Bonnaroo Main Stage Roundup: Earth Wind & Fire, Caribou, Gary Clark Jr., SBTRKT, Kacey Musgraves, Punch Brothers

Just like last year and the year before, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with every single band on Bonnaroo‘s impressive 2015 lineup. We started from the bottom and have been working our way up, paying special attention to the smaller and lesser known acts on this year’s bill with daily, dedicated Bonnaroo Band of the Day and Bonnaroo Club Stage Band of the Day posts. Now that ‘Roo is fast approaching, and we’re adminttedly playing catch up through the rest of the fest’s lineup in the form of group posts. Keep reading for your Bonnaroo Band of the Day Main Stage Roundup!

EARTH, WIND, & FIRE

Friday | Which Stage | 11:30pm

What can you say about a band like Earth, Wind, & Fire that hasn’t already been said? Bridging the gamete of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin, African, and gospel music SO seamlessly, that they have become a elemental force all their own over their 46 year career. Yes, you read that correctly. They were founded in Chicago around 1969 by brothers Maurice and Verdine White, and EWF currently boast an incredible fourteen person roster, including legendary horns, duel drummers and plenty of guitars. They also have one of the longest former member lists we’ve ever seen, well over forty names, all of whom have added to their sounds over the years. They’ve amassed twenty Grammy nominations (winning six), released twenty-one studio albums (six cracking the top-ten charts; two number ones), and influenced too many artists to possibly name. Don’t miss you chance to see some living legends at what promises to be one of the best shows of the entire fest!

LISTEN | “September” (1978 Disco Purrfection Version)

WATCH | “Reasons”

CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

CARIBOU

Sunday | The Other Tent | 7:30pm

Canadian composer, musician, producer, and recording artist Daniel Victor “Dan” Snaith has performed under names other than his own before, like Manitoba and Daphni, but this year on The Farm it’s all about Caribou. His sounds range from folktronica to neo-psychedelia, and even shoegaze. His latest release, Our Love (Merge Records), even incorporates hip hop inspired beats, muted house basslines, and his love of garage sounds. Sometimes Caribou performs with a backing band, sticking to percussion, and together they have a large catalog to pull from, including seven studio albums and many, many EPs, live albums, and tour-only CDs. Other times it’s a more Animal Collective vibe, with heavy looping and effects gear. Whichever route he takes at Roo, get hip now, so you can soak him in at the The Other Tent before The Piano Man closes out the festivities at the main stage.

LISTEN | “Can’t Do Without You”

WATCH | “Our Love” (Official Music Video)

CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

GARY CLARK JR

Saturday | Which Stage | 7:30pm

Few artists have risen to prominence as quickly, and as deservedly, as Gary Clark Jr. An incredibly gifted guitar player who came up playing at iconic blues bars like Antone’s, in his hometown of Austin, TX, he was named “Best Young Gun” in Rolling Stone‘s April 2011, “Best of Rock” issue. In 2012 he released his smash hit, major label debut, Blak and Blu (Warner Brothers). It has the honor of being recognized by the Recording Academy with Grammy nominations in both the rock and R&B categories for the same album in the same year — winning the latter: Best Traditional R&B Performance — the first time any artist has ever done this. An insane, nearly two-year long tour schedule followed (we told you all about his last Nashville stop in this post), as well as a baby with his beautiful wife, Australian model Nicole Trunfio. Known for tearing it up on the fest circuit, we are foaming at the mouth in anticipation of his set on The Farm this year and hope he’s had time to write some more skull melting jams while away from the studio.

LISTEN | “When My Train Pulls In” (live)

WATCH | “Numb” (Official Music Video)

CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

SBTRKT

Saturday | The Other Tent | 8pm

Although we now know who the man behind the masks is (Aaron Jerome), SBTRKT is still the post-dubstep, indie elctro-pop DJ we all can vibe too. In case you are unfamiliar, it’s not an acronym, and it’s pronounced ’subtract,’ which is what it’s shorthand for. The native society ceremonial masks, and the anonymity, explains Mr. Jerome, is to “let the music speak for itself … it’s about giving (people) a record as an anonymous person, and seeing whether they like it or not.” Fair enough. The United Kingdom based beat master has an impressive catalog of collaborative singles (ft. Sampha, Jessie Ware, Little Dragon, Ezra Koenig, and more) and EPs, plus two LPs, the latest of which, Wonder Where We Land, takes inspiration from a diverse sound base, including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Radiohead. Let him help get your Saturday night kicked off right.

LISTEN | “Relics” Ft. Tev’n

WATCH | “Higher” ft. Raury

CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

KACEY MUSGRAVES

Friday | That Tent | 7:15pm

One of our favorite rising stars in the country scene, and a breath of fresh air with her well-deserved success, Kacey Musgraves got her start winning USA Network’s Nashville Star in 2007. More recently, the Music City resident has been tearing up the country charts with her debut record, Same Trailer Different Park, and also went ahead and won herself two Grammys, for Best Country Record and Song. However, the Golden, TX native wants everyone to know that’s she’s not just another cog in the big country machine. Not only does she do most of her own song-writing, she co-produced her hit record, full of songs she feels “go against the grain,” of traditional country radio. She’s obviously branching out even further now, returning to Bonnaroo following an excellent debut set a few years back, ahead of her highly anticipated sophomore album.

LISTEN | “Undermine”

WATCH | “Follow Your Arrow” (Official Music Video)

CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

PUNCH BROTHERS

Sunday | That Tent | 6:30pm

One of the most progressive bluegrass bands around, Punch Brothers also enjoy sprinkling in elements of classical music, and even a Strokes cover (see the video below). Helmed by virtuoso mandolin player Chris Thile, the band have released five albums, including this year’s The Phosphorescent Blues (Nonesuch Records), and have built a strong following amongst the exploding folk/bluegrass/acoustic revival. Bonnaroo veterans, the P Bros are known for their high energy live performances, usually harmonizing vocally and playing around one mic, in the old tradition, as well as their ability to reinterpret songs from a diverse range of artists (also see this Radiohead cover) with true old timey flare. We also wouldn’t be surprised at all if they show up at Ed Helm’s Bluegrass Situation, so, if we’re lucky, we’ll get two sets from them in the same day!

LISTEN | “Nothing, Then”