Remi Wolf made the most of an unfortunate situation after this year’s Bonnaroo was canceled from Friday-Sunday (June 13-15) due to severe weather, hosting a joint concert in Nashville featuring Hayley Williams and more special guests.
On Saturday (June 14) — the same day the California native had been slated to host her Bonnaroo Superjam on the festival grounds in Manchester, Tenn., before thunderstorms forced the entire event to end early — Wolf took the stage at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville. In addition to singing several covers of ’70s hits on her own, she and the Paramore frontwoman duetted on Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing” and “Tell Me Something Good” with Rufus, according to The Tennessean.
Gigi Perez and Mt. Joy, who were also part of Bonnaroo’s canceled Saturday lineup, performed their new song “In The Middle,” while Grouplove helped Wolf sing Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Hall and Oates’ “Rich Girl.” Plus, Brian Robert Jones assisted in paying tribute to Sly and the Family Stone — whose influential frontman, Sly Stone, died at the age of 82 last week — with a performance of “Family Affair,” while Grace Bowers and Medium Build also shared songs.
“This is so f–king fun, thank you guys for coming out tonight,” Wolf reportedly told the crowd. “We’ve been working on this show for like five months, and when Bonnaroo was canceled yesterday, we just had to make this s–t happen!”
According to The Tennessean, Wolf ended the show by having all of her guest artists return to the stage for a group performance of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.”
Just as it had been originally billed on the Bonnaroo lineup, the indie-pop star called her Nashville concert “Remi Wolf’s Insanely Fire 1970s Pool Party Superjam.” She announced the make-up show late Friday night, and tickets reportedly sold out the next morning.
The change of plans came in light of Bonnaroo’s Friday announcement that the festival had been canceled after just one full day of performances. “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,” the festival shared in a statement. “We are beyond gutted, but we must make the safest decision and cancel the remainder of Bonnaroo.”
The annual festival had been slated to last four straight days with sets from Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, The Creator, Hozier and dozens more. Before it was delayed and eventually canceled, Bonnaroo kicked off Thursday (June 12) with performances by Luke Combs, Dom Dolla, Insane Clown Posse and Rebecca Black.