Bonnaroo
Saturday, June 9th, the third day of Bonnaroo 2018 dawned warm and sunny. As the morning sunshine transformed into sweltering afternoon concertgoers flocked to shady spots and the Centeroo fountain to cool down any way they could. The hottest day of the festival was also the most crowded, with cars full of new festival goers pouring in all day long. Despite two days of nonstop partying many in the crowd were still in an eager and festive mood and most of the entertainment venues began to fill up by the afternoon.
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The final day of Bonnaroo 2018 began with an intense morning thunderstorm. Loud thunder booms and cracking lightning strikes gave way to short, intense downpours over several hours. Nervous concertgoers took shelter anywhere they could find, many in their cars. Exhausted by three non-stop days of intense partying many others began heading home. But by afternoon the sun came out painting the high clouds in multiple colors, and the festival resumed almost entirely on schedule.
The 17th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off amidst gorgeous late spring weather conditions, in the rural Manchester Tennessee countryside, on June 7th. The unique festival has struggled to maintain its distinctive identity in a world smothered with ever increasing cookie cutter festivals. This year's festival felt like it had turned the corner in providing a unique experience to its participants while maintaining its relevance in an ever-changing pop music demographic and landscape.
Friday, June 8th was the first full day of Bonnaroo 2018. While hardcore EDM fans were just beginning to take a nap in the hot morning sunshine, early bird music fans were waking up to a full day of activities. Centeroo exploded with life expanding massively with the opening of the main stage area.
As day 4 of Bonnaroo 2017 dawned warm and humid, four days on nearly nonstop celebration began to take its toll on exhausted concert goers. Some began to pack up their campsites and headed to the exits to get an early start on their long treks homeward. Many others just collapsed in any cool shady spot they could find for a long-delayed sleep.
One of the unique aspects of the Bonnaroo music festival is the much anticipated Superjam. The legendary jam has seen some of the most interesting mashups in modern music history over the years, some more than successful than others. Occasionally the sessions have gone on into the first rays of sunshine of the following morning.
By the afternoon of day 3 of Bonnaroo 2017, the festival began to heat up in every way possible. The temperature warmed up to the mid-80s, a more average level for summer in Tennessee, with climbing humidity. Lots of young exposed body parts bronzed in the summer sun as music fans stripped down to the bare essentials and sought relief from the afternoon sun in shady spots and air-conditioned venues like the cinema comedy tent. The beer tent was doing a brisk business selling microbrews from over 3o different breweries.
On Thursday, June eighth the Bonnaroo music festival opened the gates to Centeroo, graced with the nicest weather forecast in the events sixteen-year history. With temperatures topping out in the 70s and much cooler lows in the sleeping hours it was a nearly perfect day. The weather forecast predicted slowly warming temperatures over the four-day festival, below seasonal averages and a near zero chance of rain. In past years temperatures had wreaked havoc on concert goers, even topping the century mark one year.
A few hours before U2 played their first concert as a headline act at an American music festival, guitarist The Edge was honored by the founders of Bonnaroo at a special presentation. The Les Paul Spirit Award was given to the Irish rocker which is printed annually by the Les Paul Foundation, to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the late, Les Paul through innovation in music and technology.
