunate weather the festival has had to battle in the past half-decade or so. And to be clear, it’s not officially canceled… but nothing coming out about future plans for the festival at this point in the year isn’t the greatest sign.
Stay tuned…