MANCHESTER, Tenn. — A slightly groggy, sun-drenched Bonnaroo crowd was readying itself for the music festival's big day-two acts: Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder.
Both were to take Bonnaroo's main stage Saturday evening in succession, with headliner Jay-Z following Wonder. The day's acts also included Weezer, Jack White's the Dead Weather, Norah Jones and a middle-of-the-night set by the jam band Disco Biscuits. Rapper Kid Cudi performed Saturday morning despite having been arrested Friday on charges of criminal mischief and a controlled substance violation. Watch Jay Z at Bonnaroo.
Excessive heat in the high 90s has been a constant at this year's ninth annual Bonnaroo. Reprieve came late in the afternoon when a passing shower cooled things off. The rain arrived as Jack White's the Dead Weather were performing on the main stage, and White told the crowd to remember who was playing when the rain came.
Conan O'Brien introduced the Dead Weather, with whom he has a close connection. He and White are friends, and on Thursday in Nashville, O'Brien performed a set of rockabilly at White's Nashville label, Third Man Records.
"Don't think of it as rain," O'Brien told the crowd. "Think of it as us having a shower together."
O'Brien has been emceeing the Bonnaroo main stage and twice performed his "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" comedy show. After crisscrossing the country, O'Brien — whose voice was hoarse Saturday — is nearing the finish of his tour, which ends Monday in Atlanta.
World Cup fever also came to Bonnaroo, where the U.S.-England match, which finished with a 1-1 draw, was broadcast on a big screen.
No one was a bigger soccer fan than Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of Weezer. On Friday, the band released a Cup anthem for the U.S. team, "Represent," available for free on iTunes.
Before taking the stage, Cuomo could be seen backstage juggling a soccer ball. Wearing a U.S. jersey, he was clearly in a good mood, bouncing around the stage and climbing scaffolding. The band began with "Hash Pipe," as Cuomo sang, fittingly, "Come on and kick me."
The band was also joined by YouTube sensation Julia Nunes on ukulele. Said Cuomo: "This is all made possible by Twitter."
