Jack Johnson performing at the second annual Bonnaroo (2003). Photo courtesy of evilvince.com
In recent years, Bonnaroo has become as well known as other big music and arts festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella and Austin City Limits.
But Bonnaroo does not start of with a bang. The line up for the first day of the festival pales in comparison to the artists and bands set to perform this weekend.
For the Thursday kick-off, bands like Vampire Weekend, Superdrag, Battles, and MGMT are scheduled to play – all of these in the so-called “This Tent”. The other ‘stages’, or tents, feature lesser known artists, or bands and musicians that have a comparably small or local following, such as Lez Zeppelin, Dark Star Orchestra, Grand Ole Party and The Felice Brothers.
MP3: MGMT – “Destrokk”
For music fans that have never heard The Battles, check out this driving electronic rock video titled “Atlas”. It has been viewed over one million times.
It’s not much of a surprise that the first day of the festival, being that it is a Thursday, is not loaded up with must-see bands. Furthermore, the music doesn’t even get started until early evening.
Nevertheless, on Friday, June 13, Bonnaroo becomes the epicenter of a wide array of impressive bands and artists, including The Raconteurs, Metallica, My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Marley, Jose Gonzales, Rilo Kiley, Willie Nelson, Tegan and Sara, MIA, The Swell Season, !!!, MSTRKRFT, Tiesto, Les Claypool, Minus The Bear and almost a dozen others.
Tegan and Sara performing “Back In Your Head” (YouTube video)
The only problem, and this is the problem with most festivals that have multiple stages, is that you are almost guaranteed to miss some of your favorite artists or bands because they perform simultaneously in different locations. That’s why pouring over the schedule in advance and mapping where you want to be and when is so important to maximizing your musical experience.
With that said, and to the credit of the organizers, Bonnaroo is one of the top music festivals at which who plays where and when has been scheduled in such a way that most festival goers will have the opportunity to see most of the ‘big name’ performers in their genre (i.e. indie rock) without too much overlap.
Another cool thing about Bonnaroo is that headliners play very long sets (Metallica is playing for 2 1/2 hours and My Morning Jacket is playing for three hours) and the music goes well into the wee hour mornings, when the summer sky is full of stars and the cooler night time air makes for a wonderful experience.