Bonnaroo, a music festival attended by over 80,000 people and held in the middle of Manchester, Tennessee is actually an intimate experience. This is possibly achieved through the perfect combination of southern hospitality, jam band camaraderie and the summer camp vibe.
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee is always a serious contender for America's #1 music festival with one of the better lineups of the summer. Taking place on 700 acres in rural Manchester, Bonnaroo is a music festival with connections to the closely knit jam band scene. Thanks to that network's avid and effective word of mouth, Bonnaroo has consistently sold out each of its twelve years of existence. Heat, dust and crowds don't seem to bother the smiling masses as southern hospitality overcomes all of those negative factors.
The term "Bonnaroo" is the brainchild of New Orleans' iconic pianist, Dr. John. Pulled from his 1974 record "Desitively Bonnaroo," which is a combination of the words "bon", meaning "good" and "rue" meaning "street". Translation is meant as "the best of the street".
The organizers of the first Bonnaroo wanted to fuse the warmth and grassroots enthusiasm of jam and circuit bands like Phish and the Dave Matthews Band. The resulting lineup paid off in a big way with the first staging in 2002 selling out in two weeks without the benefit of a traditional advertising blitz.
From there, things grew quickly. In 2007, festival organizers purchased the land in Manchester and built Great Stage Park as a permanent venue for the event and other outdoor performances. Bonnaroo is the largest outdoor music festival in North America and it's also won over the critics. It has successfully expanded each year in attendees and travelers gracing the event, while retaining its roots and personality.
Fans love the untamed quality of Bonnaroo. It feels less corporate and free spirited than other domestic festivals, especially since there are no neighbors to disturb and no curfew that needs to be enforced.
