Although Bonnaroo’s long ago outlived its reputation as a hippie retreat, when you make it to the Farm—as it’s affectionately called by attendees and organizers alike—you soon realize you’re attending something more than a music festival. One example of such is the Bonnaroovian Code, the festival’s utopian set of commandments which asks patrons to “radiate positivity” above all else. (It lends some legitimacy to that Summer of Love stereotype, I suppose.) Manchester, Tennessee’s premier event makes it a point to maintain its free-spirit, diverse culture beyond the music, which fundamentally sets it apart from festivals of a similar stature.

That philosophy translates into their music lineup. There’s something to be said for a festival that books three utterly different acts to headline: LCD Soundsystem, Pearl Jam, and Dead & Company. With countless other festivals co-existing nowadays, Bonnaroo’s lineup can never be wholly unique, but exclusivity and a dire need for the “next big thing” have never taken centerstage. At the risk of sounding too Bonnaroovian, it’s always been about the vibe. (Full disclosure: I’m a three-time attendee.) Anyway, here’s what the 15th Bonnaroo offered.

Day One: Thursday, June 9

As is tradition, Thursday schedules are covered with up-and-coming buzz bands to serve as an appetizer for early arrivers, and that trend continued this year. Lolawolf (pictured top), an electronic R&B trio fronted by Zoe Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravtiz), slayed early in the evening with a set of bangers featuring an aesthetic comparable to a PG-rated Death Grips. The next highlight came from Madrid’s Hinds, who performed a well-oiled hour of quirky lo-fi that was a breath of fresh air to the sometimes stagnate garage rock style. I filled in the night with a set from soon-to-be folk mainstays Waxahatchee, some of the grunge nostalgia of Bully (pictured above), and a late-night show of uplifting, love-yourself anthems from rapper Lizzo.

Day Two: Friday, June 10

Friday’s early moments were defined by Shamir (pictured below), a young Las Vegas native who provided some of the most distinctive hip-hop/dance music to roll through Bonnaroo in some time. It’s become an unfortunate pattern for Bonnaroo crowds to disperse after hearing a given artist’s “hit,” and clearly no one told them that Shamir had more beyond “On the Regular.” “Make a Scene” and “Call It Off” followed later in his set, and were arguably just as strong. When Shamir finished things up by hanging out in the crowd, the 21-year-old’s swift trajectory into the spotlight seemed justified.

Electronic-tinged music became the theme of the first few hours. I caught Chvrches on the main stage (also known as the What Stage), where they’ll no doubt perform at future Bonnaroos until they somehow can’t make a catchy song anymore. Singer Lauren Mayberry even reckoned middle school days for attendees by bringing out Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams for “Bury It.” Anthony Gonzalez and his shoegaze titan M83 were the next stop, who smartly focused on 2011 breakthrough Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming for most of the set instead of the recent Junk LP. New material largely missed the mark, but “Go!” stood out even without Steve Vai.

Then it was time for Friday’s big name. While scouting out a spot for LCD Soundsystem (pictured below), the excitement—and the monstrous crowds—truly began to take hold. That anticipation dissipated, though, as soon as James Murphy and company took the stage for “Us v Them” and subsequently pounded through 14 epics like a new-wave, post-punk jam band. Their guitars were much brighter in the live setting, and the band’s chops were unreal to witness, especially in the transition to “Dance Yrself Clean” from “New York, I Love You.” All-in-all, it was actually a pretty low-energy set, covering more of their ballads (“Losing My Edge,” “All My Friends”) than dance tracks (“Daft Punk” was about it). However, the fireworks set off when “Dance Yrself Clean” dropped made up for the lack of “Drunk Girls” and “North American Scum.” Though excellent through and through, the two-hour set felt all too brief.

Speaking of sets feeling too short, that seemed to be the only negative of Tame Impala’s 1am set. Nonetheless, it was easily the second best performance of Friday, with the band serendipitously playing the same stage and time slot as Flaming Lips did two years ago. I would’ve liked to have heard more of Tame Impala’s psychedelic roots, but it’s hard to fault a band for focusing on an album like Currents. No worries: confetti and memories of when Tame Impala first struck a chord rained down with “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” This band literally sounds like the record; Parker sang without a single gaffe, and the band didn’t falter in any spot.

Day Three: Saturday, June 11

If Friday leaned toward electronically textured music, Saturday was dedicated to rock. The day began with running from a surprise Jason Mraz set to catch Beach Fossils. Beach Fossils’ subdued brand of indie rock was appreciated at the onset, however, the style felt worn out a few songs in and antithetical to this day’s rock zeitgeist. Clash the Truth cuts were still welcomed by the audience, yet no song was compelling enough to keep passing fans from straying from the tent. Band of Horses, similarly, left something to be desired by putting on an afternoon set of bland country-rock on the What Stage. Knowing that fans were wanting of their Everything All the Time/Cease to Begin days, the group eventually succumbed to being good entertainers by playing “The Funeral” and “General Specific” to wrap things up.

