Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo in 2013!!
Jam bands bring the the friendliest fans this is a fact, Roo will continue this route forever and ever, they are more worried about selling tickets then anything else. go to a smaller festival and it is a lot harder for people to be a smurf and get away with it.
Boy, that's just not true. Jam bands don't factually bring the friendliest fans.
Jam bands bring the the friendliest fans this is a fact, Roo will continue this route forever and ever, they are more worried about selling tickets then anything else. go to a smaller festival and it is a lot harder for people to be a smurf and get away with it.
Jam bands bring the the friendliest fans this is a fact, Roo will continue this route forever and ever, they are more worried about selling tickets then anything else. go to a smaller festival and it is a lot harder for people to be a smurf and get away with it.
I'm not sure about jamband fans being the friendliest. Sure some are ok but I've met tons who are complete donkeys.
Also, I might note, just because someone "looks" like a frat boy doesn't mean they are or that they fit that stereotype. I have plenty of friends (some in frats and some not) that like that kind of music, they just dress and act "fratty". I met a lot of people (most from Colorado, actually) that looks liked jocks but once talking to them they knew more about the music and Bonnaroo then I did.
Also, at least personally, I don't know of many toolbags/fratboys that would travel and camp in Tennessee for 4 days just to see a couple bands they liked.
Overall, I thought the crowd was cleaner than other festies (Rothbury) or scenes (Phish, Bisco) but still had a friendly atmosphere. I felt that most people fell into the liberal college-aged crowd that didn't follow Phish/Panic around but checked them out whenever they were within driving distance of them. And I'd take that over the sketchy scene that is associated with All Good, GOTV, etc.
I read critics who say Bonnaroo has moved from a jamband festival to a European style festival. Having never been to Glastonbury or Roskilde or Isle of Wight or whatever, I don't know. I do know I saw much less sketchiness this year but people were still really into the music and having a good time. I was really kind of surprised at how similar the crowd was to past years, with a couple of exceptions. I thought the crowd was older (but maybe the oldsters just gathered at the shows I saw) and there was a lot more diversity.
Post by questionablesanity on Jun 15, 2010 13:03:45 GMT -5
I'm with Jess, I'll have to see the lineup before I go next year. The farm was just different. Maybe it was the lack of wooks? I felt a little out of place on Thursday and Friday for some reason. I, too, had to pass the frat boys on top of their RV all weekend getting drunk and listening to awful music 90% of the time. The trash they left there was ridiculous. When we went up front for Franti, the trash was just disgusting. I don't understand people who can't pick up their own trash.
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
Post by itrainmonkeys on Jun 15, 2010 13:08:10 GMT -5
I've had plenty of jamband fans/hippy looking folk push their way to the front of a crowd after showing up 5 minutes after the set started. I can't stand people acting like the hippies/wooks are totally cool and don't do anything summers breezey. They are people just like everyone else and get selfish at some points and can be donkeys at some points.
Post by bamadancer on Jun 15, 2010 13:09:17 GMT -5
Well. I didn't attend Bonnaroo this year and that was a personal decision due to my taste in the lineup.
I did go to Wakarusa, which could be considered a "jam band" festival...and honestly, I didn't see anyone get in a fight, anyone get arrested, anyone fall out/have a seizure/etc, or any issues really. The biggest issue we had was our neighbors playing loud shizzy dubstep at 4 AM. Is this because of the crowd size? The crowd type? The people there being more "festy" types? Who knows. I knew there was a bad element there - I saw lots of cartridges/balloons on the ground, etc....but overall I really felt like the community was different.
I'm sure it's because of the popularity of the festival, and of course the "OMG YOU CAN TOTALLY GO TO BONNAROO AND DO AS MANY DRUQS AS YOU WANT AND PARTY HARD AND MAYBE SEE A FEW BANDS" word that gets around. I know because it heard it with my friends, and I'm sure it's common.
The plus side to all of this is that IF bonnaroo chooses to book different, jammier acts next year, the Quackers who just came for KoL/Jay-Z/DMB probably won't come back. But the decent people who were first-timers this year may just realize what they've experienced and decide to come back. And I feel like the festival is better for it...
