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!!
This was my first music festival outside of a few local ones. My friends and I just graduated and wanted to take an awesome senior trip and our spanish teacher showed us bonnaroo and kick started our obsession. I researched Bonnaroo for a year and a half on these boards and other sources. Going into this trip I was very positive and could not wait to be there, but upon arrival my attitude took a 360. The security abused us. They preyed on our youthfulness. I was told to act friendly to these volunteers and it would be a smooth ride, but this was not the case. I tried to act friendly I even offered home made cookies my mother made. The first thing they found was my honda generator that I had to borrow from my neighbor. They threw it on the ground to the side not even placed it. I walked over to say something to him about it and he yelled at me to get back to the front of the car. They then proceeded to tear our car apart (which I expected after I snapped at him.) He then explained that the auditor responsible for writing the ticket to my generator had vanished and they didn't know when one would be at the gate. I stood there for 2 hours begging the man just to empty the damn gas out and please just let me walk to my camp site with the promise on my my life that i would not crank up the stupid thing. I was almost certain he was just trying to get me to leave the generator there because no one seemed to care that we were still standing there. "Officials" drove up on a golf cart and i informed them of my dilemma and they just laughed and made jokes about me. I felt like dirt on the ground and there was no way on earth i was leaving that borrowed generator. Eventually i asked enough people to help me that a person looked at me confused and said he has been here the whole time and pointed to a very nice man standing off to the side. I was EXTREMELY frustrated with the whole situation and it definitely could have been handled better. On top of the generator issue, we got 10 packs of white owls stolen from my friends console that I'm positive were in there cause i bought them in manchester. My friend also went through the same line and got 300 dollars stolen right after us (yes he was stupid and left his wallet in the car but still.) We fussed with the men in charge of searching all of our vehicles about the missing money and they calm showed us everything in their pockets, but there was a lot of time in between then and when we noticed the missing money. They also refused to force the other "lacky" who searched our car to empty his pockets. Im almost positive it was the sketchy man. I really felt put down and my friends weekend was almost ruined thank god for ATMS. Funny thing is all that trouble over a generator and they didn't even find our stash. Several friendly people i encountered over the weekend had similar experiences. One of our neighbors selling illegal substances was discovered by the black shirts and when they searched his stuff and the other two people with them almost 200 dollars cash was found missing in the aftermath. It wasn't even his money they took, it was a girl my age who barely knew the guy because he was friends with her boyfriend. Our other neighbor was also searched for suspicious activity and when they finally realized he wasn't selling anything and they left, he found his wallet laid out in his tent with 60 dollars no longer in it. I've heard various other accounts from listening in on conversation on the farm and reading these forums and reddit describing it as a scam. They shut down and stole from the bunk police and those guys literally save lives. Overall for my first Bonnaroo I felt really put down by the security there and I felt like they really over stepped there boundaries. Dont get me wrong, Bonnaroo is easily the greatest thing I have ever done in my life, but it was not the experience i feel like those before me got their first time. From what I understand it was much different this year. Ive turned this into a rant and not a good one.
Sorry for the long post. On a positive note thank you all for making my first festival an awesome experience I will never forget!
Post by SupeЯfuЯЯyanimal on Jun 20, 2015 21:24:35 GMT -5
Auditor in charge of the ticket to your generator? The only question they've ever asked me about a generator is the amount of gasoline I've got with me.
Did this happen in the tollbooth line or did you get pulled over by cops? I find it hard to believe security would hold up a lane for 2 hours.
This sucks. I've never heard of anyone having so much trouble at the entrance. Having said that, no. Bonnaroo isn't a scam. This is far from the average experience when entering the festival grounds. I would take every step possible to contact Bonnaroo and report all of this.
It was the back entrance not the interstate one. The auditor was very nice and explained where to pick it up. Monday morning i walked to pod 4 from pod 9 to pick it up and carry it on my shoulder back.
