Festival Frenzy 2023: Bonnaroo Saturday

Nov 13, 2023

Jenny Lewis

Fill up that water bottle and slather on that SPF 50: It's Saturday and we, as a great American poet once sang, are gonna soak up the sun down on the Farm. The Scene recently caught a set from said poet, Nashville-area resident Sheryl Crow, just last summer at the return of Live on the Green. Since then, she's leveled up to become Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sheryl Crow, and we can only imagine that the radiant vibe of her roots-pop shines brighter than ever. Expect the hits to come back-to-back-to-back when she takes What Stage at 4:45 p.m.

Crow is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Saturday's lineup of amazing women. Indie-pop singer-songwriter, actress and all-around swell person Jenny Lewis (who also recently moved to Music City) will hit Which Stage at 3:45 p.m., fresh from the June 9 release of her LP Joy’all. The lead single "Cherry Baby" is a shimmering, hip-swinging slice of soft rock that feels ready-made for a Saturday afternoon. On the flip side of Lewis’ coin — both of whose sides are clever as hell and charming as fuck, but, y’know, sound different — is New Zealand quartet The Beths, who are at That Tent at 1:30 p.m. Leader Elizabeth Stokes is a master of the cheeky quip, and the pogo-primed fuzz-pop of tunes like "Expert in a Dying Field" and "Knees Deep" is sure to kick off your Saturday in high gear.

Seeking out some soul stretched into new and marvelous forms? Look no further than Danielle Ponder (Which Stage, 2 p.m.) and Remi Wolf (This Tent, 6:15 p.m.), who are both molding wonderfully modern music from classic American sounds. Ponder, a former public defender from Rochester, N.Y., makes spaced-out, gospel-grounded, hip-hop-inflected soul on 2022's Some of Us Are Brave that engages the intellect and sends the heart soaring. Wolf, on the other hand, is an art-pop weirdo whose early live-wire almost-novelty tunes like "Photo ID" and "Disco Man" have evolved into a hippie-soul and indie-rock hybrid (as you hear in cuts like "Michael" and "Prescription" ) that will feel just right in Manchester.

Nashvillian Devon Gilfillian's Love You Anyway, his latest for Fantasy Records, lands in a sweet spot between the slippery soul of Shuggie Otis and the lysergic vibes of late-’60s Isley Brothers — catch Gilfillian at That Tent at 3 p.m. Funky guitar man Cory Wong plays a regular set at This Tent at 4:30 p.m., and returns at 8:15 p.m. to lead Cory Wong's Syncopated Superjam. Lil Nas X, a maestro of multiple media who is doing the most with the power of the pop-star identity in the 21st century, takes What Stage at 8:45 p.m.

Tyler Childers, who's pushing country, string-band and other related music in exciting new directions, hits Which Stage at 9:45 p.m. EarthGang collaborator and J. Cole associate J.I.D has been dropping some of the smartest, catchiest rap music of the past decade, and he's at That Tent at 1 a.m. And grab your shell-toes and track suits for nu-metal icons Korn, who will unleash the freaks at This Tent starting at 12:45 a.m

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