Co-written by Caroline Koch
There’s a reason for the undeniable urge to belt “Bonnarooooo” in reference to this festival. 80,000 people, hundreds of artists, 10 stages, a code, and a farm – the recipe for one of the nation’s top fests. Despite the saturated circuit of events piling up on festie calendars throughout the year, this one still reigns elite.
For a Bonnaroovian it’s not difficult to explain why this blazing hot June weekend in Tennessee is such a special one, but in case you’ve yet to be awakened to the glory of the farm, we pulled together a handful of reasons why the 13 year-old Roo is a festival landmark that just can’t be touched.
1. The Unannounced Collabs
Let’s recap.
Gramatik brought out Cherub, Gibbz and Russ Liquid during his Thursday night throw down at The Other Tent. The set went on way past the allotted 1:15 p.m. cap, and helped kick off Bonnaroo in a raging, future-funk fashion. From outside the confines of The Other Tent the sound was pretty unimpressive, but unfortunately 80,000 anxious Bonnaroovians don’t split well amongst three live tents sets, so we enjoyed what we could from afar.
Where else on earth will you see Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper jump onstage with Earth, Wind & Fire. Lamar had just ended his main stage set and Chance wasn’t due out until the SuperJam, but got the ultimate forum for a warm-up. Both were invited on-stage to freestyle while EWF provided the backing track, if you were lucky enough to catch this, you knew you were witnessing an unbelievable melding of sounds, generations and style …only at Bonnaroo, man.
Uhhh just chance n Kendrick on stage w earth wind n fire .. No biggie #bonnaroo2015 pic.twitter.com/0Jkh255pYE
— SZA (@sza) June 13, 2015
Marcus Mumford and squad got a little help from Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Hozier, War On Drugs, Danny Clinch and Ed Helms. After a speedy two hours of switching between electric guitar and banjos, Mumford invited a host of Bonnaroo’s backstage to cover the Beatles for an encore sing-a-long that left the What Stage audience wide-eyed and high-vibed.
Billy Joel’s guitar tech of thirty-some years straight up slayed “Highway to Hell” with the Piano Man, certainly living up to his nick-name, Chainsaw. Upon further intrigue and a helpful Google search it turns out that Chainsaw is often brought on stage with Billy and has been confused as the AC/DC guitarist for years. Hell, it was new to us, and certainly added to the magic of Joel’s unforgettable performance.
2. The Positivity is Radiant
The happiest people in the world all seem to gather at Bonnaroo. Between the non-stop high-fives, shouts of “Happy Bonnaroo,” and unwarranted bouts of cheering, positivity seeps from every crevice of this festival. It’s a display of togetherness that you just don’t witness every day. There’s a special spirit of “Bonnarooooo” that we all encompass on the farm…or maybe it’s that we’re all delirious from the heat.
3. World Records Are Made Here
A video posted by RaverRafting.com (@raverrafting) on
Squish, the most badass 7 year-old on the planet set the Guinness Book of World Records of most high fives in one hour on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t just a killer opportunity to showcase another way that Bonnaroo stands out amongst festivals, it was an unexpected and adorable memory that we’ll carry with us for a long time. After properly achieving a by-the-book high-five (and Squish would be first to correct you if you did it incorrectly), participants were herded to a sea of clipboards where our John Hancock’s all eventually sealed the world record for little Squish.
4. The Amish Come….And They Bring Their Donuts
We need one right now.
5. Favorite Sets Fall All Across the Board
The answers you would get polling a crew of even similar people who all attended Bonnaroo regarding their favorite set probably wouldn’t have any overlapping answers. The dozens of top sets paired with the subjective experiences we all encountered during them create this completely random decision that each of us made.
Cherub closing out the Kalliope Stage with a sunrise set on Sunday morning was one of those. After Jai Wolf wrapped up his set broadcast to the crowds trickling in from Bassnectar, the SuperJam, and Flume, the duo made way to the tables perched on the second story of the stage. Kalliope had no advertised schedule outside of the hints via Twitter, but since most of our phones were dead it was pretty exciting to stumble onto this surprise.
