Adieu, Bonnaroo.

First off, a vocabulary lesson. Does anyone know what the word “Bonnaroo” even means? Yes, little Johnny over in the corner, what meaning does this jibberish convey? Very good, very good. This term from the Ninth Ward in NoLa became well-known when New Orleans R&B magnate Dr. John named his 1974 album “Densitively Bonnaroo.” He wanted his title to let people know his music was a real good time – and that’s what it’s slang for. Example: “Damn, man, that party last night was Bonnaroo!” or, “Dude – no TV show is as bonnaroo as Planet Earth. No, not even Life. I can’t listen to Oprah’s voice for that long.”

So Bonnaroo 2010 is done and gone, having completed it’s ninth run last weekend on the same sprawling farmland property in Manchester, Tennessee. The draw of this music and arts fest is huge, and it’s central location makes it accessible for a shitload of people.

Here in California, Coachella is our big famous music festival. It gets a lot of attendance, but you have to take into consideration – California is somewhat isolated in the way that one huge long side of the state is bordered by an ocean. Bonnaroo, however, takes place in landlocked Tennessee, it’s location beckons attendees from all across the south, midwest and east coast. The Empire Polo Fields, where Coachella takes place, is 90 acres – Bonnaroo’s venue is 700 acres. Coachella 90, Bonnaroo 700. 90, 700. Now that I have emasculated Coachella, let’s move on.

At its outset, Bonnaroo primarily focused on jam bands, a-la Dave Matthews, the John Butler Trio, Jack Johnson and the like. Now, however, music of all styles is showcased on each the festival’s many stages – a smart thing to do when your event spans four entire days. I have to be honest with you – upon viewing this year’s lineup of musical and comedy acts I peed my pants with excitement. It was only a little bit, but I guess any amount of pee in the pants is too much pee in the pants for a 24 year old female.

Anyways, back to the lineup. Bonnaroo 2010 featured performances from Stevie effing Wonder, Tenacious D, Damien Marley & Nas, Thievery Corporation, Phoenix and, my favorite band of all time, The Black Keys. Of course, there were about 200 other bands and comedians that did their thang on the stage, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thoroughly pissed off to learn my boyfriend’s college graduation was to take place that same weekend. C’est  la vie…I’ll just have to hope that I can have another opportunity to see the Keys and Stevie Wonder in the same weekend at the same venue for one ticket fee some other time in my life. Fuck.

Though music is the top attraction of Bonnaroo, this unique festival also has a huge commitment to sustainability and the green movement. The environmental facet of B-r00 is manifest in a number of different ways – take, for example the Bonnaroo Victory Garden, where you can take classes on gardening basics, composting, and other ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The festival organizers also encourage food vendors to locally-source the ingredients for their tasty treats, incorporate sources of renewable energy to power the fest, and even facilitate a well-water system to reduce bottled-water waste. Groovy, man.

If you are a regular reader of Best of Fest, you may have seen our shameless efforts to win tickets to Bonnaroo when we posted about the festival back in April. Awesomely enough, that post caught the eye of one of the organizers of the Crunch Den, a Wheat Thins-sponsored tent that gives fest-goers a place to sit down, chill out, chow down on some ‘Thins and watch some pop-up performances up-close and personal.

Sadly, we didn’t get to experience any of the Crunch Den action due to the fact that we didn’t get to experience any Bonnaroo action (don’t remind me), but our new pal sent us over some vids that give a great feel of what we missed out on. Some of the bands that cameo’d in the Crunch Den include The Moondoggies, Frontier Ruckus, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Langhorne Slim, Frank Turner, Everest, Red Cortez, and Comedian Baron Vaughn. Check out the video here:

It seems that we at Best of Fest have an affinity for missing out on the biggest music festivals of the year…THIS year, at least. You bet your boots we’ll be doing whatever we can to show up next year. Until then, peace, love and Bonnaroo.

Keep it festive,
Lauren