tent stage capacities

ya it is... and im not sure of te capacity.... but i have heard that if you wait for them to let people in you can usually wait till there is no line and find a spot on the ground to sit and enjoy without waiting in line... but if it was full you would be screwed

The comedy tent is first come first serve and has lines. It is a walled, air-conditioned tent, so you need to wait in line to get in, and if you aren't in, you can't see the show (I think there are a few "cracks" in the wall though).

The music tents are not like this at all. They are open walled, so you can see and hear the show as long as you are close enough to the stage and speakers. There is no ground elevation, so the sightlines are worse the farther you are. For popular shows (especially big late night shows) the crowd spills out considerably from the tent itself. Your sound and sightline are definitely worse if you aren't in the tent, but I've enjoyed many a Bonnaroo show from outside them. If they're really crowded (Umphrey's McBisco will be this way for example), the edge of the crowd may be far enough out that you get sound bleed from other stages, but I find this is uncommon. I would say that for the vast majority of the daytime shows its not difficult to get under the tent itself (the tents can be merciful protection from the sun or rain).

There was some discussion of the tent capacity a while back, but I don't remember what was said. I'm horrible at counting crowds. I would say somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people could fit under the big tents? I have no idea. In my mind I compare it to the larger indoor concert venues I've been to that aren't built for sports and don't have seating (the Aragon and the Riveria in Chicago for example). But I could be way off there in terms of capacity.

The important thing is, you can definitely see and hear every show you want to, its just a matter of how good the sound and your sightline are. The only exception to this in my experience is a really crowded late night tent when you're "disoriented". Between the crowd, my state of mind, and all of the guests they had, I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on at Medeski, Martin and Wood in '03, but that's another story.

The comedy tent is an entirely different setup and you have to wait in a (usually long) line to get in. I've never been inspired to try it.

EDIT: Wow cheese, your post said exactly the same thing mine did with a lot less words

but your reply was so much more professional.

I think your estimate of 5,000 would be a good one for the tents. Maybe around 10,000 for the larger of the 3.

Up front can equal sweaty, ankle deep mud/water standing room(with primo sight and sound) and outside can equal plenty of room to groove on the grass or chill out and decent sound.... I'd say under the tent more toward the middle or back is the best spot, down front can be pretty hardcore but more toward the middle or back or on either side you have more room to breathe and come and go... Umphreys/Bisco will definately be packed beyond beleif....

Last year i watched particle finish up their set sitting under a tree while i was waiting for Keller and it was sweet sound, even from way back....