| Bonnaroo | |
| Location: | Great Stage Park, Manchester, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 2002–2019, 2022– |
| Dates: | Second Thursday in June, duration of four days |
| Attendance: | 70,000 (2024)[1] |
| Genre: | Pop, alternative rock, indie rock, hip hop, R&B, electronic, funk, stoner rock, jazz, jam bands, Americana, country, folk, bluegrass, gospel, reggae, world |
| Website: | Official website |
Bonnaroo (or 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 700acres 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]
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.
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" in French pronounced as /bɔn/ the feminine agreement of "bon" in French pronounced as /bɔ̃/ meaning "good", and the French "rue" in French pronounced as /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]
Hulu has exclusively streamed the festival from 2022-2024, alongside Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza.[13]
In 2009 the Bonnaroo 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]
In 2023, Bonnaroo contributed $339.8 million to the regional economy (including over $5.1 million in tax revenue), and created or supported 4,163 full-time job equivalents.[17]
Bonnaroo actively supports recycling and sustainability.[18] In 2011, A Greener Festival recognized Bonnaroo's efforts for the previous three years with an award.[19] In 2004 Bonnaroo 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.[20] AGF auditors review festivals, as well as requiring their self-evaluation. As of late, Bonnaroo has initiated many "green" activities during the festival, such as Planet Roo.[21]
When the festival began in 2002, USA Today referred to Bonnaroo as "the culmination of a musical movement."[22] CNN described it as "music and subculture melted together into a pot of creative bubbling energy."[23]
In 2008, it was named "Best Festival" by Rolling Stone magazine, calling it "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival".[24] The New York Times said "Bonnaroo has revolutionized the modern rock festival" in 2012,[25] Spin called it the "best festival of the summer",[26] and the Grammy's have deemed it "the pinnacle of summer music festivals".[27] Billboard named Bonnaroo the 8th best music festival in 2022.[28]
Bonnaroo has been referred to as "the Glastonbury Festival of the United States", due to comparisons with the massive British festival, including the necessity of camping, the communal vibes of the attendees, and the large farm grounds it takes place on.[29]
Bonnaroo has various stages in the venue area (called "Centeroo") and in the campground area (called "Outeroo").[30] Centeroo stages include the What Stage, Which Stage, That Tent, This Tent, and The Other Stage (previously "The Other Tent", but changed to a full stage to accommodate the growth of EDM at the festival).[31] Outeroo stages in the campgrounds vary year-to-year, but has included a Where in the Woods Stage since 2018, which exclusively offers electronic music shows during late night hours.[32] The biggest stage that headliners appear on, the What Stage, can accommodate up to 80,000 fans.[33]
R&B singer D'Angelo marked his return to American stages for the first time in over 12 years[34] 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.[35]
In 2009, Beastie Boys played their final ever show at the festival.[36]
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).[37]
In addition to music, Bonnaroo used to offer comedy and cinema in a dedicated tent, but the tent was removed in 2018.[38]
Currently, Bonnaroo offers a plethora of various artistic, environment, and community activities throughout the weekend, in both Centeroo and Outeroo. These activities include parades, dance shows, yoga, sustainability lessons, a 5k run, marriage barns, a water park, shopping markets, and more.[39]
Note: all figures are approximate