The Top Ten Moments At Bonnaroo

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Did you have a good ‘Roo? Whether you watched from home on the webcast, slogged it out for four nights in Manchester, or are blissfully ignorant of the entire weekend, we’ve got the skinny on ten legendary moments from this year’s Bonnaroo.

Dawes Grow Up

Dawes drew a huge crowd to the Sonic Stage on Saturday for their organic brand of heartland rock, supposedly one of the biggest ever for that stage. They also pulled double duty, performing on one of the Festival’s main stages on Friday night. Not bad for a band who played for only a few hundred people in 2010.

Phish and Kenny Rogers Team Up

We missed Kenny Rogers’ set on Sunday in favor of the Ben Folds Five reunion. This made us sad. But Phish were there to save the day, bringing out the country music legend to collaborate on a relatively straight forward and highly satisfying run through of “The Gambler.” And oh yes, there was another three hours and forty minutes of Phish-related fun. As far as Rogers goes, he brought Lionel Richie onstage for a duet of “Lady” and a performance of “All Night Long.”

D’Angelo In The House

As far as missing R&B legends go, they don’t come much bigger than D’Angelo, who has kept an alarmingly low profile since 2000. D’Angelo turned up at his friend QuestLove’s Superjam set on Saturday, and along with members of Parliament and The Time, turned out funky covers of The Beatles’ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland.”

Skrillex Is Your Overlord

We won’t jump into the Dubstep debate — all music’s good music, except when it ain’t. But as far as spectacles go, you can’t top Skrillex’s stage-show-on-acid, post-midnight set from Saturday, where aliens invaded, glow sticks leaked electric kryptonite, a psychedelic baby was born, and unicorns handed out free donuts. At least, we think that’s what happened.

Ben Folds Five Are Back

For their first show in seven days (or 12 years, if you don’t count their Mountain Jam performance) the reunited Ben Folds Five rolled out both the hits (“Brick,” “One Angry Dwarf”) and beloved album cuts (“Philosophy,” “Underground”). Ben Folds got everyone in the audience to flip him off for a picture (a Bonnaroo tradition of his), and the whole crowd sang along to “Army.”

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