John Bell of Widespread Panic closed down the festival on Sunday night. Photo by Warren Swann.

To wrap up Sunday, Bonnaroo left it up to jam-favorites Widespread Panic to close things down.  Ten years ago, Panic held double duty as a headliner so bringing them back for the anniversary had to be an instinctive decision.

Given the key to the city by the mayor of Manchester earlier in the day, they had an explosive set with a visual to match that included “Red Hot Mama, “Tall Boy” and the closer “Chilly Water.” 

Sunday was a day filled with legends as Mavis Staple, Gregg Allman and Robert Plant were all set to play throughout the day.

Staples had a set time of 1:15 p.m. whereas Allman was later in the afternoon.  Seeing Allman is always a fascinating thing as you can think about the days of The Allman Brothers. He embraces those years and you can always feel the earnest feeling of the songs. 

Catching half of Iron and Wine, Allman’s set was split in time, but I managed to catch “Dreams,” “Melissa,” and the Jackson Browne penned “These Days.”

With so many other choices throughout the day, I chose to stick with Robert Plant and Band of Joy. Seeing a 30-minute preview of the new band at the Americana Awards last fall, I didn’t have any doubts about the next spot on the schedule.

Playing a mix of Zep tunes and new cuts from his latest album, the all-star band with Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller and Darrell Scott was in top form.

Giving band mates equal time to perform, Scott performed “Satisfied Mind” while Miller performed as well.

When seeing Plant live, there is still the feeling that you’re seeing something special and it can be quite supernatural at times.  Though Griffin helps to fill the space in the vocals, it is easily to be taken back to the days of his rock n’ roll machine.

With an encore, Plant and company ended with Townes Van Zandt’s “Harm’s Swift Way” and “Gallows Pole.”