Manchester, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has officially confirmed its return to The Farm in 2026 — with a few changes.
This year’s festival, set to take place from June 12 to 15, was abruptly cut short due to severe weather. Following the cancellation — marking their third in five years — organizers released a survey to fans, asking them to consider if organizers should move festival dates. They also questioned smaller capacities, lowering the number of event days from four to three, and the idea of a genre-specific festival. Additionally, the survey questioned if organizers should move the site from its current home to another city.
This week, organizers confirmed that the 2026 event will stay in Tennessee and take place during its traditional time slot in June — over the weekend of June 11 to 14 for four days.
“We appreciate your feedback on future Bonnaroo dates, and we heard you loud and clear that your strong preference is to keep Bonnaroo in June,” Bonnaroo organizers said in a statement. “Weather experts have confirmed that we saw record-setting rainfall this spring and early summer, making what we experienced extremely uncommon. All things considered, our traditional June time frame remains the most optimal time of year for Bonnaroo.”
However, several changes will be implemented to mitigate possible extreme weather. Most notably, organizers plan to scrap the campsites located in the areas that are most prone to flooding, which will result in a smaller capacity. Additionally, the Infinity Stage, which was new this year, will be removed and replaced with the revamped “Where In The Woods UFO” stage.
Activities in Ceteroo on Thursday will continue at a reduced capacity, and organizers plan to hold an “epic welcome party” on Thursday ahead of the performances throughout the weekend.
There will also be improvements implicated on The Farm; organizers said that after Hurricane Ida in 2021, they consulted with drainage and land management experts to improve conditions in the event of heavy rain, creating a multimillion-dollar, multi-year plan.
While this plan helped, they said there is still more work to do, and during the 2025/2026 offseason, they’ll dedicate an addition multi-million-dollar budget and plan on “initiating improvements that prioritize the campgrounds and other areas affected by the extreme weather in 2025.
“Some of these projects will include reseeding the property, continuing to increase access roads within the campgrounds, adding more drainage and reinforcing primary water runoff pathways,” Bonnaroo said.
Those interested in attending next year’s even can sign up here to be notified about the lineup, tickets, schedule, and other festival updates.
