Bonnaroo 2023 Artist Spotlight: Winona Fighter

Bonnaroo Artist | Winona Fighter
Bonnaroo History | Newbie
Stage & Time | Thursday | Galactic Giddy Up (Plaza 1) | 12:00-1:00pm || Saturday | Who Stage | 9:00-9:45pm

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

Though their current moniker of Winona Fighter is a relatively recent one, the Nashville punk group have been active in some incarnation for several years now, previously performing under their frontwoman’s name as Coco Kinnon or Coco K (presented more as a solo project at that time), a fixture of the local independent scene, and a staple of lineups at clubs, dives, and DIY spaces in Nashville and beyond. Originally from Boston, Coco cut her teeth as a drummer in that city’s famously intense punk and hardcore scene at an early age, arriving in Nashville with the intention of bringing some of that spirit to Music City. She recruited guitarist Dan Fuson and bassist and producer Austin Luther to round out the lineup, and after amassing some buzz and local punk cred for the earlier music under her name, the trio made their formal debut as Winona Fighter with last year’s Father Figure EP, and recently dropped a hard-hitting, propulsive, aughts punk throwback with “HAMMS IN A GLASS,” as they’re hard at work on their debut full-length. They’ve already opened for groups like Incubus, played emo legends Hawthorne Heights’ Is For Lovers fest two years in a row, and were recently added to the lineups of punk cruise Shiprocked and famed Florida festival The Fest, making Winona Fighter the Nashville punk act to watch right now, as they’re clearly destined for big things. We’ve long extolled the virtues of Nashville’s punk scene- a fairly underrated but longstanding fixture of the city’s musical underground- and we haven’t been as excited about a new group like Winona Fighter in a long time, perhaps since Bully first erupted onto our radar almost a decade ago. Boasting a fiery, road-worn live show and a sound that fuses no-frills, hard-hitting pop punk with grungy, hook-laden alt-rock, Winona Fighter make the kind of music that’s been underrepresented in recent years in the contemporary punk scene, and, as punk funs, we’re always especially stoked to see groups like this included on the Bonnaroo lineup. While their Saturday evening Who Stage set is the main event, if you’re settled into ‘Roo early, their early Thursday campground plaza set might be THE move to kick off your whole festival weekend.

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