Bonnaroo
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| Bonnaroo | |
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| Genre | Jam bands, Alternative rock, Hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country, folk, gospel, reggae |
| Dates | Mid-June |
| Location(s) | Manchester, Tennessee, US |
| Years active | 2002 - present |
| Website | Official website |
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four day annual music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, first held in 2002. The festival is held on a 700 acre (2.8 km²) farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee. The main attractions of the festival are the multiple stages of live music, featuring a diverse array of musical styles including world music, hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, electronica, and other alternative music. The festival began with a primary focus on jam bands, but has diversified greatly in recent years. The festival features craftsmen and artisans selling unique products, food and drink vendors, and many other activities put on by various sponsors. Sponsors of the festival are required to provide free activities for attendees.
The main stage, named the What Stage (capacity 100,000 people) and the second stage, named the Which Stage (capacity 30,000 people) are the two main performance areas, open approximately noon to midnight CST each day of the festival.
Centeroo is a 24-hour gathering place, featuring three large music tents (This Tent, That Tent and the Other Tent), the Bonnaroo Market (craft and merchandise vendors), an arcade tent, music sharing areas, a cinema tent, a comedy tent and other special events. Most activities and vendors in Centeroo are open 24 hours with live music in the tents from noon to 7:30 p.m. CST and midnight to 5 a.m.
The word Bonnaroo, popularized by New Orleans R&B giant Dr. John with his 1974 album Desitively Bonnaroo, is a Cajun slang word meaning "a really good time." The name was chosen for its literal meaning, and also to honor the rich Louisiana music tradition that inspired the organizers' desire to provide many styles of quality live music for appreciative fans. The word Bonnaroo is actually a creole-French construction taken from "bon" (french for "good") and "rue" (French for "street"). On January 10, 2007, Bonnaroo organizers Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment purchased a major portion of the site, where the annual music festival is held. The purchase of 530 acres encompassed all of the performance areas and much of the camping and parking area used for the annual festival; the festival will continue to lease another 250 acres that currently serve as additional parking and camping. Since its inception, Bonnaroo has contributed more than $1 million directly to Coffee County organizations. In addition to annual charitable contributions, the festival's activities provide annual revenue to the county. Measured in a 2005 study, the economic impact of the event on Coffee County was more than $14 million in business revenues and more than $4 million in personal income.[1]
In recent years, festival organizers have placed great emphasis on recycling and 'greening' efforts during the event.[2]
2008
The 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held from June 12-15, 2008.
Pearl Jam has officially confirmed that they will perform at Bonnaroo 2008, although this runs contrary with their current European tour dates.[3]
2007
The 2007 Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival was held on June 14-17. All 80,000 tickets were sold out.
On January 10, 2007, Bonnaroo organizers Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment purchased 530 acres of the farm where the annual music festival is held, encompassing the performance areas and much of the camping and parking areas. The festival will continue to lease another 250 acres that currently serve as additional parking and camping.
Lineup
Blue Note sponsored a jazz tent called Somethin' Else:
The Comedy Tent lineup:
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The Troo Music Lounge lineup:
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The SuperJam was composed of Ben Harper, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, and ?uestlove of The Roots.
2006
The 2006 festival ran from June 16-18. The headliners for the 2006 festival included Radiohead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Beck, and Phil Lesh and Friends. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was featured in their own tent for three days and nights. 80,000 tickets, sold out.
Lineup
Cafe Stage lineup:
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The Comedy Tent lineup:
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2005
The 2005 festival took place from June 10-12, and more than 75,000 people were in attendance. New Line Cinema introduced a twenty-four-hour "cinema tent," showing popular and cult films. Wireless Internet access was provided by Cisco Systems. There was a "comedy tent" featuring Jim Breuer as well as some lesser-known comedians and even daily yoga classes. Like 2004, rain marked each day of the festival. The children's area was provided by Kidz Jam.
Lineup
2004
The festival ran June 11-13, and more than 90,000 people attended. It was marked by torrential rains, creating an incredibly large amount of mud. Many vehicles had to be towed out of the parking area.
Lineup
Willie Nelson was originally scheduled to perform but, shortly before the festival, had to cancel his summer 2004 tour due to carpal tunnel syndrome. Steve Winwood was asked to fill in.
Maroon 5 was also on the bill, but did not appear at their performance time, citing a sore throat by lead vocalist Adam Levine.
2003
The festival ran June 13-15, and 80,000 attended. In 2003, The Bonnaroo organizers planned a festival called Bonnaroo Northeast to take place in Riverhead, Long Island, New York. This festival, as well as the Field Day Festival, another festival to take place at the same site, were cancelled, however, in the weeks leading up to the event due to concern about securing permits in time.
Lineup
2002
In the inaugural year, the festival was held June 21-23. The more than 70,000 tickets sold out in advance.
Lineup
External links
- Bonnaroo.com Official Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival website
- Bonnaroo MySpace Official MySpace page
- Superfly Productions Website Event organizer
- AC Entertainment Website Event organizer
- Inforoo Unofficial Bonnaroo Forum
- Weatheroo.info Weather information for Bonnaroo