Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has issued a statement in response to a new Tennessee law banning drag shows and other “adult cabaret” performances on public properties and other places where they could be seen by minors. The festival promised to continue being a welcoming safe space for “people of all walks of life.”
“Bonnaroo has and always will be a place for inclusivity, a safe haven for people of all walks of life, and a champion of self-expression,” festival organizers said in the statement. “Rest assured The Farm will remain a sanctuary for those freedoms and Bonnaroovians will see no changes in programming or celebration of self-expression at the festival.”
The recent signing of the drag ban into law was accompanied by a separate measure that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The bills were signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, who referred to drag shows as “sexualized entertainment in front of children” and called comparisons with recently surfaced photos of him dressed in drag in his 1977 high school yearbook “ridiculous.”
Read Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival’s full statement in response to Tennessee’s drag show and trans healthcare restrictions below.
Bonnaroo is set to take place on June 15th–18th in Machester, TN with a lineup featuring Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, ODESZA, Paramore, My Morning Jacket, Pixies, Tyler Childers, Vulfpeck, and more. For more info on the festival, head here, and for tickets, visit the festival website.
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