Story Published:
Jun 14, 2009 at 1:37 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jun 14, 2009 at 1:37 PM CST
Tens of thousands flock this time of year to Manchester, Tennessee to be a Bonnaroo, translated as "a really good time." This year, fans may find that the interactive participation continues online, as Bonnaroo steps up its website presence with the help of some nationally renowned writers.
For the uninitiated, The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual, four to five-day music festival, first held in 2002.
The festival is held at Great Stage Park on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, and draws crowds of 70-80 thousand who come for the music. The attraction is live, diverse music that ranges from indie rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, electronica, and other alternative music.
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.
In 2008, it was named “Best Festival” by Rolling Stone Magazine, calling it "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival."
Perhaps this year will take "over the top" to a new level as the experience continues via extensive blogs and video features on the Bonnaroo website. "It's like a giant Facebook just for Bonnaroo, only better," said one local enthusiast.
Poised to become a popular feature will be performances like Springsteen's Saturday concert, characterized on the site as "The King Claims His Crown." Bruce Springsteen wowed the Bonnaroo crowd with a passionate three-hour performance, offering, he said, "sweat and rock 'n' roll to inspire in "hard times."
Springsteen was the Saturday night headliner at the Tennessee music festival, where Phish was headlining both Friday and Sunday.
"We didn't come all the way down to the beautiful Tennessee hills just to rock the house," said Springsteen early in the performance. "We came down here tonight because we want to build a house. That's right. Right here in this field. ... A house of love. A house of hope."
Springsteen continued, "If anybody ever told me I'd be part owner of General Motors, I wouldn't believe it. But you see things that I never thought I'd see. There's many, many folks struggling out there."
Other acts Saturday included the Decemberists, Nine Inch Nails, the Mars Volta, Of Montreal, Raphael Saadiq, Booker T, Bon Iver, Robyn Hitchcock and Allen Toussaint. One stage — dubbed "Tennessee Shines" — hosted bluegrass all day with acts such as the David Grisman Quintet and the Del McCoury Band.
After torrential lightning storms Thursday and humidity Friday, Saturday was the sunniest day yet at the eighth annual Bonnaroo, which concludes Sunday night with Phish's second performance.
And it will be interesting to see how, or if, the festival reaches an expanded audience seeking an opportunity to participate after this week.