Out of the 8 Bonnaroos that I have attended, I ran into less sketchiness and as many or more friendly, nice people this year than in the other 7. I love jambands but if not having a jam headliner means keeping out the sketchy wooks and the people who in years past have taken stuff from my and my neighbors' campsites, then keep booking bands like KOL and DMB and Jay Z (who incidently I loved). Maybe I was just lucky, but this year I was very impressed with the crowd.
Plus it seemed like at the shows I went to, there were fewer people forcing through the crowd to get closer than in years past which I liked. Maybe with the heat people were happier to hang back or something, but I really didn't experience the pushiness of in years past.
I don't think it's as much a decline in the jamband community at roo as it is a general decline in the jamband community in general. The genre will never be dead but it just isn't surging like it did in the 90's. There isn't a cut-and-dry leader like pre-hiatus Phish and pre-death of Mike Houser Widespread Panic. I love jambands, but I'm not fixated on them. Give me some metal and punk and bluegrass and old school country and some R&B too, I'm happy. If it were all jambands all the time like in 02-03, most of us would have become bored with the same bands playing every year and we'd stop going, lots of people would stop going, and there would be no bonnaroo for all of us to earn back some daily grind sanity points.
Post by benrdsknrd on Jun 15, 2010 13:23:45 GMT -5
I think that there is still hope for Bonnaroo. Even though the jams were few and far between, the vibe was still there. With so many college kids getting drunk in the Tennessee sun, one might expect to see a few Un-Roo moments like fights or hostility of some sort. I really didn't see anything of the sort. As long as Bonnaroo doesn't become the Lollapalooza of the south, there's still hope. Let's pray that Bonnaroo sticks to their roots and keeps the vibe alive.
Really my stance on all the things is that I'm not really bummed that there is a considerable decline in the jamband community, its just the type of folk from that community and those like it, i.e. hardcore music lovers were in what I experienced this year alot less represented than the previous three years I had gone to Bonnaroo. This may be a matter of a ton of people going to this first Bonnaroo and not getting into the groove of things, because every single person I met except one were at their first Bonnaroo, the lone exception was his second. Its just this year I didn't feel at home at all and felt like I was a guest in someone's house.
However don't take this the wrong way though. I still love Bonnaroo with all my heart. It is like a second home to me and I hope to visit every year I can. I hope that in the 10th anniversary AC Entertainment and Superfly Productions pulls out all the stops for Roo 2011. I really do hope to see all you back next year.
Really my stance on all the things is that I'm not really bummed that there is a considerable decline in the jamband community, its just the type of folk from that community and those like it, i.e. hardcore music lovers were in what I experienced this year alot less represented than the previous three years I had gone to Bonnaroo. This may be a matter of a ton of people going to this first Bonnaroo and not getting into the groove of things, because every single person I met except one were at their first Bonnaroo, the lone exception was his second. Its just this year I didn't feel at home at all and felt like I was a guest in someone's house.
However don't take this the wrong way though. I still love Bonnaroo with all my heart. It is like a second home to me and I hope to visit every year I can. I hope that in the 10th anniversary AC Entertainment and Superfly Productions pulls out all the stops for Roo 2011. I really do hope to see all you back next year.
I still maintain that there were a lot of us hardcore music lovers there this year there just weren't a lot of hardcore jamband lovers. You can be a hardcore music lover and not really care for jambands.
Post by stallion pt. 2 on Jun 15, 2010 13:58:20 GMT -5
And the "jamband fans are the crunchiest, headyst nicest people in the world" myth continues.
Seriously, I guess me and the rest of the "non-jam-band fans" just aren't as cool as you. This is a fact.
Personally, I thought the crowd was pretty tame this year and most people seemed to be there to see their favorite bands. There were also a LOT more young ladies there this year, which I have no problem with. So we'll continue to debate the entirely subjective experience of the demographics at Bonnaroo, and I'll just keep going and having a great time with whomever happens to be around me, regardless of the music they like.