Haim, another band that seems to have made a name for itself at lightning speed (a la Shamir), proved to be the first Saturday highlight. Their set of Fleetwood Mac–inspired harmonies dappled with ’90s R&B was noteworthy if for no other reason than the guitar chops of Danielle Haim. Songs like “Honey & I” and “Forever” showcased a propensity to shred in a way that rock hasn’t heard since before bands like the aforementioned Beach Fossils were en vogue. The popularity of Haim—and the increasing recognition of bands like Diarrhea Planet elsewhere—make one wonder if the key to being a successful rock band nowadays is embracing everything that makes rock, um, rock, noodley solos and all. It helps that Haim had the banter and savvy of a hard rock band; after one particular song, a member exclaimed, “That was fucking lit, Bonnaroo.”

After an hour-long thunderstorm delay (fortunately, the serious weather mostly slid right past Manchester) and some inoffensive pop from English songstress Ellie Goulding, I made it to Pearl Jam’s set just in time to hear “Even Flow.” Every subsequent classic—“Jeremy,” “Daughter,” “Porch,” “Why Go” and countless others—expanded upon a majestic atmosphere. They followed up the seemingly historical set with an eight-song encore that saw “Comfortably Numb” turn into a grunge classic before a fitting set closeout of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Vedder played the frontman role well throughout the set by applauding Bonnaroo for its positive spirit and bringing his daughter Olivia onstage so the whole crowd could sing her “Happy Birthday.” The only issue, if any, was the conspicuous omission of “Yellow Ledbetter,” but that hardly deterred from the strength of what Pearl Jam delivered.

Any energy left in the Bonnaroovians was focused on Big Grams, the new collaboration between Big Boi, one half of hip-hop heavyweights OutKast, and electro-rock duo Phantogram. Their set was old-fashioned millennial fun, and undeniably meant to live in the post-1am slot it was in. The highpoint was an impeccable mashup of Phantogram’s “Mouthful of Diamonds” with OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson.” “It’s all about having a good time, baby,” Big Boi said mid-show. That’s about right.

Day Four: Sunday, June 12

I began Bonnaroo’s last day by catching the tail end of a set from Cymande, an English funk group who had its heyday in the 1970s. It takes a little extra effort to come out for the early afternoon sets—when the sun’s most brutal—but that’s also the timeframe when you realize Bonnaroo isn’t the now-typical, homogenized festival experience. It’s worth noting that Charles Bradley also scored a Sunday afternoon set, alongside the slew of bluegrass and folk acts that went all day in one of the tents.

Eventually, I sought out the Kurt Vile/Father John Misty double-feature on the second main stage known as Which Stage. For being a distinguished frontman and guitar player, Vile’s live disposition is particularly laidback. Songs like “Jesus Fever,” “Goldtone,” and “Wild Imagination” played out like Real Estate as a country-rock band, with the only energy upswings being derived from “Wakin’ on a Pretty Day” and radio favorite “Pretty Pimpin’.” On the other hand, Josh Tillman of Father John Misty was as animated as ever. Wearing a half-buttoned black shirt, Tillman strolled through a set largely dedicated to I Love You, Honeybear. The biggest surprise wasn’t so much FJM’s performance as it was the quantity of diehard attendees that knew all the lyrics by heart. Tillman’s stage presence was otherwise standard procedure, including drug banter, finger pointing, and bowing down among many absurd movements.

Third Eye Blind, not unlike Pearl Jam, was another nostalgia act that has somehow seen a recent resurgence. “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life” proved to be the biggest reasons the crowd was delaying its exit to Dead & Company’s headlining set, but the sound guy wasn’t doing frontman Stephan Jenkins any favors in getting the whole area to hear and sing along. That said, plenty went berserk for this band, with even older members of the audience crowd-surfing.

I waited on heading over to Sunday’s headliner to see the Bluegrass Superjam, hosted by actor and renowned banjoist Ed Helms (pictured right). The set was comprised of a light-hearted collection of songs by Bill Monroe, Townes Van Zandt, and others. The appeal of the Superjams (there was a hip-hop and jazz jam Saturday night that I missed) is seeing what guests emerge. In this case, the star was country singer Leanne Womack. Another guest, the Secret Sisters, were also worth a listen for their strong voices and on-point dual harmonies.

My stop at Dead & Company, the refashioned Grateful Dead supergroup including surviving members plus John Mayer, was short-lived, but long enough to notice Mayer being onstage with Bob Weir was off-putting. Mayer’s guitar talent was impressive, but his soft, raspy voice—the element that made “Daughters” a monster in the MP3 player era—wasn’t. As a unit, the band is as long-winded and dynamic as their reputation dictates.

Even without the kind of lineup that widens eyes worldwide—and this year’s was by no means the greatest in its history—Bonnaroo has consistently come through on a distinctive experience each year, and this year’s artists were as aligned with Bonnaroo’s positive and diverse culture in 2016 as they were in the past. Getting that sort of cohesion beats celebrity sightings and going someplace requiring a hotel room for your nightly stay in every way, and the 15th edition of Bonnaroo was a testament to that fact.