Bonnaroo 2024: Larkin Poe, Gary Clark Jr., Dominic Fike among Friday top performers

Day 2 of glitter, blistering sunshine and oh-so-thumping bass kicked off at 'Roo 2024 with another afternoon of all-star performers.

Some of the day's sets included Nashville's Larkin Poe, British indie singer The Japanese House, vibey band Khruangbin, beachy alt singer Dominic Fike and crooner Lizzie McAlpine.

Friday saw bigger crowds and higher temperatures than Thursday with a 91-degree high that felt more like triple digits as the sun beat down and breezes were nonexistent.

Bonnaroovians braved the heat and so did The Tennessean.

Here's five highlights (pre-Post Malone's headlining set) from the afternoon of Roo Day 2.

49 Winchester brings a little Nashville to Manchester

Even though Bonnaroo's home in Manchester is a short hour's drive from Nashville, the festival isn't known for showcasing tons of country artists from up the road.

49 Winchester took the stage and brought a little bit of Lower Broadway to the Farm in the best way possible.

With beards, cowboy hats and pedal steel guitars, 49 Winchester taught the crowd gathered that yodeling is still an art form and reminded the Bonnaroo crowd that country music can stir the soul and make you dance.

Donning a Charley Crockett T-shirt, front man and guitarist Isaac Gibson let out possibly the first legitimate country twang of 'Roo '24.

The band rolled through "Second Chance," "It's a Shame," which Gibson said is a "honkey tonk cautionary tale," "Long Hard Life," "Annabel," "Russell County Line" and the first single off of their new album out Aug. 2, "Yearning for You."

Larkin Poe shows 'Roo what American rock 'n' roll music is

The Grammy Award-winning sister duo of Megan and Rebecca Lovell, known collectively as Larkin Poe, was the first act on Friday to take the What Stage and told the crowd they were "so honored to be here."

This marks the third Bonnaroo appearance for the sisters, who told The Tennessean before their show that they love this festival because they are so close to their Nashville home.

They opened with "Summertime Sunset" and "Kick the Blues" where Rebecca Lovell got the crowd singing along.

The band rolled through "Bolt Cutters & the Family Name," "Bad Spell," and "Strike Gold," with Rebecca shredding her Fender guitar, Megan tearing it up on the lap steel guitar and harmonizing as only sisters could.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are from just up the road in Nashville, Tennessee, but my sister and I, we were born over in Knoxville, Tennessee," Rebecca Lovell told the crowd. "Mountain music, traditional American blues music runs very deep in our veins and in our hearts. We want to sing this next song for you, to pay homage to one of our biggest inspirations, Mr. Son House."

The band brought the Mississippi Delta blues singing "I'm gonna get me some religion. I'm gonna join the Baptist church," from House's "Preachin' the Blues" before Lovell said she was going to take a "left turn" and launched into "Might as Well Be Me."

Lovell noticed a fan in the front row waving a sign that she couldn't read, so she asked security to bring it to the stage.

She read it aloud, "Third time's a charm. March 2020 won tickets and canceled due to COVID. '21 canceled due to the hurricane. Third time is a charm, baby."

The Japanese House plays dreamy tunes, performs unreleased single

The Japanese House, the stage name of singer Amber Bain, hit the Which Stage at 3:45 p.m. wearing a simple red tank and jeans.

The English indie pop musician sang alongside her saxophonist/keyboardist, guitar player, bassist and drummer on one of the festival's biggest stages. Though the sun was directly beating down on the audience, the audience braved the heat and brought fans to cool down.

The alternative singer, who describes her music as “a modern day, more depressing ABBA," showcased her silky vocals and contemplative lyrics.

She sang songs "Worms," "Dionne," "Saw You In A Dream" and "Sunshine Baby," complete with hazy synths and catchy pop hooks.

Before song "Boyhood," Bain said, "Happy Pride month! This is my big, gay song. It goes out to all my gay cowboys out there!" The crowd roared in response.

With feeling, she sang, "I went to meet to somebody new / Changed beneath the evening light / And she held me kind of like you do."

"Makes me laugh when I say my gay song because they're kinda all my gay songs," Bain added after the song.

Bain also gave the audience a little treat towards the end of her set. She played her soon-to-be released single ":)" (smiley face), a country-tinged track with her ever-vulnerable lyrics. ":)" will be Bain's first single release since her 2023 album "In The End It Always Does."

Gary Clark Jr. 'gets weird' with Bonnaroo crowd, delivers funky tunes

Blues guitarist and singer Gary Clark Jr. took the Which Stage at 5:45 p.m. with a full band and three back-up singers.

The Austin, Texas native strolled out in an all-orange outfit, orange sunglasses and a bucket hat. His show brought the biggest crowd to the Which Stage of the day so far.

One of his first songs, "When My Train Pulls In," showcased bluesy R&B vocals and guitar solos. Although Clark Jr. didn't take the first solo of his Bonnaroo set (that honor went to his rockstar guitarist, King Zapata), Clark Jr.'s rockin' solos were soon to follow.

He played "Don’t Owe You A Thang," letting his tambourine-holding back-up singers shine alongside funky keys. He belted, paced the stage, played his guitar so hard his sunglasses flew off his head, and let the music take him over.

At one point, Clark Jr. addressed the crowd. "How we feeling? Y'all look good," he said with a smirk. "Bout to get weird on yall. It feels like a safe space to say that." The crowd cheered in agreement.

Then he sang song "This Is Who We Are," a tune with a rumbling alternative rock 'n' roll feel, hauntingly dissonant harmonies and distorted electric guitar. Clark Jr. vibrantly cycled through his hits for the rest of the set.

Dominic Fike performs high-energy alt rock set, shouts out Nashville guitar shop

Dominic Fike was the first face-tattooed singer-songwriter to perform at Roo on Friday (Post Malone would soon follow).

The alternative rock and hip-hop artist, known for songs "Baby Doll" and "3 Nights" wore a pullover with the "TIME" Magazine logo, though he soon was shirtless due to the heat—and, of course, the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

"Bonnaroo what the f*** is up? My name is Dominic Fike; thank you so much for having me," he said. "I'm so happy to be back in Nashville, I love Nashville so much."

His favorite things about Nashville? The people, the food and the fact that "the music energy is crazy," he said. Fike told the audience he visited Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville today and bought a new Telecaster.

After picking up the guitar, he said someone came up to him and said, "Good luck with the gig tonight."

Fike said that so many people in Nashville make their living playing gigs. He likes that in Music City, he's just the same as any other working musician.

He delivered a thrashing version of song "Baby Doll" and a groovy, crowd-pleasing performance of "Phone Numbers," a collaboration between Fike and Kenny Beats.

Fike performed the song he made with Paul McCartney, a remake of "The Kiss of Venus," and even brought out the new Telecaster for some songs to break in the new instrument.

While Fike's monologues were erratic and fast-paced and he found himself tripping over guitar cables, he delivered a high-energy set with fervor, urgency and crisp vocals.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bonnaroo 2024: Larkin Poe, Dominic Fike among top Friday performers