>>By Katherine McCully, Guest Writer
10. Kaskade. I didn’t actually go to this show, but our tent was so close and the music was so loud I heard almost all of it. They played the last show of the night, which traditionally means they can play as long as they want, and Kaskade absolutely took advantage of that Bonnaroo tradition. They played well into the next morning. They started at around 3 a.m. and were still going strong when I woke up at 5:30. I put that show on here because I was just impressed with the stamina it takes to go that hard for that long. My hat is off to you, Kaskade.
9. Jack White. I know: You’re thinking, “Katherine, you can’t be serious. Jack White at number nine?” Yes. I love his music and what I saw of his performance was amazing and just what I expected, but there were so many people I could not enjoy it. It didn’t help that he was almost 20 minutes late and I had just come from Zedd, so I kind of lost steam and I just couldn’t get the energy back up to enjoy it like I wanted to.
8. Neutral Milk Hotel. They put on a great set. It sounded good and everyone had a good time. It was a nice show.
7. Frank Ocean. I love his music and his set was a great way to end my post-Zedd Saturday night. It was a perfect way to come down from all the excitement and ease into bedtime.
6. Cake/Cage the Elephant. I’m putting these two together because they were back to back and we stayed in the same place for both. Both were great shows, but the singer from Cake rambled about political things, and I didn’t appreciate that. I just don’t think Bonnaroo is the time or place for onstage political ramblings. It creates division, and Bonnaroo’s about togetherness. The music was great, though. Cage the Elephant was a great medium-energy performance, and it was great for Saturday afternoon.
5. Vampire Weekend. This show was amazing. I love Vampire Weekend, and even though I missed a lot of it to get to another show, it was one of the highlights.
4. Lionel Richie. I know, totally not what I expected either. I honestly didn’t have high hopes for this set. I didn’t really have any attachment to him at all, but I stayed for about half his set, and it was just perfect. He acknowledged that he probably wasn’t playing to his key demographic and that most of the audience was there because their parents forced them to listen to his music when they were little. He played to the crowd perfectly. It was amazing to watch a seasoned professional do what he has dedicated his life to doing. It was the surprise hit of Bonnaroo for me.
3. The Head and the Heart. I’m new to this band but they were great. I only knew one or two songs, but I enjoyed all of them. They put on a really great show.
2/1. The Avett Brothers and Zedd. Trying to pick which one I loved more would be like asking me to choose between my children. Zedd will go down as two of the most amazing hours of my life. I will never be as cool as I felt during that concert. The Avett show was just a perfect way to end Bonnaroo for me. It was a chill show, and the sun was going down during their set, and it was just beautiful. We danced and sang, and The Avett Brothers just got into my soul.
