Bonnaroo 2026 Artist Spotlight: Blondshell

Like we’ve been doing for many years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorite acts from Bonnaroo‘s 2026 lineup. A pivotal year for the fest, this summer’s ‘Roo will see some significant changes after last year’s unfortunate rainout, including infrastructure improvements, a scaled-back capacity, and a smaller lineup (notably, cutting down Thursday’s programming the most). We’ll have to wait until we’re on the farm to feel the full extent of the changes and tweaks, but we’re cautiously optimistic that it will benefit the fest in the long-term, especially in helping make the site more resistant to weather. This will be Bonnaroo’s 23rd installment and 25th anniversary, and even with a more compact lineup, it packs a pretty stellar, eclectic slate of artists, per usual. Back once again in its dependable June 11-14 timeframe, we’re counting down the days until another great weekend on the farm.

As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages, big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, and most highly-recommended among this year’s crop of artists. And as our time at ‘Roo approaches, we’ll also be bringing you some special features and full list-style daily lineup guides, to help you plan your weekend ahead of the fest. While these previews won’t span every artist, and might omit some more obvious must-see acts, we hope they’ll serve as a way to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s gargantuan lineup, and to make the most of your busy weekend at the fest! Be sure to grab your tickets (available in weekend or single-day, with various upgrade levels and add-ons) and camping or parking pass (also available with a lot of flexible options and levels), and read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight!

LEARN

Born Sabrina Teitelbaum in New York City, buzzworthy alt/indie project Blondshell is actually the singer-songwriter’s second musical alias in the last decade, succeeding her original pop project BAUM at the start of the 2020s, after a period of personal transition and turmoil. Raised primarily by her father and exposed to classic rock at a young age, Sabrina began writing songs and taking music lessons as early as elementary school, and was performing in talent shows and uploading music to SoundCloud by her teens. After relocating to Los Angeles to briefly attend USC, before dropping out to pursue music more seriously, BAUM began to pick up some traction in the late 2010s, releasing a string of singles, scoring some positive press, performing, and debuting a single EP, Ungodly, in 2018. Not really feeling content with the name or the indie pop sound she had been cultivating, and sidetracked by a series of difficult life events- the death of her mother, a breakup, a split from her manager, a journey to sobriety, and, not long after, the Covid pandemic- Teitelbaum abandoned a would-be follow-up EP, and presented producer Yves Rothman a demo for what would become the first Blondshell song, “Olympus,” a more alt rock, indie, and grunge shift which he encoured her to lean into. Opting for the new name and a clean start, Blondshell formally debuted in 2022, inking a deal with Partisan Records ahead of her eponymous debut LP the following year. Quickly attracting enthusiastic reviews and a passionate following, thanks to buzzy early singles like “Kiss City,” “Veronica Mars, “Sepsis,” and “Joiner” (which made President Obama’s favorite songs list for 2023), Blondshell scored early festival appearances like South By Southwest and Primavera, appeared on shows like The Tonight Show, and toured with exciting artists like Suki Waterhouse, positioning her as one of the most exciting new figures in the alt rock scene. She teamed up with Nashville’s own Bully for one-off single “Docket” and appeared on Talking Heads tribute Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense in 2024, before returning with a highly anticipated sophomore LP, If You Asked for a Picture, last year, spawning more viral tracks like “T&A” and “Event of a Fire.” Once again produced by Rothman, Blondshell’s latest is even more cohesive, dark, and earnest, and reaffirms her as one of the most interesting voices in rock, landing somewhere between ’90s greats like Liz Phair and Veruca Salt, and contemporary peers like Soccer Mommy and Japanese Breakfast.

WATCH | “T&A” (Official Video)

LISTEN | “Olympus”

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