John: We don't even understand our own music Spider: It doesn't, does it matter whether we understand it? At least it'll give us . . . strength John: I know but maybe we could get into it more if we understood it
The ratio of hipsters, young kids, frat bro's and schwag hippies to interesting, quirky souls was a little saddening this year. I still managed to meet some very memorable characters from hanging out mostly in the campgrounds rather than in Shakedown and Centeroo. There is still a rich culture present, it's just becoming more underground (maybe due to the security/police crackdown).
This should have been inevitable to us all. In order to keep its jamband/hippie roots alive and well, Bonnaroo management would have to maintain a love more of the music than the money. Greed has apparently overcome them. Why would they keep the festival smaller and oriented on more original music when they can attract rich hipsters with more popular (and usually more mediocre) acts such as Kanye and Metallica that lead us away from what Bonnaroo was originally born to be? It's all about money...
I'm keeping optimistic though. Us heads will always be around, just maybe in smaller numbers and a little less visible. Let's just hope they at least try to keep some good music next year.
i'm not too bummed that the 'crunchy jamband wooks' are absent at bonnaroo. i've been to a couple of deerfields fests where there was literally nothing but spun out wooks and man i felt extremely out of place. being around nothing but spun out wooks wears thin after a day.
i wasn't at bonnaroo this year so my thoughts may not be viable. but ive been reading this board all over the place yesterday and today. and it just seems that when two old bonnaroo favorites, medeski martin & wood and galactic, have less than half full tents, that just shows a large pecentage of attendees were probably there for the first time and there to see other poo. you don't have to be a jamband fan to love great music like mmw and galactic, but come on! less than half full?!
I went to go see The Melvins, Isis, Dan Deacon, and The National this year, I think its safe to say that I am not a jam band fan in the slightest, even though I did go see Umphrey's, Galactic and MMW. Its just those shows weren't as high energy from the crowd as I have seen or heard from them in the past, thats all. The worst kind of folk at festivals are sketchy wooks, we all know that. Don't make me out as a person who thinks they are better than others by the music I listen to, I'm not that kind of guy.
you don't have to be a jamband fan to love great music like mmw and galactic, but come on! less than half full?!
from what i heard during the fest galactic had a pretty decent sized crowd, but you have to remember that they were against LCD and a very packed hip hop late night tent. EDIT: also they were up against the Crystal Method on lunar, and i heard that there was a massive crowd there for that.
and MMW was against Phoenix who had the biggest Which stage crowd ive seen in my 3 years there and also Zac Brown Band who has a pretty big following.
i think that the smaller then normal crowds had to do with conflicts more then people not caring about those acts.
Last Edit: Jun 15, 2010 14:18:39 GMT -5 by Guest - Back to Top
Post by CincyRooJF on Jun 15, 2010 14:13:46 GMT -5
The time period that MMW was on was conflict hell for me. I wanted to see Phoenix with my GF, ZBB, MMW, and Rise Against. I went to Rise Against and it was one of the best acts of the weekend for me. That was just a really bad time of day for MMW. They were a would like to band for me but there were too many conflicts.
Other than that the weather took a GIANT toll on my energy for the entire weekend.
I'm not trying to be mean but a lot of people that I know act like you can't be a music lover if you don't like jambands and it drives me crazy.
i think that the smaller then normal crowds had to do with conflicts more then people not caring about those acts.
this is probably so. and a band that plays bonnaroo as consistently as galactic risks overexposure to where many people's mindsets are "eh i'll catch 'em next year."
This thread is really about The Decline of Music Lovers at Bonnaroo and has nothing to do with jam bands. It takes a certain love of music to appreciate extended instrumental improvisation and that's where the jam scene intersects with the music geek scene. I hold to my assertion that the lineup caused a lot of turnover in the roo-attending audience, but many of the first-timers will be back next year and will be more geeky about music by then.
This thread is really about The Decline of Music Lovers at Bonnaroo and has nothing to do with jam bands. It takes a certain love of music to appreciate extended instrumental improvisation and that's where the jam scene intersects with the music geek scene. I hold to my assertion that the lineup caused a lot of turnover in the roo-attending audience, but many of the first-timers will be back next year and will be more geeky about music by then.
