Bonnaroo 2012: The Best Moments of Day 4

As ominous clouds descended on Bonnaroo, the reunited (with original member Brian Wilson) SoCal surf-rock pioneers busted out “Don’t Worry Baby,” a gentle, cradling ballad that was reassuring with the possibility of getting totally soaked lingering. So it was screw the weather: In one glance I counted over 26 beach balls bouncing over the massive crowd, and right then the Boys kicked into their car-themed suite of “409,” “Little Deuce Coupe” and “Shut Down.” The band still revved with their former power, too; Al Jardine played nimble surf licks on all three classics.—William Goodman

When singer-guitarist Justin Vernon started plucking the opening verse of “Holocene,” the pastoral single from his band’s Grammy-winning self-titled album, the crowd—which moments before was rowdy and loud-mouthed—went slack-jawed, letting his tenor voice, acoustic guitar, and, soon, the instrumental flourishes of saxophones and electric keys, ttake over. “You guys happy it’s cloudy today, right? Because you’re all sun burnt…” It made the sprinkling rain, which Bon Iver seemed to summon, that much more sweet—WG

"We're at Bonnaroo," Mac Miller told the large crowd assembled at Which Stage. "So I know a lot of you are on a roll." Less-than-subtle intro aside, Miller announced that his "Onaroll" performance—concise and economical—was the song's U.S. debut. —Jason Newman

One of the most interactive performers, Folds has long fostered a strong connection between himself and fans. During Sunday's set, Folds took out his cell phone and began shooting photos and video of the crowd. Earlier in the day, Folds took a picture of himself and Kenny Rogers, because if you were next to Kenny Rogers, you'd take a pic too. —JN

"Last night, we tried to do 'Me and Julio' and it didn't work," admitted Fun. lead singer Nate Ruess. The trio seemed to have slightly better luck Sunday, as Ruess missed some words but member Andrew Dost picked up the slack on flugelhorn. "This man is the Michael Jordan of the flugelhorn," Ruess said. We couldn't even guess a number two. — JN

“I met Kenny Rogers,” said Peter Silberman, frontman for the Brooklyn-based indie quartet. “It was amazing. I just thought I should share that with you.” Then he adds, “It’s like a joke: Kenny Rogers and Ben Folds walk into a bar…” Har de har. Their set was far more serious: Like the offspring of Death Cab for Cutie and Explosions in the Sky, the band build crescendos that aimed for the heavens. It’s an emotional thunderclap, too; the singer-guitarist sang about death, dyling and love on a handful of songs from their 2009 album Hospice, which is about a cancer patient falling in love in and slowly dying in a hospital.—WG

On one serious amazing track that I can’t identify, the Philadelphia band—the former home of Kurt Vile—let loose, building swirls of psychedelic guitar and pounding away until the slow, droning track morphed into something resembling a live recreation of trance music. Funny thing, I danced more during this track than I did at all of Saturday night’s Skrillex set.—WG

California indie rock quintet Young the Giant premiered their cover of R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)" earlier this year, but it didn't make it any less surprising for those in attendance to hear lanky rockers take on the King of the Sex Metaphor. —JN

Joy Williams and John Paul White are the Nashville-bred country-folk duo Civil Wars. Portishead is a British psychedelic and trance outfit from the ‘90s. It’s a big difference. But a good song is a good song, right? Civil Wars put an acoustic spin on their cover of the lusty-lipstick-red trance/psychedelic staple “Sour Times,” from Portishead’s ’94 album ‘Dummy.’ “Nobody loves me it’s true… not like you do,” huffed and puffed Williams and White to each other. Dude aced it—he transposed the bass parts of acoustic guitar, and switched to the triple-picking high notes fluidly. It was a convincing recreation, highlighted by the voice of Ms. Williams. Is it hot in here?—WG

Fly Golden Eagle, a local psych-soul group that won the Road to Bonnaroo contest, may not have loved their Sunday at noon slot on the bill, yet all was forgiven when Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, whose band played Thursday night, joined the group onstage. —JN

The festival's Silent Disco is as much fun to watch as partake; a sea of silent, moving bodies all dancing to a DJ's set on individual headphones. This year saw guest sets by Foster the People's Mark Foster, Penguin Prison and K. Flay among others. Best overheard quote-cum-paradox by one Bonnaroovian: "The Silent Disco sounds like it's rockin'." —JN