Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a 700-acre (280 ha) farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The festival typically starts on the second Thursday in June and lasts four days. It has been held every year except in 2020, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2] and in 2021 when it was canceled due to excessive rain from Hurricane Ida flooding the campground.[3] The main attractions of this festival are the multiple stages featuring live music with a diverse array of musical styles including indie rock, classic rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, Americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, pop, electronic, and other alternative music. Musical acts begin Wednesday evening for early arrivals, continue throughout the festival, with performances starting each day around noon, and some stages entertaining festival goers until sunrise.[4]
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
Pop, alternative rock, indie rock, hip hop, R&B, electronic, funk, stoner rock, jazz, jam bands, Americana, country, folk, bluegrass, gospel, reggae, world
Second Thursday in June, duration of four days
2002–2019, 2022–
80,000+ (2015)[1]
The festival was ranked in 2003 by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "50 Moments That Changed Rock & Roll",[5] "Festival of the Decade" by Consequence of Sound, and among the 10 Best Festivals by GQ Magazine.
History[edit]
Ashley Capps, co-founder of AC Entertainment, developed Bonnaroo following the cancellation of the Hot Summer Nights rock music festival in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999. Hot Summer Nights, which was a mainstay in Knoxville's World's Fair Park would suspend operations permanently following construction by city officials. Capps would state that the cancellation would be the main drive behind the origin of Bonnaroo, "The closing of the World's Fair Park for concerts precipitated getting creative and trying to find, 'OK, if we can't do this anymore, how can we still participate in the summer outdoor concert business,' and it was from that that Bonnaroo was ultimately launched."[6]
In 1999, the future site of Bonnaroo hosted the Itchycoo Park Festival (named after the song Itchycoo Park by Small Faces), which is considered the spiritual predecessor to the original Bonaroo music festival. Unlike Bonnaroo, the Itchycoo Park Festival was considered an overall failure.[7] The first Bonnaroo Music Festival took place in 2002. The founders chose "bonnaroo" (Creole slang meaning a really good time) for its literal meaning and to honor the rich New Orleans music tradition that they had enjoyed in college. Bonnaroo was popularized by New Orleans R&B singer Dr. John with his 1974 album Desitively Bonnaroo.[8][9] Bonnaroo is derived from the French "bonne" pronounced [bɔn] the feminine agreement of "bon" pronounced [bɔ̃] meaning "good", and the French "rue" pronounced [ʁy] meaning "street", translating roughly to "the best on the streets".[10] The festival site is known as "the farm" by festival goers and locals, due to its location on what used to be 700 acres of farm land.
In 2019, after a record breaking festival sell out, it was announced that Live Nation was buying out Superfly's share of Bonnaroo.[11]
The 2020 event was initially pushed back three months until September 2020, and then ultimately cancelled because of health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The 2021 event was canceled due to torrential rainfall from Hurricane Ida saturating the stage area, campgrounds, and tollbooth area, and making ground conditions unsuitable for vehicle traffic only a few days before the event was scheduled to take place.[12]
In May 2022, it was announced that Hulu will exclusively stream the festival, alongside Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza.[13]
Economy[edit]
In 2009 the Bonaroo Works Fund was created as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for the festival.[14] The organization awards grants to local non-profits and schools.[15]
By 2013, the direct and indirect economic impact of the festival since its inception was estimated at $51 million, including $2.9 million in tax revenue for the year 2012.[16]
Environmentalism[edit]
Bonnaroo actively supports recycling and sustainability.[17] In 2011, A Greener Festival recognized Bonnaroo's efforts for the previous three years with an award.[18] In 2004 Bonaroo said it prevented having to collect 120 tons of trash by encouraging fans to recycle. Food and drink are sold in organic and recyclable materials to create less waste.[19] AGF auditors review festivals, as well as requiring their self-evaluation.[18] As of late, Bonnaroo has initiated many "green" activities during the festival, such as Planet Roo.[20]
Reception[edit]
When the festival began in 2002, USA Today referred to Bonnaroo as "the culmination of a musical movement."[21] CNN described it as "music and subculture melted together into a pot of creative bubbling energy."[22]
In 2008, it was named "Best Festival" by Rolling Stone magazine, calling it "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival".[23]
The New York Times said "Bonnaroo has revolutionized the modern rock festival" in 2012,[24] and Spin called it the "best festival of the summer".[25]
Notable performances[edit]
R&B singer D'Angelo marked his return to American stages for the first time in over 12 years[26] on June 9, 2012, with a surprise performance at the festival's annual Superjam. He was backed by members of the R&B collective the Soulquarians, most notably Questlove, James Poyser and Pino Palladino, with guest guitarist Jesse Johnson. The set was composed almost entirely of covers.[27]
In 2009, Beastie Boys played their final ever show at the festival.[28]
Other performers have included Widespread Panic (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011), Phish (2009, 2012, 2019), The Dead (2003, 2004), Dead & Company (2016), U2 (2017), Pearl Jam (2008, 2016), Billy Joel (2015), Mumford & Sons (2011, 2015), Elton John (2014), Eminem (2011, 2018), Jack White (2010, 2014), Lionel Richie (2014), the Flaming Lips (2003, 2007, 2010, 2014), Paul McCartney (2013), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2006, 2013), Wu-Tang Clan (2013), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2012, 2017, 2024), Radiohead (2006, 2012), Neil Young (2003, 2011), Dave Matthews Band (2005, 2010), Stevie Wonder (2010), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2009), Nine Inch Nails (2009), Metallica (2008), the Police (2007), Tool (2007, 2022), and Bob Dylan (2004).[29]