Next Wave: Bonnie Behave

As festival season hits its peak in July, Next Wave is spotlighting artists whose sound feels like a portal. Our next artist is Atlanta-born singer, song-rider and producer, Bonnie Behave who creates music that pulses with prophecy, texture and transformation. Bonnie’s lighting a path from Atlanta to Afropunk with otherworldly frequencies. 

Bonnie is a seer, seeker, and sonic flame keeper making waves in all dimensions. Her music transports listeners into a universe of its own. Her upcoming project is a world she’s excited to introduce her fans to that teleports them to a cosmic getaway.  

“I want the project to be a world people can escape through, not just escape to,” she shares.

Her music isn’t just something you hear, but it’s something you experience. Drawing from the rich palettes of ‘90s R&B icons like Aaliyah and Tweet, the atmospheric textures of Dungeon Family, and the cosmic clarity of jazz legends, Bonnie describes her sound as “a green sprout in a desert.” It’s soul work wrapped in melody. 

Some of her very early influences that she attributes to her current sound are the entire Sueprfriends collective, including Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Magoo, Nicole Wray, Total and Tweet.  

“The production and melodies were so colorful and infectious and just felt good,” Bonnie shared. “I like for my melodies to flutter.” 

Bonnie notes Erykah Badu to be like her older cousin who she would “take walks” with at the family reunion, while she put her on game. She talks about how she discovered the legendary Ella Fitgerald which opened her up to the world of jazz that lives so seamlessly within her music. 

“Most of what you hear is my voice doing different elements of the song,” she says. “When you hear my music, you’re really hearing me, you know?”

While many are discovering Bonnie Behave now, her journey began years ago with her first EP The Damsel Diaries in 2014. But it wasn’t until she got her looper pedal that the real magic began. 

“I truly dropped into my own sound,” she says. “I was able to fully articulate my ideas without relying on anyone else to produce or engineer.” 

Bonnie talks about how much she has evolved as an artist. So much so, that she has no interest in leading with the past. 

“I’ll leave it [The Damsel Diaries] out in the wild for people to fatefully stumble upon,” she laughs. 

The result of this evolution? A project like The Saint, The Serpent, and The Shooting Star, which is a work born of lived experience and “prophetic” truths that found their way into her real life. Her community of fellow artists in Atlanta and abroad has affirmed her brilliance, but her time living in Bali for two years cracked something open. 

“The nature and spirit of the land just pulled it out of me. I wrote so much music there,” she recalls. “I was invited to incredible stages to share what was sacred to me.” 

She talk about how some of the truths she discovered and has since poured into the new music wouldn’t play out in her life until months later. 

“I’m closely tethered to my artistry now in ways I haven’t been before,” she revealed. “It’s cool af ngl.”

Listeners can feel that new wave of sound for Bonnie in her latest release with JJ Whitefield on “The Mind is a Palace,” which debuted on DJ-Kicks’ Quantic tape May 30th. It’s a world of sound that feels brand new. 

That global energy continues to ripple through her plans for the future. With festival bookings are on the horizon, she notes that Afropunk Festival was first to come to her mind. Still, she plans to do it her own way, finding an alternative path for herself that will give her more sovereignty in her creative journey.

“I plan to create my own international tour and book shows in every country I travel to,” she revealed.

July is all about being outside, and Bonnie Behave is ready for the stage, the frequency, and the freedom. 

“I aim for my music to be immersive, to build new atmospheres around the listener,” she says. “It’ll find who it’s meant for, for sure.” 

With every layered vocal loop, she’s not just performing—she’s channeling. And that’s what makes Bonnie Behave a star already in orbit.

To keep up with Bonnie and her upcoming releases, be sure to follow her here.