Bonnaroo Canceled

Photo Credit: BOnnaroo

The 2025 Bonnarro Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee was canceled this year due to severe weather conditions. Organizers announced the decision on June 13 after a successful first day.

Organizers cited persistent heavy rainfall and flooding that would make traveling to the festival grounds unsafe for camping and travel. Officials announced the move on social media, expressing their disappointment. “Today, the National Weather Service provided us with an updated forecast with significant and steady precipitation that will produce deteriorating camping and egress conditions in the coming days.”

“We are beyond gutted, but we must make the safest decision and cancel the remainder of Bonnaroo. We are going to make things right with you, and you will find refund information at the end of this message. The rain has settled in areas and made certain parts of Outeroo difficult to manage. We’d like to prioritize getting those folks as well as those with accessibility needs off The Farm as soon as possible this evening.”

Refunds were promptly outlined: all single-day tickets and day parking for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be fully refunded. Four-day admission and camping tickets received a 75% refund—with all refunds being processed in 30 days to the original payment method. Despite the cancellation, essential services such as food vendors and health and safety infrastructure remained in place to help stranded attendees.

Bonnaroo’s poor luck with the weather isn’t the only festival affected by severe weather this year. Some days of Coachella saw reduced programming due to dust storms and high winds—with a temporary halt to the festival after a palm tree caught fire from pyrotechnics during a Green Day performance. Meanwhile the Midwest Dreams Music Festival was postponed from its original date after tornadoes ripped through the St. Louis area. That festival is now slated for November 1.

Just a few years ago, the Burning Man festival in Nevada saw a deluge of rain turn the normally dry lake bed into a muddy pit to be escaped on foot or bike by attendees. More than a thousand attendees were stranded in the desert and left needing an evacuation during those muddy conditions in 2023.