I’m not sure that anyone plans on attending either Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival or Coachella solely based on the heavier acts that each festivals book. Presumably, anyone ponying up the cash for the yearly events in Manchester TN and Indio CA, respectively, enjoy the diverse cross-genre pollination of the multiple-day events. That being said, the Bonnaroo lineup has just been revealed, and there are some pretty solid acts on the heavier side, namely Opeth. The Swedish death/prog band have a devoted following in the states, but probably won’t be known by the majority of the people there to see Lil Wayne, Mumford and Sons or the Strokes. Primus, the Sword and Kylesa will also be playing, and many metalheads that dig the likes of Pelican or Isis probably know about Explosions in the Sky, who will also be playing the festivak, which will be taking place this year from June 9-12.
Coachella, on the other hand, seems to not care so much about anything much heavier in their palette this year. OFF! is a pretty exciting booking, but that’s definitely a little more on the punk side than anything else. And considering the sole U.S. (so far, anyway) Big 4 show is taking place at the same venue a week after Coachella, it’s like Indio put all their metal eggs in that basket. What’s a metal egg? We have no idea. We do know that given the choice between attending either, we’d go with Bonnaroo this year. Tickets go on sale for it this Saturday at Noon EST.
