We apologize to be the bearer of bad news: The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is taking a year off. Organizers for the fest, traditionally held every June since 2002 in Manchester, Tennessee, posted on social media that the fest “will be taking a much-needed year off in 2027.”
“This wasn’t an easy decision, and not one we take lightly, but in our hearts, we know this break will only make Bonnaroo better,” the statement read. “We hope you’ll continue radiating positivity in your community throughout the year and thank you for loving this festival as much as we do.”
Bonnaroo’s break isn’t without precedent. The popular U.K. festival Glastonbury presses pause every five years for what’s known as a “fallow year,” a chance for the site’s farmland to reset. (Another Tennessee festival, Pilgrimage, announced in March that it’d be skipping its 2026 iteration and plotting a return in 2027.)
Bonnaroovians first suspected that something may be amiss when organizers went quiet shortly after the conclusion of this year’s fest. Bonnaroo has often released its dates for the next year’s festival early. Promoters rolled out the 2026 dates in July 2025, but dates for the 2027 edition were still not announced by August. C3 Presents, owned by Live Nation, produces and operates the festival.
Earlier this month, Barry Courter, one of the hosts of Bonnaroo-centric The What podcast, shared an update with fans amid swirling rumors that the beloved fest had been canceled. Courter said he had asked fest officials why 2027 dates hadn’t been posted. “I asked through the channels, I went all the way to the top and … they’re dealing with other stuff is what I was told,” said Courter.
In the past, weather and the pandemic have proved to be a formidable adversary for Bonnaroo. The 2020 installation was canceled due to Covid-19. The 2021 event was pushed to September over lingering Covid concerns, but then Hurricane Ida forced its cancellation when rains turned the Farm into a muddy mess. In 2025, Bonnaroo kicked off on schedule, but more heavy rains ultimately led to the cancellation of the remainder of the festival and sent thousands of disgruntled fans packing up early.
Following the cancellation, C3 Presents polled fans on the future of Bonnaroo. “Bonnaroovians, we’ve begun the process of looking ahead and starting to plan for the future of Roo and we want to hear from you,” an email sent to festival-goers read. A link to the survey directed fans to questions like: “Would you attend Bonnaroo if it was a few weeks later in the summer?” and “Would you attend Bonnaroo if it was in late September/early October?”
Bonnaroo successfully returned in June of this year — reportedly spending millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements to help the Farm better withstand heavy rain — and saw Noah Kahan, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Mountain Grass Unit, Passion Pit, Modest Mouse, Turnstile, and more stop by the Farm. But the festival wasn’t without its share of weather delays. A storm on the final day of Bonnaroo forced the evacuation of the site and the cancellation of some artists’ performances.
“As you know, we spent a great deal of effort and money working to improve the campgrounds and Centeroo in the months leading into the 2026 festival,” Bonnaroo’s statement on Friday said. “That included improved drainage, 4.5 miles of new roadways, and 135 acres of new grass, all of which strengthened The Farm’s resiliency to Mother Nature. With limited time to recuperate from back to back years of storms, including the heavy rainstorm on Sunday this year, The Farm, particularly the main venue, needs a break to rest and recover.”
