Bonnaroo 2019 Day 4 Recap: Brandi Carlile, Mac DeMarco, Maya Rudolph and More

Sunday Scaries? Sorry, we’re unfamiliar with the term. The fourth (fifth, for some) and last day of Bonnaroo made for a non-stressful start to the week, featuring sets from under-the-radar must-sees like Kikagaku Moyo and Faye Webster, plus a powerful performance by Brandi Carlile, low-stakes kickback with Mac DeMarco, uproarious hype set from Cardi B and what some are saying was a Phish double-whammy for the ages. It was a dusty, hot Father’s Day spent on the farm, the perfect finish to another Happy ‘Roo. Check out all our favorites from Sunday below.

Kikagaku Moyo

The colorfully-dressed, long-haired Japanese psych outfit Kikagaku Moyo look like they were plucked straight from the offbeat festival crowd, but they have far more musical prowess and finesse than the average person. With lockstep grooves and hypnotic musical tangents, Kikagaku Moyo put half the audience in a motionless trance and made the other half cavort with visible elation. They constructed gripping jams from chimes, keyboards, sitar and guitars, particularly with “Dripping Sun,” a cut from their latest album Masana Temples. Their mercurial sound is arguably more bewitching in a live setting, and the group performed as if they were all extensions of the same being. —Lizzie Manno

Faye Webster

Sunday was Father’s Day, and while most artists and ‘Roo attendees were forced to exchange texts or a fleeting call with their dads, Faye Webster’s was front row for her brief but charming set at This Tent. “Happy Father’s Day,” she said after opening with 2017’s “She Won’t Go Away.” After that it was a series of songs from her new 2019 album Atlanta Millionaires Club, like “Right Side of My Neck,” “Kingston” and “Come to Atlanta.” The indie singer/songwriter was decked out in a visor and a Braves jersey, fitting attire especially after the baseball team beat the Phillies 15-1 that same afternoon. Webster hit it out of the park too: The small but attentive crowd sang along to woozy R&B jams like “Kingston” and “Room Temperature.” This was Webster’s first Bonnaroo, but with a hit indie record now under her belt and a blooming career, it likely won’t be her last. —Ellen Johnson

Princess feat. Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum

Master character artist Maya Rudolph has played everyone from God to Lady Liberty, but her most underrated role may be as one half of the Prince cover band Princess. I didn’t know I could love the Saturday Night Live vet and Bridesmaids star any more, but after witnessing her chops as a dancer, singer and tambourine-wielder, my fandom has taken a turn for the obsessed. Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum sang and cut loose to coordinated dance moves while a band slapped down the delicious bass-lines, slippery synths and gnarly guitar grooves from songs like “Lady Cab Driver,” “Little Red Corvette” and “1999.” In Rudolph’s words, the atmosphere became increasingly “nasty” with every funky cover. One exceptionally entertaining sequence featured lots of Rudolph banter interrupted by an emphatic “Good God!,” a phrase initially coined by James Brown and later used by Prince. My sentiments exactly. —Ellen Johnson

The Lemon Twigs

Long Island brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario (aka The Lemon Twigs) have come a long way since their 2016 double A-side “These Words” / “As Long As We’re Together,” spread like fire across the internet. Their 2018 second album Go To School was ambitious to say the least—it’s a rock ‘n’ roll concept album about a monkey named Shane who acts like a human. The Lemon Twigs played up their theatrical side for their Bonnaroo set with Michael engaging in fantastical, at times nonsensical, rock ‘n’ roll banter and dressed in almost the exact same garb as Metal Machine Music era Lou Reed. Brian, on the other hand, was his glam rock counterpart, dressed in a skimpy black top with sizable wings on each shoulder. While Michael’s newfound schtick is a bit much, The Lemon Twigs never disappoint when it comes to pure entertainment, pop harmonies and outlandish dance moves. —Lizzie Manno

Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile started her main stage Sunday set with these words: “I stayed up too late last night. I woke up feeling a little bit delicate. And I aim to soothe your tired heart today.” After four bleary-eyed days of sleep deprivation and ample musical presentation we were feeling a little “delicate” ourselves, and soothe she did with a soul-brightening set of songs like “The Story,” “The Eye” and Grammy-nominated “The Joke,” one of the most powerful tunes to come out last year. Following two of her own cameos during John Prine’s and Hozier’s sets, Carlile welcomed Tanya Tucker on stage for a surprise appearance. They chased twin tequila shots with a performance of Tucker’s “The Wheels of Laredo,” the first song from her new album produced by Carlile. She also used the hazy afternoon moment to wish everyone a happy Pride month and pass on a warning: “Progress doesn’t only move in one direction. It can also go backwards, and we must not let it.” But it felt less like a precaution and more like a gentle hand-hold, leading the sea of exhausted ‘Roo-goers off the farm and into another week. —Ellen Johnson

Mac DeMarco

Kooky indie rocker Mac DeMarco might not be the most interesting thing happening in rock right now, but his languorous tunes definitely struck a chord with the Bonnaroo crowd, particularly as a means of winding down on the last day of the festival. In typical DeMarco fashion, he engaged in a few hijinks: putting on his guitar strap while a balloon was stuffed underneath his shirt and freestyling a song about turkey sandwiches. With a PBR, yellow cowboy hat, gym shorts and a jokester smile, DeMarco fittingly gave off dad vibes for his Father’s Day set. Playing favorites like “Ode to Viceroy,” “Chamber of Reflection” and “Salad Days,” DeMarco’s relaxed indie tunes hovered over the crowd like a cloud of cigarette smoke, and there was plenty of that too. —Lizzie Manno