Pre-Roo volunteering: how was it this year?

there was about 100 pre-roo volunteers this year and anywhere from 600-700 during fest volunteers. The vibe of the community we created with the 100 prefest volunteers made it feel like it how it felt during the first 3 bonnaroo's. I have been to all 7 bonnaroo's and I hate to say this but Pre-fest was so much more enjoyable than the actual festival. To me the festival changed in a lot of ways and every year I do expect it to degrade a little but this year was too much of a change for my tastes. The pre-fest volunteers worked 2 or 3 6-10 hour shifts. I worked in the visual design department and had the fun of getting to pain all the rockstar faces on all the walls in and outside centeroo, so I was the guy who painted all the Jim Morrison and various other faces. The vibe pre-fest is always of excitement leading up to the festival so everybody be-friends each other and we had grill/bonfires at night where 30-40 would gather in the center of the volunteer campsite area. In the morning me and my canadian and chicago neighbors would go to a local lake and waterfall and spend our mornings relaxing before we all had to be at work by 1pm. Honestly if I didn't do pre-fest i wouldn't have enjoyed this years bonnaroo the way the actual festival experience went down for me. It was also good being able to have enough ample time to really befriend your neighbors and meet up with them at shows instead of the hectic part of bonnaroo where the shows are happening and you are trying to get to them and not really spend enough time making bonnaroo friends. My favorite story about pre-festival is all week long prior to Kanye's show everybody was bashing on Kanye hardcore it was just the appropriate thing to do then on Tuesday I'm hitchiking on site to get to the visual design department faster and this SUV pulls up and gives me a ride and it turns out that it was one of the head AC Superfly entertainment production guys one of the inner circle people who make a lot of the important decisions and when he picked me up he was on the phone cursing out Kanye West's manager because apparently it cost them money to pay the city for putting him on so late on the mainstage because of the soundsystem and contracts with the city to not play music past a certain time on the mainstage. He was also curising him out for some of the ridiculous requests Kanye was demanding from Bonnaroo. So when he stopped to let me off he hung up his phone and I politely said thanks for the ride, Screw Kanye get either Outkast or Beastie Boys next year and he smiled and drove off.

some during fest volunteers had it really good, two of my friends had to only work one 6 hour shift on thursday from 9am-3pm which was completely the best thing to happen to them because they were able to enjoy the whole festival and not miss anything. It just seems more appropriate to get Outkast or Beastie Boys since this is the first year they decided to go with a Big Hip Hop act and if they decide to continue that trend. Also I really don't see Beastie Boys which are 3- 40 year old white men who are business men pulling the BS that Kanye pulled because of his ego.

I worked during-fest from 10(pm) to 3(am) in the cinema tent. It sucked. Bad. I missed Sigur Ros and had to finagle my way out of working during the MMJ set.

I heard the pre-fest was good but hot work, and I can imagine if you're not a fan of camping for long periods of time (figure you're camping out for a good week and a half), it might be kind of rough--but at least you wouldn't have to miss out on shows. Those who I was camping with got great shifts, so it seems as though it's just the luck of the draw (or the appeal of your resume) as far as what positions you get, whether you're prefest or during.

I tried to get pre-fest but was offered during-fest instead--but what I was actually referring to here is the fact that they tend to make decisions on what shifts/positions you get (regardless of pre/during) based on the information you give them on your ap. So, for instance, if you wrote down you worked at the Gap, you'd get a job folding shirts pre-fest--art-school student? You'll be painting the fountain. . .

I'm toying with the idea of volunteering next year as well. I would want to do pre-fest most likely so as to not interrupt my Roo experience, but you're right - a week and a half of camping would be rough. I just know it would be my luck that if I worked during-fest, I would be scheduled during sets I really really wanted to see.

I worked with catering back in the Bonnaroo kitchen, but I got my job through a local temp agency. The disadvantages of going the route I did is that you don't get a 'Roo staff shirt or a 4-day wristband. Instead, your wristband changes each day and are only able to access the festival on days you are scheduled to work the festival and only after you are done with your shift--not before. Plus, these temporary wristband are made of paper, not cloth.

I had to work during Jack Johnson and the first part of Pearl Jam as well as Robert Plant and Alison Kraus and the first hour of Widespread Panic. I didn't get to enjoy 'Roo except after 10pm on Saturday and Sunday nights.

The advantage of working in the fashion I did is that you can enjoy more of 'Roo if you were able to get work everyday of the festival from morning to early afternoon. I couldn't due to my everyday job conflicting with 'Roo. Another advantage is that you are working for pay rather than paying a deposit to Bonnaroo.