There's a music festival for every taste and every counter culture in America and Europe. Smaller festivals can average 5000 people while larger festivals attract 100000 or more. I've visited a few festivals but none of them compare to the one and only Bonnaroo. This year I volunteered for a few days on the farm and got to experience the magic first hand.
This year's headliners were great. LCD Soundystem, Pearl Jam, and Dead & Co. I felt butterflys when I found out the lineup, and read through names of great musicians. Some I knew and some I knew I would grow to love.
I knew that I wanted to volunteer this year so my husband and I signed up as soon as the applications came out. I signed up for Festival Activities Croo so that we would be able to interact with other Bonnaroovians. We were assigned to the Roo Run and Slip N Slide. Both were excellent jobs that I would love to be involved with again next year. Slip N Slide was definitely the most fun, we got to stay cool, play with the Roo kids, and even be close enough to catch artists in The Other Tent.
Camping at Bonnaroo is amazing no matter if you are in the GA or Volunteer camp grounds. I've been on both sides of the fence, and I can definitely say the volunteers party a lot harder. A lot of volunteers return year after year and it is a close group, even if you are a first timer. I met up with an amazing group from around the country thanks to Facebook and social media. It was such a surreal feeling to automatically be so close to these cool kids. We all came from different corners of the country, even this one beautiful Canadian lass. But we all had music in common and a desire to live life to the fullest. We showed eachother our party techniques, worked to build a camp together, shared our supplies and looked out for eachother when we were down for the count. That's a love you don't get at other festivals. A community only Bonnaroo offers. I'm truly blessed to have met such a great new fest fam. And I can't wait to travel with them again.
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| Panorama of the field before Dead & Co |
But back to the music. My top two showes this year were the headliners Pearl Jam and Dead & Co. I've dreamed of seeing both of them since I was a kid, something only Bonnaroo can deliver. Pearl Jam rocked, they rocked hard. Apparently it was Eddie's daughters birthday. Hubby and I showed up with a few other friends, but they left to see another set, and that gave up the opportunity to dash up toward the center front. Another beautiful thing about Roo and other festivals is that you can get so close to your favorite artists. With a little patience and timing, you can be on the rail for nearly any set. The Dead & Co show was a spiritual experience. I loved the show but the people were producing this vibrating energy of love during it that attracted me more than the performers on stage. I met some beautiful souls in that field that night. And saw some spectacular sights, but what happens at Roo stays at Roo and those stories are only for our fest fam.
I will return to Bonnaroo again. Maybe in 2017 but I still have to see where my travels take me. While Roo will always feel like a place of peaceful self expression, I know there is more to see and do in this wonderful world. I use Bonnaroo as an inspiration for everything I do in my life now. And it has put a fire in me to travel and meet people and bring as much happiness and peace to this world as I can. I hope you get the chance to experience that magic of Bonnaroo for yourself!
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