The lights shooting towards the sky created what looked like a fountain levitating about the Kalliope letters, juxtaposed with the frequent pyrotechnics until just after the sun shone again on the Manchester grounds.
6. “m.A.A.d.” City Was So Nice, We Got It Twice
Debatable whether or not Kendrick Lamar actually meant it when he said, “I feel like y’all are tired.”
The How to Pimp a Butterfly artist launched back into “m.A.A.d. City” after singing it once through to ensure we were turned up to (fuck 9, fuck 10) all the way to 20. Fans around us were a little confused by the stunt, which got mixed reviews. Though compared to Kanye’s polarizing stage rants last year, Lamar was entertaining and drew the Bonnaroovians in on a more personal level. Hey, the dude just wants us to promise that we will, sing…about him.
7. The Sets You Have the Most Fun at Will Always Surprise You
Sometimes you just really dig a little Spoon and Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath. The lovechild of Black Sabbath covered by Brownout was a completely unexpected way to kick of Saturday afternoon. It just goes to show that genre preferences all melt together at this festival. There are so many different artists mixed in that fans aren’t pigeonholed (maybe just the guy in the mau5 head), and the opportunities to explore new acts are endless.
Florence + The Machine was another amazing artist that we didn’t necessarily focus our energies on seeing, but were completely blown away by her performance. Her stage presence was unlike we’ve ever seen before, bounding shoe-less across the stage and capturing our hearts with her unbelievable vocals.
8. Stage Rigs Don’t Malfunction Here
At least not for Deadmau5.
Sorry Gov Ball, but between the staccato stage cage’s debut in New York and the mau5’s Roo headlining set Friday night all the kinks, bugs, and space invaders had been smoothed into one seamless festival set, free of technical error. The multi-million dollar stage production broke open during the opener, “Avaritia”, to reveal the bouncing mau5 head. Throughout the show the semi-sphere would glide around the stage and split into quarters. We walked away talking about the mau5’s rework and hearing “Strobe” from start to finish though, not about the cage.
9. A Chinese Lantern Startled Billy Joel
Only at Bonnaroo, right? We know they’re horrible for the environment, but just this instance they served a pretty hilarious purpose. After several had been let into the sky during Joel’s headlining set on The What Stage Sunday night, one managed to catch his eye, and he candidly questioned the UFO. Fast forward to a couple quick riffs from the theme songs of The Twilight Zone and Star Wars, and Billy was back to giving what was easily the most legendary performance of the weekend. (Maybe competing with the great Robert Plant.) If it hadn’t ended 45 minutes early the set would have landed in the unofficial Bonnaroo Hall of Fame.
10. Age Is Just A Number
You’ve probably already seen Funny or Die’s episode of “Old People at Bonnaroo” where the 80+ year-old grandparents are shuffled around the fest, meeting artists and being exposed to the shenanigans of festival goers. Only at Bonnaroo. While that instance was a social experiment, take the Bonnagrannies and Squish for examples. They’re Bonnaroo celebrities who contribute to the event by adding an extra layer humanity to the experience. This event does an amazing job of shining credit on these attendees who don’t fit their typical demographic, and encourage people from all walks of life to come out and experience the Roo magic, contributing whatever uniqueness they have to the table.
11. You Stay a Bonnaroovian for Life – Take Moon Taxi for Example
Look at baby Trevor at the first Bonnaroo 13 years ago. Back then we bet he didn’t know he’d be entertaining a packed out crowd out the Which Stage, and earning rave reviews for it. Not only did this electronic jam band bring down the house with a funky opener complete with a metallic-silver balloon avalanche, but ended with a Rage Against the Machine cover. The dynamic dudes of Moon Taxi made many a fan on Friday afternoon, and we’re sure we’ll see these Bonnaroo lovers still playing the farm 20 years from now.
Connect with Bonnaroo:
https://www.facebook.com/bonnaroo
https://twitter.com/Bonnaroo
https://instagram.com/bonnaroo/
Photo Cred: Amish Baking Company Facebook, Consequence of Sound; Jeff Kravitz Photo, Zorn Photography
Share On
![Bonnaroo: The Glimmer of Positivity in a Dark World [Event Review]](https://whiteraverraft.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/Bonnaroo-1.png)
