Bonnaroo 2022 Artist Spotlight: Charlotte Sands

Like we’ve been doing for many years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorite acts from Bonnaroo‘s 2022 lineup. And, for the first time in three years, we finally feel confident that there definitely will be a Bonnaroo this year, after a postponement then cancelation in 2020 due to Covid, and an unfortunate rainout of last year’s would-be September event. Returned to its traditional timeframe of June 16-19, this marks Bonnaroo’s 21st summer and 19th installment, and features a largely new lineup for the festival’s much-anticipated return!

As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages, big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, and most highly-recommended among this year’s crop of artists. And as our time at ‘Roo approaches, we’ll also be bringing you some special features and full list-style daily lineup guides, to help you plan your weekend ahead of the fest. While these previews won’t span every artist, 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 read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight!

LEARN

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, alt pop/rock artist Charlotte Sands will play Centeroo proper this time around, slated for a Saturday slot on the Who Stage, which she was originally scheduled to play at last year’s canceled fest (and would probably leapfrog entirely for a larger stage if she were just being booked now, given her recent breakout fame). In the three years since her Bonnaroo debut, Sands, who originally hails from Massachusetts, has become a massive presence online and something of Nashville’s next pop punk star, thanks in no small part to TikTok, where 2020’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 alt pop and energetic emo-infused sound that so perfectly suits her voice. Though “Dress” wasn’t her first song to find buzz online, it was, by far, the biggest breakout hit, and helped attract new fans ahead of last year’s buzzy debut EP, Special. Even in the last six months since Sands would’ve returned to Bonnaroo, her fame has continued to grow at an astonishing rate, hitting the road with scene favorites Yungblud and The Maine, landing a UK stadium show with emo icons My Chemical Romance, and collaborating on songs with the beloved artists Taking Back Sunday and Underoath. Earlier this year, Charlotte released her latest EP, Love and Other Lies, further showcasing her knack for penning songs with 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. Though she’s not exactly an emo or pop punk artist, or at least she doesn’t sound exactly like the Warped Tour acts who dominated the airwaves in the 2010s, it’s no surprise that Sands’ vulnerable and frenetic style has resonated so strongly with fans of that scene, making her, perhaps, the torchbearer needed to help push the style into the 2020s. This is, without a doubt, Charlotte Sands’ year, and her return to Bonnaroo couldn’t be more triumphant or exciting.

WATCH | “Dress” (Official Music Video)