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!!
My first 'Roo was 2004; it was the first leg of my sister's and my epic road trip. As we drove down from NY, we started seeing "Bonnaroo or Bust!" painted on cars heading south. As excited as we were, nothing prepared us for actually entering the site. After getting through the gate Thursday night, our jaws dropped. Nothing could have prepared us. We were simply awestruck. Then, a random passerby yelled "BonnaROO!!" As we joined in the answering cheer, screaming our heads off, I knew we had arrived.
If all goes well, this will be my 3rd Bonnaroo after a 2 year hiatus, and I can't wait!
I'm so happy I found this site today; I can't believe I never found it before. Just reading the threads has me filled with excitement for this year; these upcoming six months will be murder! Cheers, Inforoo!
it was the best of times. my girlfriend and my best friend and me. for 4 days wandering the sea of stages and tents to see some great music. 2004 has always been the best line up for me and honestly if it wasnt as good as that i wouldnt have gone in the first place. we sat in line for 12 hours laghing and hoping to pass a jon until we finally made it into the site. it was midnight and while its really well lit ... putting up a tent at mid night is no fun. after a few beers each we wandered into centeroo to partake in the party going on. it was at this point that a young man with his pants around his ankles and his arms above his head waddled toward us, screaming "loooook out. i'm peeing." my sweetheart is generally not as easy going as i am sometimes looks at me and says "so i guess we made it." and screams out "bonnarroooo" at the top of her lungs. only to be met about a hundred responses. we just forgot to bring more beer. something we fixed every year after that.
My buddy and I were setting up our tent and two guys walked over with a suitcase.
One said "What cha need?"
My friend replied, "What cha got?"
They threw the suitcase on the hood of the car, opened it up to reveal a collection of corn and assorted other veggies very much like the one described in the beginning of Fear and Loathing and said "Motherf*cker I said what you need? We got what you need!"
That was within my first 10 minutes outside the car at my first Bonnaroo.
my first roo was this year. As soon my group got through car searches at the gate I looked up and saw a man sitting on a lawn chair on top of his car and i knew that roo would be amazing
My first roo experiance was last year, The defining moment for me was just walking into the main stage area during Ben Harper. Im hooked, and will be going from now on, my wife knows not to expect me home every mid-june now!!!!!
My first Roo moment? Wow, there were so many in '07. But if I think about it really hard I'd say it was just after parking and stepping outside the car and just seeing miles of tents/cars. After sitting in line for some six hours after driving some previous 8-10 hours me and my friends were just beat. Anyway I was just taking in this whole scene and some kind fellow came by with corn. Just like that. Outside in the open. It was like complete freedom. Right then I wasn't tired at all anymore. I just wanted to experience the 'Roo!
Post by leafsfan7524 on Jan 4, 2008 10:57:51 GMT -5
I had a few, but I remember waiting in a traffic jam all day trying to get to our campsite. We were going down this one road (traffic going very slow), so my girlfriend takes the wheel so I can crack open a beer. Then ppl in front of us do the same and they crank some Zeppelin. It was a good vibe. Then we camped next to these guys. They played good music all weekend. The guy must have had over 100 anti-bush stickers on his jeep. s19.photobucket.com/albums/b179/leafsfan7524/Bonnaroo%202007/?action=view¤t=IMG_0256.jpg
Two first music moments were 1) Seeing Sam Roberts put on an amazing show. s19.photobucket.com/albums/b179/leafsfan7524/Bonnaroo%202007/?action=view¤t=IMG_0143.jpg There were lots of Canadian flags, and many ppl singing. I'm like "Am I in Canada?" 2) Walking to go see Tea Leaf Green and bump into some other neighbours. He's like "do you like drums", I'm like "hell ya", he's like you might wanna check out Clutch. What an awesome way to start Bonnaroo. Clutch were one of my weekend highlights. Their drummer is unbelievable!
Side note: I just saw Sam Roberts Band on New Year's Day. They played a few songs between sets at the Sabres/Penguins game. First time I'd heard them -- they were pretty good and troopers considering that they were playing in the snow!
Last year was my first year. We got on the festival grounds at a pretty good time (3pm I think?) and we finished up setting up camp around 5. The first band I saw that night was Little Ones, who I thought were great. So great I saw them again the next day, hah. My friend also gave away a whole pack of guitar strings. They were his, but still, I would've been pissed if I had broken a string. Good thing no one did.
In 2004, I went with a group of really chill friends that had been at the two previous. They were of course building it up before I got there. We pulled up to the farm and the line was nothing I'd ever seen. Four miles long! People chillin' on the side of a highway with cars 2 feet away flyin' by at 80mph. Then came the 'bonnaROOOOO's'! The chant was everywhere. In the cars at the gates, 'bonnaROOO', settin' up tents, 'bonnaROOO', walking to shows, 'bonnaROOO' and for four days not one person got sick of it.
my first roo experience was last year i actually went by myself after my friends bailed. it was weird and fun all at the same time. i volunteered and i remember waiting on line to get checked in and people just randomly screaming bonnarroo lmao i knew i was in for the time of my life
Post by littlebirdie on Jan 7, 2008 15:35:49 GMT -5
Hi Everyone!
