Another One: Bonnaroo to Require Covid-19 Vaccine or Negative Test

Manchester, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo just released a statement announcing that it will require attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative test taken within 72 hours of entering the grounds. This news comes a mere three hours after Summerfest’s announcement.

The four-day music festival — which takes place just about an hour outside of Nashville, where reports of surges in Delta-variant cases are increasing — will commence on September 2nd. Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Tyler, the Creator, Megan Thee Stallion, Tame Impala, and Rüfüs du Sol are still scheduled to headline the event. Other performers include Run the Jewels, My Morning Jacket, Lil Baby, Glass Animals, G-Eazy, Deadmau5, Young Thug, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Phoebe Bridgers, Incubus, Leon Bridges, Brittany Howard, and Jack Harlow.

Bonnaroo’s update to its Health & Safety policies seems to reflect a growing trend in the festival circuit; Lollapalooza enforced the same rules at the end of July. Organizers believe this decision stands in line with the “Bonnaroovian Code” that encourages people to “play as a team,” according to social media posts.

“Bonnaroo strongly encourages vaccination,” representatives wrote, before informing readers that the last day they’re allowing attendees to receive the second shot of Moderna or Pfizer or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson is Thursday, August, 19th. Also like Summerfest, Bonnaroo is requesting that unvaccinated individuals “wear a mask at all times while on the Farm.” (To be clear, they are not requiring this.)

At this point, multiple, large-scale festivals have yet to reveal updated guidelines. Examples include Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful, which is set to start on Friday, September 17th, and San Francisco’s Halloween-weekend fête, Outside Lands. However, more statements — and cancellations, like that of New Orleans’ Jazz Fest — may begin to roll out at rapid speed as organizers continue to recognize, as Bonnaroo put it, that the safety of patrons is the “number one priority.”