Alabama Shakes – “Be Mine”

The Alabama Shakes have enjoyed a banner year by anyone’s standards: after surfacing on the Aquarium Drunkard music blog last July, they brought their southern rock-a-bluesy act to a sizable crowd at Bonnaroo’s This Tent on Thursday night. Despite their quick ascendence from the bars and clubs they were playing just months ago, there wasn’t any indication that the Shakes were anywhere but where they should be during their primetime performance at the festival on Thursday night.

Umphrey’s McGee – “Bulls on Parade” (Rage Against the Machine cover)

Genre-defying jamband Umphree’s McGee delighted their sleepless fans by shouldering past their scheduled quitting time of 4 a.m. clear through 6 a.m. Around the halfway point, electro-jam duo Big Gigantic eased into a full switch to give the band a twenty minute respite before taking the stage once more till daybreak.

Phish – “Possum/Wilson/Tweezer”

After three days of great music, this year’s Bonnaroo culminated in a sprawling four-hour Sunday night Phish set. The band weaved their own classics as well as some covers together and jumped into improvisational jams throughout the night. With a slew of fireworks closing their show, this was a fittingly explosive finale to the festival.

White Denim – “I’d Have It Just The Way We Were”

We covered White Denim in our festival guide and they did us proud with their energetic Bonnaroo debut. Those not familiar with White Denim’s brand of psych/prog-rock were treated to a diverse set and an excellent showcase of the band’s guitar chops.

Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires – “Heartaches and Pain”

Charles Bradley is nothing if not a showman. Bradley took the stage about ten minutes into the show decked out white and gold, arms outstretched like the “flaming eagle of soul” one of his Extraordinaires introduced him as. Despite the high-noon showtime, Bradley’s powerful howl was chilling enough to will the moon into mind.