Bonnaroo 2025 Artist Spotlight: Courting

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 2025 lineup. A festival that feels like it’s ever evolving (especially with some big tweaks and improvements in the past few summers post-pandemic), this year marks Bonnaroo’s 22nd installment (and 24th anniversary), boasting not only another great and varied lineup, but also some exciting additions like the brand new, high-tech Infinity Stage, billed as “the world’s largest 360-degree, immersive sound experience” and unlike anything that’s ever been showcased in North America. Back once again in its usual June 12-15 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!

We’re told tickets are very low and on track to sell out, so grab those right here if you haven’t already (and don’t forget the camping or parking pass), and read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight!

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Hailing from Liverpool, England, and formed in 2018 when all four founding members were still in their teens, indie post-punks Courting are, perhaps, one of the most interesting and effective examples of Gen Z genre agnosticism in recent memory. A decade earlier, a UK band like this probably wouldn’t have strayed far from run of the mill indie rock or Britpop, and there’s definitely a strong foundation of that in Courting’s sound, but across an EP and three full-lengths in under five years, they’ve increasingly displayed a refreshing, subversive, and unique musical malleably, incorporating electronic elements and thoroughly modern hyperpop, as well as an affinity for pub rock, 2000s electronica, classic art punk and proto-punk, as well as slick and accessible indie pop. In the late 2010s, shortly after formation, the band (vocalist Sean Murphy-O’Neill and bassist Connor McCann were founding members, and guitarist Joshua Cope and drummer Sean Thomas joined later) began to pick up traction for some promising early singles, as well as for their excellent live presence, but, like for many artists, Covid halted their momentum for gigs just as they were gaining a following. Instead, the band focused even more on writing, with well-received debut EP Grand National dropping in 2021, and more heavily Covid-crafted first full-length, Guitar Music, arriving the following year. It’s hard to believe less than three years have passed since that first LP dropped, as Courting have remained unbelievably busy and prolific since, leaning even more into their electronic and hyperpop tendencies with 2024 sophomore effort New Last Name, with a couple of tracks produced by members of legendary UK indie rock outfit The Cribs, then following it up just a year later with conceptual, genre-bending, tight and infectious new LP Lust for Life, Or: ‘How to Thread the Needle and Come Out the Other Side to Tell the Story’. Though Courting have been remarkably good from the jump, Lust for Life sounds like a band really falling into their own, feeling at once less restrained and more maximalist than ever, while also featuring more focused, poppy, and filled out production and songwriting. It’s actually surprising to see Courting slotted so early in the day on the Who Stage, as they seem like a band about to pop off any minute. If you get into Bonnaroo early and catch them on the rise though, you’ll have a great story to tell when they inevitably return next time for a much bigger performance.

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