Bonnaroo 2024 Photo Diary

Bonnaroo 2024 took place last weekend in Manchester, Tennessee. And, as always, the festival was nothing short of spectacular, as headliners Post Malone, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fred again.. led three nights of non-stop musical bliss. Festival season is in full gear, and many Paste favorites were in attendance this year, including cover stars Brittany Howard, Faye Webster and our 2023 Artist of the Year, Jason Isbell.

Read our Artist of the Year story on Isbell, where our music editor Matt Mitchell spoke with the Alabama singer-songwriter about his Killers of the Flower Moon, the 10th anniversary of his breakthrough solo album Southeastern and the triumphs of his latest record with the 400 Unit, Weathervanes, here.

“Isbell has always been transparent about his failures—particularly his sobriety and what life before that was like for him and the people in his orbit,” Mitchell wrote. “As a sober person, I’m constantly trying to better understand how my own art shifts between the days when I was a student in high school or in college doing drugs versus now, when I’m a drug-free and employed adult.”

“On Weathervanes, we find Isbell remaining immune to pandering, as he writes about familial, generational trauma (“Cast Iron Skillet”), school shootings (“Save the World”), abortion (“White Beretta”) and interloping in hometowns (“Volunteer”) with grace and affection. Though his clarity continues to grow with every passing year that he’s alcohol-free, writing about violence, disparity—and loss and the people in the world around you—in an empathetic and honest way is still hard even as he’s taken that step within himself, too.”