Tennessee – Day Three at Bonnaroo saw some pretty amazing things: the annual SuperJam took place (featuring Chance the Rapper, Pretty Lights, and Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, to name a few), Jon Hamm fed Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch some gummy bears, and headliners Mumford and Sons provided a staggeringly beautiful cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends.”  Naturally, amidst all the hubbub, there was plenty to check out in the realm of those bands that appear in the finer print.  Here are six of our favorite new bands from Bonnaroo’s third day:

PRIORY

Portland, Oregon electro-pop duo PRIORY started the day off at This Tent. Priory just finished up a North American tour with Kaiser Chiefs, in support of their new album, Need To Know (Warner Bros. Records). Brandon Rush and Kyle Sears, along with drummer Joe Mengis, bassist Miles Johnson, and keyboardist Rian Lewis had the crowd jumping and singing along enthusiastically to “Call To Arms” and “The Weekend.” Rush thanked the crowd for their love and excitement, saying, “I applaud you guys for being out here at 12:30pm, fighting your hangovers and comedowns.” Later he asked if those up front would be cool with him crowd surfing. He recently played a show where the teenage girls up front “parted like the f**king Red Sea,” leaving him to fall flat, breaking a rib. We actually discussed this in our interview, so stay tuned for a more in depth explanation, plus plenty more tidbits! Rush did indeed successfully surf the crowd during “Big Love.” It was ace. – SH

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Catfish & The Bottlemen

U.K. garage rockers Catfish & The Bottlemen took to the stage at This Tent after Priory. As expected, a plethora of young ladies filled the inside of the tent and flowed out into the lawn. When Van McCann (lead vocals), Johnny Bond (guitar), Benji Blakeway (bass), and Bob Hall (drums) walked out, they cheered and screamed in delight. The guys were just as elated. Frontman McCann gushed about how excited he was to playing the stage where Kings of Leon once played; he remembered watching the video online over and over again “back in the day.” (Speaking of the KOL men, they’ve been in attendance, taking in Tears for Fears the previous night. Perhaps they saw Catfish & The Bottlemen?) Later in the set, McCann dedicated “Kathleen” to everyone who came to see the rockers last year. Applause erupted. McCann smiled and warmly said, “Thank you very much. It’s mad that you know us!” McCann and his Bottlemen have been hard at work the last few years, so no doubt they are treasuring their success and rising fame. That said, I know these guys won’t stop pushing themselves until they’re selling out arena shows and headlining Bonnaroo. –SH

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Phox

Baraboo, Wisconsin’s folk-pop sextet PHOX were first to play the Other Tent on this particularly hot and muggy Saturday afternoon, and so lead singer Monica Martin and her band of players did their very best to relieve us from the heat with their cool, refreshing blend of indie pop and home-grown folk.  The show began with a playful call to arms — “Are you ready to soft rock?” – to which the crowd responded with probably the most polite crowd scream I have ever heard.  The band kicked things off with a track from their 2014 self-titled debut LP, the soft and bouncy “Shrinking Violets,” and continued to treat the serenely swaying audience with several other album tracks, including “Leisure,” “Kingfisher,” “Noble Heart,” and “Slow Motion” (of course).  In addition to LP tracks, Martin cooed her way through some of the band’s earlier EP tracks (from 2013’s Confetti EP) – most notably the slow yet purposeful “Blue and White” – as well as a new track called “Never Lover,” which was premiered earlier this year at Minnesota’s North Shore Sessions.  The crowd was especially pleased to hear a warm and tender cover of Blink 182’s 2003 track “I Miss You” and a gorgeous a capella rendition of J.E. Sunde’s “I Will Smile When I Think of You,” that brought a tear to many a dust-filled eye.  –CB

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Jamie xx

UK electronic dance wunderkind Jamie xx began Saturday evening’s festivities at the Other Tent, entering the stage area amidst a cloud of fog and waved an awkward hello before taking his position behind his turntables and mixers.  There he stood for the next ninety minutes, giving us a live mix of his own material (mostly from his debut LP In Colour, which was released just last week) along with some of his favorite samples and obvious influences, including motown (like The Persuasions, sampled for his song “Good Times,” which he began with), early British underground/garage electronica, and a healthy dose of soul and funk.  Some of the songs that he featured that were his own include “Gosh,” “Loud Places,” and “Sleep Sound.”  The crowd was uproarious and highly energetic, which played as a nice contrast to Jamie’s own demeanor, looking humble as ever as he flowed seamlessly between his staggering record collection, his mixer and his turntable, smiling slyly as the crowd reacted to each effortless transition. –CB

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X Ambassadors

Over at The Who Stage, dedicated fans began packing in forty-five minutes early to see rising New York band X Ambassadors. The foursome – made up of brothers Sam and Casey Harris, Noah Feldshuh, and Adam Levin – have been gaining quite the following, thanks in part to the song “Renegades” being placed in a Jeep commercial. Whistles and applause greeted the guys, and once they broke into “Free & Lonely,” fans sang along word for word. Singer Sam Harris jumped and danced around stage like he belonged in a hip hop video; not surprising considering he is a huge fan of rap, hip hop, and R&B. (Note: Sam and the band filled us in on their favorite up and coming hip hop artists in our upcoming interview. Keep a look out!) Afterward Sam thanked everyone for coming to see them and gushed about how excited they were to be playing Bonnaroo because back in 2008 they attended the festival together. They’ve graduated, fully filling the grassy knoll, with fans singing along to every song, even the tracks that haven’t been released or made it to the radio. –SH

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Childish Gambino

We last caught Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino at Lollapalooza, performing in the pouring rain. Thankfully Bonnaroo delivered a dry set, filled with a rainbow of lights, the occasional breeze, and what Gambino announced as a “new” song, “Candler Road.”  How new it is, is debatable; he released it back in October of 2014, but it is the only material he has released since Because the Internet. He played plenty of songs off that LP, including “II. Worldstar” and “III. Telegraph Ave. (“Oakland” by Lloyd),” while showing off his ridiculous dance moves, looking like a young Michael Jackson. At one point, he fell to the floor, singing, and then screamed at the crowd, “I love you!” He told the crowd to sing along to “3005” if they knew the words. The crowd, which filled the massive field, surely did, and during the “hold up” refrain, hands rose in the air, swaying back and forth. –SH

Best New Bands still has one more day of Bonnaroo coverage for you. Remember to keep up to date with us on twitter!

Photos and text by Sarah Hess (SH) and Corey Bell (CB) – Top photo: Childish Cambino at Bonnaroo by Corey Bell