If you actually did research here you would know one of the main pieces of advice " don't bring sand to the beach"
He didn't get in trouble for bringing any illegal substances. The staff was out of line, they used their "power" to take advantage of people entering the festival. The staff interrogated my brother pretty good this year upon entering. Not to the same extent but they had him get out of the car and stand in the blazing sun for ten minutes while they drilled him with questions. They did seem to be tougher on people entering and were executing much heavier searches than I remember in years past.
If you actually did research here you would know one of the main pieces of advice " don't bring sand to the beach"
He didn't get in trouble for bringing any illegal substances. The staff was out of line, they used their "power" to take advantage of people entering the festival. The staff interrogated my brother pretty good this year upon entering. Not to the same extent but they had him get out of the car and stand in the blazing sun for ten minutes while they drilled him with questions. They did seem to be tougher on people entering and were executing much heavier searches than I remember in years past.
What entrance and time did your brother come through? I came in through the I-24 entrance around 7pm CST on Wed. and it didn't look like anyone was getting a hard search (except for a car that was getting a thorough cavity search by the Sheriff's dept.) I'm wondering if this was mostly happening at the east TB entrance.
He didn't get in trouble for bringing any illegal substances. The staff was out of line, they used their "power" to take advantage of people entering the festival. The staff interrogated my brother pretty good this year upon entering. Not to the same extent but they had him get out of the car and stand in the blazing sun for ten minutes while they drilled him with questions. They did seem to be tougher on people entering and were executing much heavier searches than I remember in years past.
What entrance and time did your brother come through? I came in through the I-24 entrance around 7pm CST on Wed. and it didn't look like anyone was getting a hard search (except for a car that was getting a thorough cavity search by the Sheriff's dept.) I'm wondering if this was mostly happening at the east TB entrance.
We came in through the I-24 entrance also but it was about 8:30 am Thursday morning.
Man, this is odd. I came in the exit from 41, got in line at like 8:30 pm and finally got to the gate at like 4. I actually thought they were EXTREMELY relaxed this year. None of my friends that went through at different times got thorough searches or interrogated either. The guys that I had were super cool and seem to generally not care at all. We didn't have anything illegal in the car but when one of the guys searching the car asked my buddy "Do y'all have anything illegal in the car?" My friend hesitated for a second before nervously laughing and saying no. Despite my friend's suspicious activity, the guy just leaned over and said "Don't worry, I won't bust you if you do. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally find your stash" so he pushed some stuff around and made it look like it was thorough and gave the thumbs up. And when checking my trunk, which was filled to the brim, they took less than 20 seconds before giving me the thumbs up.
I'm really bummed it seems like they were so rough on a lot of people this year, especially the OP, because that kinda stuff is just ridiculous. Hope you guys get luckier in the future!
Post by davidbyrnesbutler on Jun 21, 2015 21:44:33 GMT -5
They took two cases of beer from my car for going over the amount allowed. I understand they were doing their job but everyone else I talked to said they barely searched their car. I find it hilarious that people bring in cocaine and heroin and I can't bring Angry Orchard.
yeah I sat contemplating a title for the thread and I thought that might draw some attention. Maybe it was just because we arrived relatively early and they still were being very thorough. Two of the three guys searching us wore grey collared shirts and seemed very professional like they were trying to show someone something. The whole situation was weird and was not what i was expecting as a first impression of the farm.
yeah I sat contemplating a title for the thread and I thought that might draw some attention. Maybe it was just because we arrived relatively early and they still were being very thorough. Two of the three guys searching us wore grey collared shirts and seemed very professional like they were trying to show someone something. The whole situation was weird and was not what i was expecting as a first impression of the farm.
Well, it seems like it only improved from that terrible start, right?
Post by Tainted Opossum on Jun 21, 2015 23:53:16 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences friend, I hope you can make it back for a hopefully more positive entry. It's a crap shoot, it sounds like you handled yourself as well or better any young adult could.
yeah I sat contemplating a title for the thread and I thought that might draw some attention. Maybe it was just because we arrived relatively early and they still were being very thorough. Two of the three guys searching us wore grey collared shirts and seemed very professional like they were trying to show someone something. The whole situation was weird and was not what i was expecting as a first impression of the farm.
