Bonnaroo 2021 Artist Spotlight: Goldpark

Bonnaroo Artist | Goldpark
Bonnaroo History | Newbie
Stage & Time | Thursday | Who Stage | 2:45-3:30pm || Sunday | Galactic Giddy Up (Plaza 5) | 12:00-1:00pm

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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Nashville indie rock trio Goldpark are a band who, like many up and comers we’re sure you’ll be hearing about soon, had the unfortunate timing of coming together shortly before the pandemic struck, making the first chapter of the career and how they approached connecting with an audience a bit more unorthodox. Formed in 2019 and made up frontman Wes Hunter, guitarist Andrew Smith, and drummer Kyle Neblett, the band landed a record deal with brand new label Hazel Street Records, a joint venture with Sony, merely off the strength of their demos, and dropped their debut single, “Morning Light,” last fall, without ever getting to play a proper show. Not being able to hit the road led Goldpark to instead focus on writing and recording what would become their debut EP, the recently released One, which was preceded by a string of singles that helped raise the group’s profile, thanks to their knack for crafting soaring and anthemic hooks and dense and nuanced melody, taking cues from acts like Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, and Kings of Leon. The band have since begun playing out around town, and are finally embarking on their first proper tour after Bonnaroo, where not only are they set to rock the Who Stage on the fest’s first day, but are also tapped for a second set Sunday afternoon at Plaza 5’s Galactic Giddy Up, in case you miss out the first time around. A local act you should definitely be keeping an eye on, Goldpark seem bound for big things, and a chance to see their festival debut at this exciting early stage of their career is something special.

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