This year’s Bonnaroo lineup reads like an indie and alt-rock rave.
While the festival continues to platform electronic dance music with a host of top DJs, its 2026 edition, back in Manchester, Tennessee, this weekend, June 11-14, is as much built for the rock and rollers as the ravers, featuring a deep roster of leading bands.
Electronic stars like Skrillex and RÜFÜS DU SOL will share the stage with colossal outfits like The Strokes, Turnstile, and The Neighbourhood, and that only scratches the surface. The rest of the lineup is a who’s-who of even more massively influential and rapidly emerging names in indie, punk, and alternative.
If you can’t tell by now, that scene is the other half of this EDM writer’s music personality. So we couldn’t resist sharing a few picks for the ravers whose taste straddles the same fence. Read on for our daily list of can’t-miss bands at Bonnaroo 2026.
Thursday
Spiritual Cramp – What Stage 5:30-6:30PM
After wrapping a headline club tour for their acclaimed third album, RUDE, last spring, San Francisco six-piece Spirtual Cramp opens Bonnaroo 2026 with its infectious avant-punk on the festival’s famous What stage.
Friday
Lambrini Girls – Which Stage 1:15-2PM
It doesn’t get more punk rock than breaking your neck. Forced to delay their North American tour after frontwoman Phoebe Lunny’s injury earlier this year, UK femme punk duo Lambrini Girls is back across the pond to give Bonnaroo a lesson in “Cuntology 101,” and other Riot grrrl tunes from their acclaimed 2025 album, Who Let The Dogs Out.
Wolfmother – Which Stage 2:30-3:15PM
Wolfmother is responsible for some of the biggest hard rock anthems of this millennium. “Woman,” “White Unicorn,” and “Joker And The Thief” shook the scene when they arrived on the band’s self-titled debut album in 2006. At Bonnaroo, the Australian outfit performs the album in its entirety as part of its ongoing Wolfmother 20th anniversary tour.
The Chats – That Tent 4-4:45PM
Aussie shed rockers The Chats are one of the best punk bands doing it. Known for rippers like “6L GTR,” “Pub Feed,” and their iconic 2016 breakout “Smoko,” the grungy three-piece delivers peak punk sounds of the past through a young man’s lens. Though they haven’t released new music since 2022’s Get Fucked, the band’s Bonnaroo pitstop is a prime opportunity to showcase any of the new songs they’ve been recording between shows on a massive international touring run this year.
Wet Leg – Which Stage 6-7PM
Indie pacesetters Wet Leg bring earworm hits like “Chaise Longue,” “Wet Dream,” and “mangetout,” to an anticipated performance on the Which stage as they continue their victory lap for their Grammy-nominated album, Moisturizer.
Geese – That Tent 7:45-8:45PM
If you’ve been on the internet since October, there’s a good chance you’ve caught wind of Geese. The young NYC four-piece has been on an explosive rise since dropping its rapturous third album, Getting Killed. They’ve been called “America’s Most Thrilling Young Rock Band,” drawn (sometimes misguided) comparisons to the Strokes, and split opinions, especially after WIRED accused their marketing team of manufacturing hype. But beneath all the fanfare are four very talented lifelong friends making and performing very good music.
Saturday
Arcy Drive – What Stage 3:15-4PM
Known for a folksy indie sound they dub “attic rock,” Long Island four-piece Arcy Drive went from jamming in a real attic in Northport, New York, to local dive bars and touring the country in a converted school bus, winning a strong grassroots fanbase with a social media feed that became a living travel diary. After moving up to major festivals and releasing their debut album, The Pit, last year, their next stop is Bonnaroo.
Amyl and The Sniffers – 5:45-6:45PM
Down-under pub rock band Amyl and The Sniffers is one of Australia’s biggest music exports this decade. With frontwoman Amy Taylor at the helm, the band’s punky sound continues to peak online and on stage on the back of hits like “Hertz,” “U Should Not Be Doing That,” and other songs from their acclaimed 2024 album, Cartoon Darkness.
Flipturn – That Tent 10-11PM
Fronted by lead singer Dillon Base’s dulcet tones, flipturn’s delightfully delicate sound has dominated the indie rock scene for nearly a decade. Their late set on the Farm promises to be an intimate escape from the peak-time chaos, with fresh renditions of songs from their latest album, Burnout Days.
Sunday
Spacey Jane – Which Stage 2:45-3:45PM
Since “Booster Seat” boosted the band to global acclaim during the pandemic, Spacey Jane’s sparkling indie rock has continued to turn heads. The Australian four-piece’s Sunday afternoon performance serves as a de facto release party for their new EP, Exit Wounds, out June 12.
Japanese Breakfast – Which Stage 4:30-5:30PM
Michelle Zauner’s famed indie pop project, Japanese Breakfast, makes its awaited return to the Farm with extra celebrations in order. After dropping their fourth studio album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), in March, the Philadelphia band’s frontwoman revealed her pregnancy at Gov Ball last weekend, ahead of more anticipated tour dates this summer.
Del Water Gap – That Tent 6:30-7:30PM
Set to deliver massively popular hits like “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” “All We Ever Do Is Talk,” and “High Tops,” in That Tent’s penultimate performance, Del Water Gap, the solo project of Brooklyn songwriter S. Holden Jaffe, is a household name in indie rock. No better time to bop along than in the Sunday evening sun on the Farm.
Modest Mouse – This Tent 8:15-9:30PM
Over two decades after “Float On” launched the band to global stardom and landed them their Bonnaroo debut in 2005, Isaac Brock and Modest Mouse showcase their longevity and return to the Farm for a quintessential Bonnaroo performance featuring material from their brand-new album, An Eraser and a Maze.
For more information or to purchase tickets to Bonnaroo 2026, visit bonnaroo.com.
Featured image courtesy: Bonnaroo.