Updated Aug. 21, 2026, 10:12 a.m. CT
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is not going to return in 2027, organizers have introduced.
The Manchester, Tennessee, competition shared it is going to be taking a yr off following their profitable 2026 competition, and 2025 mid-festival cancellation.
In a social media submit, competition organizers stated the Farm, significantly its primary venue, wanted a yr off after back-to-back years of storms.
“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 submit learn. “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.”
The announcement comes after days of rumors amongst followers and trade observers, who have been interested in the way forward for Tennessee’s largest music competition — fueled partly by the absence of a date announcement.
Bonnaroo’s determination follows a turbulent interval for the competition.
In 2023, organizers called off Bonnaroo earlier than the competition started as a result of remnant rainfall from Hurricane Ida swamping the grounds. Bonnaroo was known as off once more in 2025 when heavy rainfall flooded The Farm, making circumstances unsafe for attendees.
Bonnaroo 2026 largely proceeded as deliberate, that includes headlining performances from Skrillex, The Strokes, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Noah Kahan.
Organizers invested tens of millions in infrastructure enhancements earlier than Bonnaroo returned this yr, although attendees nonetheless encountered muddy circumstances, a climate evacuation and a short lived energy outage. Organizers cited these enhancements when asserting the 2027 cancellation and stated they’d improved the venue’s resiliency. But back-to-back years of storms, together with the one on Sunday throughout this yr’s competition, led to the necessity for the break.
What to learn about Bonnaroo’s hiatus
Speculation a couple of potential Bonnaroo hiatus intensified following a latest episode of “The What Podcast,” a Bonnaroo-focused present whose hosts stated they have been monitoring developments associated to the competition.
Discussions on Reddit additionally fueled rumors that the occasion won’t return in 2027.
On Aug. 20, native officers instructed The Tennessean they’d not acquired official data relating to Bonnaroo’s 2027 plans.
The annual competition has served as a significant financial driver for Manchester and Coffee County since its debut in 2002, drawing 1000’s of attendees from throughout the nation and producing vital income for native companies, lodges and distributors.
In 2023, The Tennessean reported that Bonnaroo contributed $339 million to Tennessee’s financial system over the earlier 20 years.
For now, the announcement marks the primary time for the reason that competition’s weather-plagued post-COVID return that Bonnaroo will voluntarily step away from The Farm, leaving followers to surprise what comes next for considered one of America’s most influential music festivals.
Bonnaroo is not alone. Tennessee’s music festivals are struggling.
Bonnaroo joins a rising listing of once-stable music festivals which have paused, downsized or disappeared as a result of rising manufacturing prices and shifting shopper habits.
These struggles seem to have hit Nashville’s music competition financial system significantly onerous.
Earlier this summer season, EDM competition Deep Tropics introduced it will be canceling its ninth annual competition in Nashville, citing “extreme circumstances and funding that didn’t come together.”
Pilgrimage Music Festival, Franklin, Tennessee’s largest music competition, determined to not maintain its annual competition this yr, too. Organizers didn’t give a particular cause for the hiatus, however stated the break will permit them to “bring you the best festival experience.” Pilgrimage is set to return in 2027.
Years earlier, in 2023, Nashville’s free out of doors live performance sequence Live on the Green stopped after hovering manufacturing prices and post-pandemic financial shifts made it inconceivable to maintain the free public occasion. Organizers from Lightning 100 shared that rising bills outpaced sponsorships and income.
As climate-related climate disruptions grow to be extra widespread, some competition organizers are reassessing the dangers — each monetary and safety-wise — of manufacturing giant out of doors occasions, particularly in areas liable to excessive rainfall.
Bonnaroo’s weather-related cancellations in 2021 and 2025 underscore these challenges.
And in early 2027, Tennessee is predicted to have wetter-than-average circumstances as a result of a strengthening El Niño, which is projected to persist by way of the spring.
This local weather sample usually lively alongside the southern storm observe brings elevated precipitation to the southern half of the United States.
From rising manufacturing prices to more and more extreme climate, the elements impacting the state of dwell music festivals like Bonnaroo are unlikely to vanish anytime quickly.
Reach out to Audrey Gibbs, a music reporter at The Tennessean, at agibbs@tennessean.com. You can even observe her on Instagram at @audreyraegibbs.