True. I met a lot of people there who were first timers, and even more who were returning after last year being their first. I was 22 for my first Roo and I'm 30 now, and the crowd has seem to age backwards as I get older. Give the newer roors a few more years and (some of) their appreciation of the musical aspects of the fest will grow. And there will always be people there just to get f*cked up and party, be they spun wooks or drunken frat goons.
John: We don't even understand our own music Spider: It doesn't, does it matter whether we understand it? At least it'll give us . . . strength John: I know but maybe we could get into it more if we understood it
This thread is really about The Decline of Music Lovers at Bonnaroo and has nothing to do with jam bands. It takes a certain love of music to appreciate extended instrumental improvisation and that's where the jam scene intersects with the music geek scene. I hold to my assertion that the lineup caused a lot of turnover in the roo-attending audience, but many of the first-timers will be back next year and will be more geeky about music by then.
True. I met a lot of people there who were first timers, and even more who were returning after last year being their first. I was 22 for my first Roo and I'm 30 now, and the crowd has seem to age backwards as I get older. Give the newer roors a few more years and (some of) their appreciation of the musical aspects of the fest will grow. And there will always be people there just to get f*cked up and party, be they spun wooks or drunken frat goons.
Hey man it was nice to meet you btw. I agree 100% I was 27 my first year and 33 now the crowd does age backwards.
The ratio of hipsters, young kids, frat bro's and schwag hippies to interesting, quirky souls was a little saddening this year.
Hipsters, young kids, and people in fraternities can't be interesting or quirky? Did you try getting to know any or just look at them and assume since they aren't your kind they are losers and don't deserve to be viewed as a an individual person but rather someone who's ruining Bonnaroo?
I'm tired of people acting like only hippies/jam band fans/people with dreads belong at Bonnaroo and everyone else should stay out.
The ratio of hipsters, young kids, frat bro's and schwag hippies to interesting, quirky souls was a little saddening this year. I still managed to meet some very memorable characters from hanging out mostly in the campgrounds rather than in Shakedown and Centeroo. There is still a rich culture present, it's just becoming more underground (maybe due to the security/police crackdown).
This should have been inevitable to us all. In order to keep its jamband/hippie roots alive and well, Bonnaroo management would have to maintain a love more of the music than the money. Greed has apparently overcome them. Why would they keep the festival smaller and oriented on more original music when they can attract rich hipsters with more popular (and usually more mediocre) acts such as Kanye and Metallica that lead us away from what Bonnaroo was originally born to be? It's all about money...
I'm keeping optimistic though. Us heads will always be around, just maybe in smaller numbers and a little less visible. Let's just hope they at least try to keep some good music next year.
You have no idea what hipsters actually listen to do you?
I'm going to have to see the lineup for next year before purchasing simply because the cost is getting up there and I have other things to spend my money on (rent, bills, etc).
It is all about the money. Bonnaroo is a business. The money is what keeps them coming back every year and the money they bring to Coffee County allows the community to be happy and allow them to return.
Roo needs money to continue. A lot of festivals fold because of financial problems. You think that Phish or the Dead or String Cheese would show up to play Bonnaroo if they weren't being paid enormous amounts for their services?
Post by jimmyjamesx5 on Jun 15, 2010 16:29:21 GMT -5
Let me say this first before the viral attack on my post begins, I'm sure the roo this years was the best one yet if you went, not all people who listens to jambands makes the cool, or sweet, or just cause your a frat guy and listen to DMB that Does NOT make you a duchbag. I judge people how they treat me and how they treat other people, it sounds like there were plenty of good to great people at roo, and it only takes a couple of leno heads to ruin somebodies roo. the fact of the matter is your just more likely to get into fights and violence where the music condones that type of behavior, nor am i saying that jamband fans never get into fights. I listen bluegrass my favorite to metal and electronic such as gwar and crystal method and have seen many a fight break out at a gwar concert but never at and jamband concert, Phish, the Dead, SCI,ect. There seem to me an ever growing number of people who have there festival ruined, i in no way blame Bonnaroo, but the number of people 75,000 your just bound to get at least 10,000 leno head just on the math alone.
