Bonnaroo 2023 Artist Spotlight: MUNA

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 2023 lineup. After roaring back to life last summer, after two years off due to Covid and weather, this year marks Bonnaroo’s 20th installment (and 22nd anniversary), boasting not only another great and varied lineup, but also more changes and improvements then we’ve seen in years, with more flexibility in ticketing and camping, a reimagined “Outeroo” campground area, new activations, and further new ways to Roo. Back once again in its usual June 15-18 timeframe, we’re counting down the days until another great weekend on the farm.

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 at the fest!

Grab your tickets right here if you haven’t already, and read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight!

LEARN

Formed a decade ago while all students at USC, Los Angeles indie pop trio MUNA found an instant kinship as friends and collaborators, fusing their eclectic musical backgrounds- punk, prog, country, ska- into something much more poppy, indie, electro-laced and hook laden. Made up of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-producer Katie Gavin, and guitarists, multi-instrumentalists and producers Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin, all three members identify as queer, and McPherson as non-binary, an identity which they’ve learned to lean into over time, lifting up queer love and joy with their art. After generating some buzz for their self-released 2014 debut EP More Perfect, MUNA caught the attention of RCA Records, who released the group’s followup EP, Loudspeaker, in 2016, and debut album, About U, the following year. Embraced for their hooky sound, unabashed queerness, and early singles like “I Know a Place,” MUNA quickly seemed poised to become the next big thing, debuting at Lollapalooza and on The Tonight Show, and touring with the likes of Grouplove, Bleachers, and Harry Styles. Though that buzz sustained and 2019 sophomore effort Saves the World proved an excellent, polished, and critically-acclaimed followup, after their strong start, MUNA was unceremoniously dropped by RCA just a few months into the pandemic. Undeterred, the trio, whose deep and loving personal bond has long helped them persevere and succeed at each stage of their career, began working independently and uninhibitedly on new music, eventually inking a deal with friend and collaborator Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label imprint, and scoring their most viral hit to date with Bridgers teamup “Silk Chiffon.” Their latest record, last year’s eponymous MUNA, proved to be the band’s most unabashedly poppy, sincere, and honed effort to date, an exuberant and celebratory reflection of queerness and a modern pop masterpiece through the lens of Y2K nostalgia (something the band deliberately focused on, aware that their childhoods in the aughts- a fairly homophobic time in pop culture- lacked this kind of aspirational queer expression). Now bigger than ever, MUNA have recently toured with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Kacey Musgraves, and recently delivered one of the most memorable sets at Coachella- there’s never been a more exciting time to see them live!

WATCH | “Silk Chiffon” ft. Phoebe Bridgers (Official Video)