by Hunter Patterson | Jun 29, 2011 | News Slider
After 10 years and over 70,000 people meandering around a farm in Manchester, Tenn., Bonnaroo still proves to one of the biggest and best music festivals around. Bonnaroo is more than just standing around for four days. It’s actually everything other than boring and blazing hot. Boasting headliners such as Eminem, Lil’ Wayne, The Black Keys and Grammy winners Arcade Fire, Bonnaroo is quickly becoming this generation’s Woodstock. The sites would not be unfamiliar to former Woodstock goers, either. Everything from festival-goers painted from head-to-toe toe to people giving themselves colorful nicknames, Bonnaroo had a little bit of something for everyone. The stereotypical festival atmosphere was around, too. You know, the whole not showering thing? It’s definitely true. Even for Junior communications major Shelby Marvel, not showering was the right way to go about it. “I thought it was awesome,” the Ashland City, Tenn. Native said. “By Sunday I was definitely ready for a shower, but I am glad I went all out.” By all out she means sleeping in a tent without an air mattress and not showering four days. “It’s so much fun you forget about how gross you are and how gross you feel.” It would be easy to say that Marvel was not the only one present that had not showered in a few days, either. Some surprising acts such as Ratatat, Portugal. The Man, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Big Boi wowed the tens of thousands of fans in Manchester, but for Marvel it was a handful of performances other than those that made her want to attend the festival again. “My favorite...
by Leah Raich | Apr 6, 2011 | News Slider
Students anticipate the arrival of summer for several reasons, the most obvious being that there’s no more school, at least for awhile. But number two on many lists is that it is the season for music festivals. The music scene in Tennessee is thriving these days, as country musicians are no longer the only attraction at concerts, bars and open mic nights. In fact, the Volunteer State hosts two of the most well-known and highly acclaimed festivals in the South: Beale Street Music Fest and Bonnaroo. Here’s a rundown: Sixty-plus acts. Four stages. Three days. The Beale Street Music Fest takes place from April 29 to May 1 in the scenic Tom Lee Park where Beale Street meets the Mississippi River. This Festival is part of Memphis In May, an annual affair highlighting a different country and its culture each year; Belgium is the focus for 2011. Other events include a barbecue cooking contest, the Sunset Symphony and educational programs. Top acts performing at Music Fest include Ke$ha, Jason Mraz, John Mellencamp, Stone Temple Pilots, MGMT, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Cee Lo Green, Buckcherry, The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Cake, B.oB. and Ludacris. Tickets for the 2011 Beale Street Music Festival can be purchased online through Ticketmaster or by calling at 1-800-745-3000. A 3-day pass is $69 plus fees. If you’re a music lover and enjoy being (and sleeping) outdoors, Bonnaroo is the festival for you. The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held June 9-12 on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best artists in rock...
by Chris Shappley | Jun 22, 2010 | News Slider
High expectations were a big part of the baggage I toted to my first Bonnaroo. My plans were that the four-day festival would change the way I experience music. Of course, I didn’t fully express that before the festival, simply because I wanted to cushion the fall if Bonnaroo failed to live up the hype. Now, a week or so after Dave Matthews Band closed it out, I look back and can say Bonnaroo not only lived up to the hype, it was one of the best experiences of my life. From the moment I first walked beneath the Bonnaroo arch and into Centeroo (where all of the stages are located) until DMB’s final notes, I was enchanted. The What Stage was larger than life, providing the best concert experience I’ve ever had. The three tents (This, That and The Other) housed so many great acts in a single day that I found myself having so many choices, I quickly realized I was going to have to miss several must-see shows just so I could be at another must-see. What a great problem to have. The weekend started off Thursday evening with Miike Snow at This Tent. Snow is an incredible up-and-coming artist and was the first act I knew I had to see. As I stood there listening to Snow kill his song, “Animal,” I looked around and tried to soak up the epic size of the festival around me. There were things going on everywhere. That was the moment when I knew four days wouldn’t be enough to absorb everything. From Miike Snow, my friends and I went over to That Tent where we spent the rest...
by Bracey Wilson | Jun 7, 2010 | News Slider
Dr. Briley teaches Old Testament and Hebrew studies. Dr. Terry Briley, likely one of the few Lipscomb professors to ever attend Bonnaroo, first went six years ago to chaperone his younger son. But he’s returned three times since. He says the common perception of the festival and its attendees isn’t entirely accurate. Once you get to Bonnaroo’s 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., you see that “people there are more diverse than you might think.” The crowd does not consist of young people exclusively. Briley says he enjoyed the atmosphere, describing it as “a flashback to the ’60s,” when he was just a boy. He stresses that there is no need for anyone to be afraid while there. Certainly there are people participating in activities of which Lipscomb does not condone, but there is no need to worry about someone hurting anyone else. “One time I was taking pictures of a group of people who were dancing around in funny costumes at a concert,” Briley says. “ One of the guys noticed that I was taking pictures and came over to ask why. Although I told him I was just taking them for my own use, he asked me to delete the one with him in it because he was supposed to be ‘out sick’ from work while he was at Bonnaroo.” Going camping on a farm in Tennessee at the beginning of the summer is not the most comfortable thing in the world. The main complaints are the heat, the dust, and the inability to bathe in anything but sulfur water. Campers must pass through two checkpoints and wait in...
by Chris Shappley | Jun 7, 2010 | Opinion
Tennessee has always had a reputation as a place to hear great music. I know this well: I grew up in Memphis. In Memphis, it was common to see Elvis impersonators around the city. In fact, Presley’s home, Graceland, is the second-most visited house in the country behind The White House. And if you are looking for he real flavor of the city, stroll down Beale Street and listen to classic blues music no matter what time of day. Going to school at Lipscomb in Nashville has provided me with yet another type of music experience. And it’s not just the difference between Memphis blues and Nashville’s country music scene. While Memphis is a city known for its musical heritage, Nashville is known for its musical present, a place where where people from all over the world come to break into the music business. And it’s not just country music; it’s also rock, pop and more. However, in the last nine years Tennessee has garnered a reputation for another kind of musical experience: the music festival. Oh sure, there’s the big CMA festival here in Nashville, but that is an outgrowth of the long-time Fan Fair country music festival. The type of music festival I’m talking about here is one word that has come to describe an experience: “Bonnaroo.” That modern — rock, hip-hop, country and more — music festival takes place only 50 minutes away in Manchester, Tenn. What began as sort of a jam-band celebration in 2002 has evolved. In its ninth year has become one of the biggest and most diverse music festivals in the world....