I arrived right before the gates opened and didn't have any problem like this. In fact, I've never had something happen to me like this in all 5 Roos that I've been to. Are you sure you didn't stink up the car on the drive down?
Post by gardenfresh on Jun 22, 2015 6:55:55 GMT -5
I was expecting a discussion here how the entire festival is a commercialization and really doesn't stand for the values you think it stands for. Seriously, while it's fun and and all-- Bonnaroo is just a big fancy way to capitalize big time on an otherwise untapped market. When you realize Bonnaroo's true mission of "Radiate Your Bank Accounts" then yes you will realize it is one big huge scam.
I hate to read of experiences like this. In my 4 years of camping the biggest issue I had was accidentally leaving a box of 22 rounds in my truck. The security guy show me discretely and said he knew how hard they were to get and stuffed them way deep in my console. That was a few years ago. This year they did search my back pack good and triple checked my allergy perscription.
Post by pondo ROCKS on Jun 22, 2015 14:23:39 GMT -5
I had no troubles at all going in but I did see security throw away 7, yes that is right, 7 full length mirrors while I was waiting in line. And no, they were not from the same person or even the same line! Outside of that and security coming over to see my foam cooler/a.c. unit I made for my tent, things were very relaxed in my opinion.
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest
Vieux
Global Moderator Moderator Goddess Extraordinaire
What entrance and time did your brother come through? I came in through the I-24 entrance around 7pm CST on Wed. and it didn't look like anyone was getting a hard search (except for a car that was getting a thorough cavity search by the Sheriff's dept.) I'm wondering if this was mostly happening at the east TB entrance.
We came in through the I-24 entrance also but it was about 8:30 am Thursday morning.
When we passed the GA line at 7am, it was over 5 miles long just waiting to get into the tollbooth. The tollbooth itself looked like a clusterfuck. I talked to someone in that line that said they got search in the back of the line and then even worse at the beginning of the line by security. I am not sure what was going on Thursday morning, but I feel for all those in that shit. It sucks to hear stuff like this and to know that the security were being dicks.
i was right beside the customer service entrance in the far left lane at one of the back entrances. Sorry i can't provide better info because it was my first roo. The guy "standing guard" beside my generator and another groups tazer was a try hard dick. The guy with the tazer after an hour of waiting for a receipt said he was about to use it on the man if he did not go find the auditor. From what i understand from these boards i just had a bad night but now that i have gone through it i wouldn't want someone else in my situation to go through the same thing. Of all the things you could worry about 2 18 year olds with a generator i feel like would be my least concern. Its funny because the guys that seemed to be in charge on the golf cart that laughed asked me how much i wanted for my generator almost like they knew i didn't know its worth and i could be abused. Pissed me off. I stayed calm although I was sure i could have whipped his ass, gotta radiate positivity ya know
Last Edit: Jun 22, 2015 17:31:39 GMT -5 by dub: grammer - Back to Top
Bonnaroo 15/16 Music Midtown 16/17/18 2018 Shows: Judah & the lion, Glass Animals, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Jamey Johnson, Perpetual Groove
Post by thegrouplesswonder on Jun 22, 2015 20:57:03 GMT -5
Man that sucks you had such a bad first impression but with so many volunteers and cheap help I'm afraid crap like this is bound to happen. Not sure what entrance, but my gf and I pulled in around midnight Wednesday hopped outta the car when it was our turn and basically shot the shit with the two security guards who asked if we had glass or illegal substances; we said no, then talked about where we were from for a minute. They didnt even so much as go inside our car. However, once at the security point for centeroo, I was a bit too smiley apparently and the guy absolutely TORE my bag apart, then was clearly disappointed when he found nothing. My girl and I both overwhelmingly got the vibe he was searching for something to keep for himself. Wish there was a way for the ROo to crack down on assholes like that... I'd still rather him than law enforcement tho I guess...oh well
Post by thegrouplesswonder on Jun 22, 2015 21:01:50 GMT -5
OH YA, and a general rule o thumb that has always worked for me at the farm, at the gates or at centeroo: the shortest line= the quickest searches!! Not that I hide illegal stuff of course, I just like to get where I'm goin ASAP :-)
