Bonnaroo 2021 Artist Spotlight: Charlotte Sands

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 Bonnaroo‘s 2021 lineup. However, to say that this year’s Bonnaroo is a bit of an unconventional one would be an understatement. Postponed from 2020, moved later into the summer, and with a lineup, schedule, and enhanced Covid-19 precautions all only announced and finalized mere weeks from the fest’s Sept. 2-5 weekend, we’re starting our preview coverage later than usual now that we have the full rundown, and will only be highlighting a handful of artists we want to make sure are on your radar this year, reflecting the full gamut of the festival’s days and stages, and even some performers from the plaza lineup. Additionally, look out for our full list-style lineup guides for each day of the fest, with many other artist recommendations, to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s stacked and sprawling 20th-anniversary slate.

Tickets for 2021 sold out in record time, but if you already have yours, or you manage to snag some from a reputable 3rd party, we hope you’ll do everything you can this year to keep yourself and your fellow Bonnaroo attendees safe throughout the fest, and to behave as cautiously as possible after to limit your risk of exposure to others. We’re thrilled to have music back, but, as the Delta variant fuels a rise in Covid cases, if we want it to stay back and stay safe, we all need to take care of one another. That said, we’re hoping this year’s Bonnaroo marks another important milestone on the road to normalcy, and some welcome solace for those in attendance. To help you get ready, read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight.

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Though she technically made her Bonnaroo debut in 2019, performing at one of the campground plaza stages (don’t sleep on those by the way, there’s some great music to be found), local edgy, indie pop/rock artist Charlotte Sands will play Centeroo proper this time around, slated for a prime Sunday slot on the Who Stage. In the more than two years since the last fest, Sands, who originally hails from Massachusetts, has become a breakout hit online, thanks in no small part to TikTok, where last year’s “Dress,” a tune about gender nonconformity inspired by Harry Styles’ much-discussed and somewhat polarizing Vogue cover, went viral, fueling an uptick in plays and interest across all streaming platforms. Raised in a musical family, Sands relocated to Nashville right out of high school, and initially dabbled in folk, before adopting her current electro-laced indie pop and energetic pop rock sound that so perfectly suits her voice. Though “Dress” wasn’t her first song to find buzz online, it was, by far, the biggest, and helped attract new fans ahead of this year’s debut EP Special, and more recent singles “Bad Day” and the pop rock banger “All My Friends Are Falling in Love.” Social critiques like “Dress” notwithstanding, many of Charlotte’s tunes embody a ripped-from-a-diary feeling of personal experiences in love, loss, and longing, effortlessly presented with raw relatability and propelled by soaring hooks and slick production. Bonnaroo is always packed with excellent pop, but if you want to catch the best of what’s next, Charlotte Sands should be on your must-see list.

WATCH | “All My Friends Are Falling in Love”