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Bonnaroo’s 15th Anniversary Was One For The Ages [Event Review]

June 22, 2016 By Rebecca Victory

If you’ve ever been to Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, you know the atmosphere is nothing short of magical. This year’s 15^th anniversary was four days of beautiful people, amazing music, fun activities, and unforgettable memories. Everyone knows ‘Roo is one of the hottest (if not the hottest) festivals of the summer, with it being on a farm in the middle of Tennessee. However, that never takes away from the wonderful memories being made that weekend.

Photo Credit: Bonnaroo Facebook

Bonnaroo consisted of six stages, three of which were in tents. The What Stage and Which Stage were the largest of the bunch. The What Stage, which had the words “Bonnaroo” glowing brightly over it like a constellation in the night sky, was the main stage and it hosted acts such as Pearl Jam and Dead & Company. This stage didn’t have much shade around it because there weren’t any trees, but it was worth it just to stand in the gleaming sun and see the amazing acts performing. The Which Stage had a giant question mark over the soundboard to differentiate it from the What Stage, and it also had trees around it, supplying a little shade. Both stages, the What and the Which, were surrounded by numerous food vendors of various types, so you never went hungry.

There were so many options: BBQ, chicken, corn dogs, ice cream, and my personal favorite, Spicy Pie Pizza. My time spent at these two stages was time well spent, and with the additions of two permanent bathrooms inside Centeroo, you can now relax in air conditioning and wash your hands while you’re inside the venue. The Kalliope stage played the NHL finals and World Cup games during the day, but at night it became the center of music, with 70,000 watts of bass. This Tent, That Tent, and The Other Tent were Bonnaroo’s other three tents used to host artists such as Adventure Club, RL Grime, The Floozies, Zeds Dead and more. The tents were large and flowing like a circus had come to town, packed with people of all kinds who had all joined together to celebrate this 15th anniversary of magic.

The music began Thursday evening as the sun was beaming down on the farm with a performance by The Floozies, closing out This Tent for the evening. I arrived at The Floozies about ten minutes after they began, and they were in full throttle. The entire crowd was vibing from one song to the next as the lasers pointed throughout the sea of people. They performed many old crowd favorites, as well as a new tune, “Summer Fling.” The This Tent was the place to be on Thursday night for this show.

Earlier that evening, GRiZ tweeted that he would be performing a surprise DJ set at the Kalliope stage on Thursday night at 2:00 am. After discovering this, we made our way to the Kalliope stage after The Floozies finished and waited impatiently like children waiting in line at Disney World. GRiZ came on at 2:00 am, beginning with the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song. “Are you ready, kids?” His DJ set was amazing and fun, with remixes ranging from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Snoop Dogg.

Photo Credit: Flosstradamus Facebook

Friday featured a set from Flosstradamus in That Tent, which was nothing short of incredible. They took the tent by storm with tracks such as “Soundclash”, a Fetty Wap “My Way” remix, and “Mosh Pit”, which made the crowd go wild. Flosstradamus turned That Tent into a mosh pit of itself on Friday night with their killer set.

Zeds Dead closed out This Tent with a mind-blowing set full of classics, as well as some new tunes, such as “Collapse”, a “Lean On” remix, “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop”, and so many more. I have seen Zeds Dead before, but I have never seen a crowd this hype at one of their shows. Everyone was vibing together and so into it, we were moving together like waves crashing on the shore. The crowd threw their Z’s up with smiles on their faces while DC and Hooks ended night two of Bonnaroo with a bang.

Expectations were high for RL Grime at The Other Tent on Saturday night, and he did not disappoint. After a short lightning delay, he came back with a vengeance. I felt as if I was the only person in the crowd and RL Grime was playing directly to me, and his music was flowing through my body like a river flowing intently after a storm. He played hits such as “Love Sosa”, “Acrylics”, “Core” and more, pleasing the crowd with every drop.

Photo Credit: Adventure Club Facebook

Adventure Club closed out Saturday night in The Other Tent, performing classics like “Crave You”, “Wonder”, and they ended their set with “Limitless”. It was magical, and the crowd was nothing less. It was the perfect set to end the night with. Adventure Club is one of the best in my books, and I don’t think you should ever miss an opportunity to witness them throw down.

Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival was full of amazing people who I enjoyed spending my four days on the farm with. You’ll meet many diverse types of people on the farm because of the diversity on the lineup, and the wide array of people the talent attracts. I made new friends while also making amazing memories with old ones, and it was overall a breathtaking experience.