[Human Interest Piece : Journalism 110]
Reed Winter
It’s five in the morning in Manchester, Tennessee. The morning air is cool and foggy, even after the previous day baked in the Tennessee summer sun. Sean Clark is sleepily assembling a tent with both hands, a small flashlight turned on and clenched between his teeth to help him navigate through the dim morning light. All around him, thousands of people are filing in and setting up camp in preparation for one of the biggest summer music festivals in the United States.
“If I had to imagine what Heaven would be like, Bonnaroo would come pretty close,” said Clark.
Nestled on 700 acres of farmland, the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four day long experience, bringing in an average of 80,000 attendees every single year. Started in 2002 by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, Bonnaroo is renowned for it’s combination of music, art, cinema, and merchandise all packed into one long weekend.
The festival grounds are organized and divided into several stages and tents based on attraction. Centeroo is the main area of Bonnaroo, with most of the festivities taking place in this central location. The What Stage is the main, and biggest, stage which houses the headlining musical acts. The second stage, known as the Which Stage, has performances that last longer into the night than other stages. After the main headliner performs, the Which stage generally has a follow-up late night act. This Tent, That Tent, and The Other Tent are secondary locations for the remaining acts that also offer late night shows and performances. The Comedy Tent and the Cinema Tent also exist strictly for stand up comedic performances and for films and cinema.
Campers like Clark all kick off the festival in the same way. Arriving in their cars as early as possible, attendees hastily set up their tents and prepare their campsites, catch a quick nap, and then it’s time to party. Performances start as early as noon on Thursday, and last well into the night, some continuing till four or five in the morning. This jam packed schedule leaves little time for anything else.
“If you’re going to go to Bonnaroo, you have to go all out,” said Clark. “You’ve got to give up showering, eating full meals, and getting adequate sleep if you really want to experience it.”
After assembling their meager camp site, Clark and his friends braved the scorching Tennessee sun, asphyxiating clouds of dust kicked up by thousands of feet, and ruthless mosquito bites in order to join in on all the music and activities the festival offered.
“I paid 250 dollars for this ticket, so I decided to get the most out of it by joining in on virtually every activity I could find,” said Clark.
When he wasn’t packed in the sweaty throng of people gathered around a stage at one of the music performances, Clark learned to broaden his horizons. At nine in the morning on Saturday, following a long night of dancing and socializing, he reluctantly participated in yoga at the Solar Stage, an event which promised mind and body rejuvenation for the day to come. Surprisingly, he found that he enjoyed it.
After awakening his body with yoga in the morning and jamming out to The Black Keys and Mumford & Sons in the afternoon, Clark headed over to the Silent Disco tent that night in order to get his groove on, an activity that requires some degree of humility. After receiving a pair of headphones issued at the entrance to the tent, listeners dance to music that the DJ is spinning in real time, but only headphone wearers can hear.
“It’s whimsical,” said Clark. “To outsiders, participants in the Silent Disco probably look like a very confused flash mob.”
At the end of the four days, exhausted and sweaty campers gather their things and load up cars. Phone numbers and email addresses are exchanged, the last performances are attended, and souvenirs are collected from the many vendors. The excitement dwindles down as attendees brace themselves for the return to the real world, where free love, music, and peace aren’t as common of a commodity.
Bonnaroo tends to release their schedules and ticket information for the summer on their website in late February every year. The line up for Summer 2012 includes performances from Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, The Beach Boys, Bon Iver and The Avett Brothers.
After all his belongings are packed and he has said his final goodbyes, Clark reaches for an aluminum water bottle in the passenger seat. After unscrewing the top and peering inside, he sighs after realizing the bottle is bone dry.
“Bonnaroo is absolutely magical. There’s absolutely no better way on this planet to kick off my summer,” Clark said. “My only regret is that I didn’t pack more water.”
Baby Neptune Yoga 