Yay my first post (I've been lingering for a while!) was a big fan of the old roo board (no offense to inforoo!) Great thread since my first roo (2005) was my favorite...I've been every year since though so this year will be number 4!
I remember: -standing in the pouring rain watching jack johnson -hula hooping to Xavier Rudd on the Sonic Stage -a 30 minute walk to centeroo (we were in BFE) -watching many tents become airborne! - missing most of dave matthews because I was too out of it to be around a crowd (rookie mistake) so dumb... ...But having a great time at late night STS9 later on hehe. -Sunday being the nicest day! -Dancing up a storm at Citizen Cope... -John Mayer playing with Herbie Hancock...
The rest being a total surreal blur of happiness that unfortunatly no other year has lived up to overall...but it was my first
This year I'm going with a bunch of newbies and will be in an RV for the first time (I'm going to feel totally spoiled) so I'm hoping to be able to re-live my first time through them! Although the scene has changed a bit...don't hate me for saying it
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has the power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive."
It was my first Bonnaroo and months on Inforoo helped me pack well didn't prepare me for the experience...
We got to the checkpoint and the girl was so cute with her southern drawl and pigtails; hardly blinked at our truck and let us through
Sister drove the truck and giggled and played girly and swung wide so we had a nice sized camp.
We set up and headed toward Centeroo. The increasing sound, dust, smells, people were intense. The sun was setting, the lights from the Ferris Wheel, car stereos and radios competing with the music from Centeroo, people everywhere, every type of people. Completely sober, the most surreal experience. Shoved through the throng at the gate and just stood for a moment once I entered, trying, attempting to assimilate and soak it all in.
I don't think it fully soaked in until late Saturday afternoon. I mean, I had an awesome time prior but it was definitely a culture shock and a wonderful strange and different world. I cannot wait for Bonnaroo 08 because this time I will be mentally as well as physically prepared.
Post by thefussydutchman on Jan 7, 2008 18:58:00 GMT -5
05' was my first Roo. The enormity of it all really didn't hit me until evening of Friday that year. The band me and some of my friends were dying to see were the Allman Brothers Band. So we got to the mainstage about the time Allison Krauss & Union Station were starting to try to get as close as possible. When we got there the crowd didn't seem that large and we were able to pretty much walk right to the very front. It started filling up quickly as ABB hit the stage. I was barely able to see the screens but by the middle of the set I could see that there was about 20 to 30 thousand people maybe more behinfd me. I then looked up at Gregg Allman while they were playing Statesboro Blues and a big smile came across my face and I knew this was where I was supposed to be.......and was gonna be every year as long as I could make it.
"We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, movie gods, and rock stars. But we wont, and we're slowly learning that fact & we're very, very pissed off......."
Our first year was '04 and we were having a really great time checking out the sights and sounds but when we slipped in the side of the tent for the late night Umphree's / moe, it was like: lift-off!! Earth was in the rearview and Planet Roo was all we knew...
Post by ☮ superbek ☮ on Jan 10, 2008 21:04:25 GMT -5
my first roo was in 2004 and it rained like a bitch that year. ya'll know what I'm talkin bout. well we were leaving day parking sunday night and cars were sliding into one and other and we didn't even get out of our parking spot for almost 2 hours. yikes. we met these fellas from new jersey stuck in a van beside us and they ended up given me a new peice, 1/8 of kind, and 1/8 of fungi.
so...thanks jersey. ;D
that's about all i can remember from my first roo they all just seem to run together now a days....
Post by stallion pt. 2 on Jan 11, 2008 0:16:44 GMT -5
My wife and I pulled into line for Roo 2002 at about 9 pm on Thursday night, after a 3-day drive from Arizona. We waited in line all night, moving up a car length or so every hour. It was a massive, all-night street party in Downtown Manchester. The gas stations sold entirely out of beer before last call, and some poor trucker had his rig caught in the line. It took him a good 2-3 hours to get it out. we didn't get through the gates until 6 am Friday; driving into the Tennessee sunrise with a cold Natty Ice in the cupholder, listening to Ben Folds Five. That was my first Bonnaroo moment.
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
Post by kaleidoscope kristen on Jan 11, 2008 0:59:17 GMT -5
Okay, I guess officially, my first Roo moment was when my boyfriend got arrested on our way to our first Roo last summer in Pulaski, Tn. And then ensued the craziness of finding a bondsman, $700 wired, and hanging around that forsaken town for 7 hours. BUT, all went well and we still made it to Roo, and replaced the things that had been confiscated! Roo was/is the best!
Post by oklarooer737 on Jan 13, 2008 16:49:57 GMT -5
my first memory of roo was just entering camp and setting up tents, then our neighbors on both sides, walked up to us and busted out the corn in the open! I was in heaven!