Bonnaroo 2019 Artist Spotlight: Peach Pit

As we’ve been doing for the past several years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorites acts from from Bonnaroo‘s impressive 2019 lineup. As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages (including the campground Plazas), big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, or most highly-recommended among this year’s crop of artists. Though we’ll be jumping around, we’re loosely working our way through by day, and we’ll also be bringing you some special features and longer guides along the way, to help you plan your weekend before the fest. While these previews won’t span every performer, and might omit some more obvious must-see acts, we hope they’ll serve as a way to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s gargantuan lineup, and to make the most of your busy weekend on the farm!

Grab your tickets right here if you haven’t already, and keep reading to learn more in our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight…

LEARN

While it feels like they sprung out of nowhere in early 2017, Vancouver’s Peach Pit can actually trace their origins back to high school, formed by longtime pals, frontman Neil Smith and guitarist Chris Vanderkooy, and rounded out by bassist Peter Wilton and drummer Mikey Pascuzzi. Adopting a sound they self-describe as “chewed bubblegum pop,” the group’s laid back, poppy, indie slacker rock is actually the product of a lot of practice and forethought (they practiced for a year before ever playing a live show), initially earning the band a respectable local following and regional buzz for their debut EP, Sweet F.A. (an abbreviation for Sweet Fuck All- an ode to Smith’s love for the lazy life). After their self-titled track (and source of their name), “Peach Pit,” unexpectedly went viral on YouTube, earning the group millions of plays, they swiftly amassed a global fanbase in 2017, seizing on their buzz by releasing their first full-length, Being So Normal, in the fall of that year, and embarking on an impressive tour slate across not only North America, but Europe and Asia as well.

Funneling themes of raw and earnest teen angst through a quirky, catchy, and laid back aesthetic, finding a sound that lands somewhere between Mac Demarco and Homeshake (and, like Demarco, fully embracing the long-lost art of the guitar solo), enhanced by their own affable, friendly, and oddball appeal (notably, they wear the exact same normcore-esque thrifted outfits at each show), Peach Pit have forged a devoted and ever-growing following, making them one of the most buzzed about new bands in indie rock, and a growing staple of festival lineups. Now signed to major label Columbia Records, the Canadian foursome seem poised to be an enduring force in indie rock, and they make their debut at Bonnaroo at that interesting time when they’re already decently established in many circles, but likely still a new name to a lot of general audiences. For our money, they’re one of the best rock bands of the entire lineup this year, and a Thursday set you should absolutely make a priority!

LISTEN | “Peach Pit”