The Bonnaroo Music Festival, or Bonnaroo for short, is an annual rock festival first held June 21, 22, and 23, 2002. The festival is held on a 600 acre (2.4 km²) farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee.

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Since its inception in 2002, Bonnaroo has become a landmark event revered as “Festival of the Year” by Pollstar, Spin, Billboard and Rolling Stone, among other accolades. A four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700 acre (2.8 km²) farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the event’s first three annual installments each sold out up to 90,000 tickets with no traditional advertising—an unprecedented achievement. The event has spawned a host of related products, including festival merchandise, several volumes of live CDs, and a series of DVD documentaries, the first of which reached gold status within five months of its release date. With headliners like Dave Matthews & Friends, The Dead, Trey Anastasio, Bob Dylan, and Widespread Panic, Bonnaroo features many of the top artists in the grassroots rock genre, along with hosts of acts in complementary styles such as jazz, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, hip hop and electronica. Bonnaroo programming combines the richness of roots traditions with the freshness of the cutting edge, combining many styles and formats into one dynamic experience. In its three years of existence, a staggering range of artists have performed at Bonnaroo, from veteran legends such as James Brown, Neil Young, and Emmylou Harris, to hip-hop groups like Jurassic 5 and The Roots, to eclectic singer-songwriters Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. Hailed among critics and fans for its near-flawless logistics, peaceful vibe, and progressive lineup, Bonnaroo features 8 music stages and a 100 acre (400,000 m²) entertainment village. Bonnaroo takes on the microcosmic economy and infrastructure of a small city. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival buzzes with round-the-clock attractions and activities including a classic arcade, cinema, comedy club, theater performers, beer festival, playground, kids area, artist workshops, yoga classes, and a music technology village, not to mention over a hundred vendors, cafes, and concessionaires providing high quality crafts and foods. In 2002, Rolling Stone called Bonnaroo “the most ambitious festival of the year.” In 2003, the same publication named it “the American rock festival to end all festivals.” With aggressive programming and staunch support from the market, the event quickly evolved from its status as the culmination of the jam band movement into a cultural movement of its own. With headliners Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews and Friends, and Bob Dylan, and over 90 artists and attractions supporting, Bonnaroo 2004 drew 90,000 loyal fans and further critical acclaim. The New York Times noted, “Bonnaroo, in just its third year, has already revolutionized the modern rock festival.” In a special issue of Rolling Stone, Bonnaroo was named one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock’n’roll. Taken from *Bonnaroo Music Festival Website (http://www.bonnaroo.com/)

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In 2002, more than 70,000 fans attended the festival. In 2003, more than 80,000 people attended the festival. In 2004, more than 90,000 people attended the festival.

The festival is a mix of music primarily dominated by jam bands but also including hip hop, and other alternative music.

In 2003, the festival was held June 13, 14, and 15. In 2004, the festival was held June 11, 12, and 13. In 2003, the Bonnaroo organizers planned a festival called Bonnaroo New England to take place in Riverhead, Long Island, New York. This festival was cancelled in the weeks leading up to the event due to concern about securing permits in time.

The 2004 festival had torrential rains, creating an incredibly large amount of mud. Many vehicles had to be towed out of the parking area.

Bonnaroo lineups by year

2002: Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh and Friends w/ very special guest Bob Weir, Galactic, Trey Anastasio, Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer, DJ Logic, Les Clapyool's Flying Frog Brigade, Amon Tobin, Old Crow Medicine Show, Soulive, Gov't Mule, Jim White, Umphrey's McGee, Gran Torino, The Big Wu, Donna The Buffalo, Acoustic Syndicate, Keller Willams Incident, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Ben Harper, Cut Chemist, String Cheese Incident, John Bulter Trio, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Jack Johnson, Jurassic 5, The Del Mcoury Band, Drums & Tube, Lil' Rascals Brass Band, Disco Biscuits, LLama, Col. Bruce Hampton & The Code Talkers, Particle, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, moe., Corey Harris, Ween, North Mississippi Allstars, Vinroc, Z-Trip, Mofro, Gabe Dixon, Norah Jones, Campbell Brothers, Dottie Peoples, Blind Boys of Alabama

2003: The Dead, Widespread Panic, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, James Brown, The Allman Brothers Band, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Jack Johnson, moe., Galactic, The Flaming Lips, The Roots, Lucinda Williams, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Emmylou Harris, Medeski Martin & Wood, Sonic Youth, The funky Meters, Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon, Joshua Redman, Yonder Mountain String Band, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, The Wailers, Nickel Creek, G. Love and Special Sauce, Tortoise, Liz Phair, Sound Tribe Sector 9, O.A.R., North Mississippi Allstars, Warren Haynes, Keller Williams, Garage A Trois, Ben Kweller, Mix Master Mike, Ekoostik Hookah, Polyphonic Spree, Kid Koala, Z-Trip, Particle, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Josh Wink, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, The Slip, Cyro Baptista's Beat the Donkey, DJ Spooky, Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, The New Deal, RJD2, My Morning Jacket, Topaz, phonosycograph DJ.DISK, DJ.Disk & The Filthy Ape, Vusi Mahlasela of Amandla!, Drive-By Truckers, Hackensaw Boys, Mark Farina, Robinella & the CC String Band, Buddahead, Kaki King, RAQ, Jason Mraz, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Josh Kelley, Gavin Degraw, Indecision, Iouque, Rebirth Brass Band.

2004: Los Lonely Boys, Calexico, mrnorth, New Monsoon, Xavier Rudd, Yonder Mountain String Band, Neko Case, The Black Keys, Simple Kid, JoJo & His Mojo Mardi Gras Band, Wilco, Ani DiFranco, North Mississippi Allstars, Patti Smith, Nellie McKay, MOFRO, Bob Dylan, The String Cheese Incident, Chris Robinson & The New Earth Mud, Mike Doughty's Band, Gillian Welch, Yo La Tengo, Dave Matthews & Friends, Praxis, Vida Blue feat. The Spam Allstars, Umphrey's McGee, The X-ecutioners, Danger Mouse, Los Lobos, Hackensaw Boys, Kings of Leon, Blue Merle, Erin Mckeown, Acoustic Syndicate, Gomez, Grandaddy, Rachel Yamagata, Mindy Smith, Gov't Mule, My Morning Jacket, Del McCoury, Beth Orton, Robert Earl Keen, Iouque, Sam Bush Band, Steve Winwood, Galactic, Jem, Jazz Mandolin Project, Doc Watson, Damien Rice, The Dead, Ween, Primus, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Cut Chemist, Cut Chemist presents Funky Sole, Burning Spear, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Leftover Salmon, Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Protizos, Marc Broussard, deSoL, Taj Mahal, The Bad Plus, Antigone Rising, Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven, Donavon Frankenreiter, moe., Femi Kuti, Barbara Cue, Soulive, Guster, Addison Groove Project, David Byrne, Medeski Martin & Wood, SuperJam, Material, The Radiators, Trey Anastasio.

External links

• Bonnaroo Music Festival Website (http://www.bonnaroo.com/)