Bonnaroo 2009

The 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will be held from Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14 at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tenn. The festival features a wide variety of musical acts, as well as comedians, visual artists and vendors. This year’s musical lineup is headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, and Nine Inch Nails. Other confirmed acts include Belmont favorites such as Wilco, Andrew Bird, MGMT, Girl Talk, of Montreal, Jenny Lewis, Okkervil River, and Animal Collective. More artists are still to be announced.

“The main reason I bought a ticket this year was because I had to see Springsteen,” said sophomore Stephen Turney.  “I’ve been wanting to see him for years and now I’ll get to see him in front of 30,000 people, which I imagine is probably the best way to see him. I also am really looking forward to seeing David Byrne, Wilco, Erykah Badu, the Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Neko Case, and Okkervil River.”

“I’m ecstatic that Phish is on the list,” sophomore Nick Floyd said. “Some people judge Bonnaroo by the headliners, but what really matters are those who are playing during the daytime. That having been said, I think this lineup is great and I will definitely have some scheduling conflicts…I’m looking forward to Gov’t Mule, Phish, Springsteen, Bela Fleck, and Rodrigo y Gabriela among others.”

Both Turney and Floyd are returning attendees of the festival, which has been running every year since 2002.

“Most Bonnaroo memories are made around the campsite,” said Floyd. “I’m lucky enough to go with an ever-growing group of friends and family from home, and each year it gets better. It’s almost like picking up a conversation we left a year ago. There is a definite level of camaraderie at Bonnaroo. Yeah, the music is amazing, but that slow walk back to the tent as the sun rises while everyone yells profanities about the very late Kanye West is what memories are made of.”

Bonnaroo is a camping festival, held on a 700-acre farm. Roughly 100,000 people attend every year. Some stay in hotels or RVs, but many camp out for the weekend.

“Must have [camping] items include above all a tarp, preferably a really big one that you can spread out to give you shade,” Turney said.  “If you don’t have a tarp, you will probably be miserable at your campsite.”

“You need a tent of course, but also bring enough sleeping gear to ensure a comfortable night’s rest,” Floyd added.  “Sometimes it’s hard to sleep beyond 8 a.m. due to the weather, and if you hadn’t crawled in the sleeping bag until 3 a.m. that morning, you are going to need the most solid sleep you can get.”

Tickets for the festival are currently on sale. General admission tickets are available for $249.50. VIP packages are $1,349.50 per pair of tickets.