Bonnaroo 2025 Artist Spotlight: Matt Champion

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!

LEARN

Best known as a member of beloved, influential, and ultimately short-lived hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON, multifaceted rapper, singer, and producer Matt Champion has spent years forging a solo career in his own right. Matt’s story, though, is inherently intertwined with BROCKHAMPTON’s, as Champion and several other founding members met as teens in their hometown of The Woodlands, Texas. Formally forming the collective, expanding their lineup, and relocating to San Marcos (and, eventually, Los Angeles), the rest is history, as the group immediately made waves with 2016 mixtape All-American Trash and the following year’s debut full-length, Saturation, later scoring a number one album with fourth LP Iridescence, and going on to release another four full-lengths (eight in total) over a span of just a little over five years, all the while starring in their own documentary series, touring the world, and spinning off into a myriad of other projects. Since BROCKHAMPTON’s abrupt conclusion in 2022, Matt has been hard at work on the latest chapter of his solo career, spending years crafting a new sound and ethos that would become last year’s debut full-length, Mika’s Laundry. Far from Champion’s first foray into solo material though, he’s been putting out songs under his own name for as long as he has with BROCKHAMPTON, primarily a string of solo tracks from 2014-2017, the last of which, “Fangs,” remains one of his most popular songs, and embodies the sort of alt hip hop he was best known for in the 2010s. In those same years, Champion also collaborated with his bandmates, chiefly Kevin Abstract, on their own solo works, and appeared on tracks for the likes of Young Lungs and The Blossom. More recently though, he’s gone through something of a musical reinvention, adopting a soulful, lush, and melodic sound and glitchy, shimmering production, singing as much as rapping, and exploring a host of genre-touchstones. His collaborators, too, signal a musical shift, with R&B artist Dijon, indie pop singer Dora Jar, and K-pop superstar Jennie all making appearances Mika’s Laundry. A moody, fascinating, and self-reflective reintroduction to a core member of one of the last decade’s best bands, Champion has stayed busy in the year since, booking a role in director Hiro Murai’s forthcoming feature film debut, Strobe, appearing at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, expanding the vibe of his debut with a followup EP, Slint’s Favorite, and relocating to Seoul, South Korea with his fiancé, model and designer model and designer Tavia Bonetti. When Matt last played Bonnaroo, with BROCKHAMPTON, it was a bombastic, show-stealing affair, complete with spacesuits and elaborate production. Upon his return, we expect a much more mellow, vibey performance. Still, it’s one that should be a high on your must-see list.

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