Each June, sleepy little Manchester, Tenn., gets supernaturally loud. For the past eight years, the town has been the unlikely home of America’s best summer music festival, Bonnaroo, held on a 700-acre farm 60 miles outside Nashville.
This year a record number of people (nearly 80,000) set up camp for Bonnaroo. Just imagine what that many people sound like. Then consider that at any given time there are 10 bands playing at stages close enough for the sounds to all collide, so that new indie icon Bon Iver had to compete with ’60s soulman Booker T for sound waves on Saturday afternoon.
Even the heat seems to throb audibly.
But somewhere, between all the talk of corn dogs and the weather, between high-energy performances by old school rappers and aging folkies, there’s a lot that can be overheard being said by fans and performers. Some of it outrageous, some of it pompous, some of it wise. Some of it by people on magic mushrooms.
Listen in. Here are 10 things overheard at Bonnaroo 2009.
“C’mon on in my tent; I’ll be your shelter from the storm … Man, I’ve always wanted to tell a woman that!” – Music fan at campsite
On Thursday night, most people had barely popped their tents or their first beers before the rain came tearing from the sky. Waiting for it to pass, many campers took refuge under tents belonging to perfect strangers. The rain left the festival grounds pocked with mud, but it held off for the rest of the weekend.
“I’m so incredibly happy to be here. This is fantastic!” –Phish’s Trey Anastasio on the main stage Friday
Though it was Phish’s first Bonnaroo performance — they took the stage both Friday and Sunday nights — most people agreed that Trey Anastasio & co.’s shows felt like a homecoming. Closing out the festival on Sunday, Phish fans got to see the band jam with Anastasio’s “boyhood hero” Bruce Springsteen.
“Well, it may not be the breakfast you’re used to, but we’re going to serve it.” –Jimmy Buffett, before launching into “Cheeseburger in Paradise”
Bright and early on Saturday morning (that’s noon-ish in Bonnarooland), Buffett took the stage with ILO & The Coral Reefer All-stars, a band he discovered while on vacation in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa.
“Are you healthy? [Pause.] OK, are you somewhat healthy?” –Bon Iver
Not sure if Bon Iver got word about police apprehending some 35 lbs. of psychedelic mushrooms encased in peanut butter and chocolate or if he was just worried about his fans suffering heat stroke on Saturday afternoon, but the singer seemed genuinely worried about his audience’s well-being.
“Yeah, come find me. I’m next to the person waving a hula-hoop with a horse in it.” –Festival goer, on cell phone at Girl Talk show
Cell phone service wasn’t the issue this year at Bonnaroo. Even when the phones were coming through loud and clear, it could be complicated explaining your whereabouts to your friends.
“I don’t eat anything that anyone’s given me [at Bonnaroo]. I don’t drink anything anyone’s given me. I’m afraid someone’s lacing everything with acid or shrooms.”–Jimmy Fallon, backstage interview
Those darn peanut butter-and-chocolate mushrooms were the talk of the festival! Throughout the weekend, funnyman Fallon hit the Bonnaroo comedy tent, as did leading comedians Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Michael Ian Black, Christian Finnegan, Nick Thune and Janeane Garofalo.
“If anybody boos us tonight, we have a built-in excuse. They’re just yelling ‘Bruuuuuce.’” –Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, main stage on Saturday
Taking the main stage just before the Boss has its own kind of built-in pressure, but Wilco ushered in Springsteen’s Saturday night performance with a string of their own heartland classics.
“We didn't come all the way down to the beautiful Tennessee hills just to rock the house. We came down here tonight because we want to build a house. That's right. Right here in this field. A house of love. A house of hope.”–Bruce Springsteen on the main stage Saturday night
Even those festival-goers who weren’t Springsteen nuts stopped to watch his inaugural Bonnaroo performance. From the bizarre (his performance of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”) to the iconic (“Glory Days,” anyone?), he kept the audience rapt for several hours.
“Kanye sucks!” –Graffiti written near the Bonnaroo main stage
No one seemed to have forgotten the Kanye West debacle from Bonnaroo 2008. Grudge-holders also came to the festival this year armed with ‘Kanye Sux’ tee-shirts.
“It just dawned on me that this is our last show ever in the United States. Don't be sad. I’ll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my mind if I keep doing this, and I have to stop.” –Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails
We don’t really understand why it took Bonnaroo to make Reznor decide to shut down his band of 20 years, but his surprising announcement at the festival made headlines around the world.