Monday, 17 May 2010
By Jon Stone | @jwstone
Bonnaroo is less than a month away. And while this isn’t the first year Muzzle of Bees has covered the festival, it is the first time that I’ve covered it for Muzzle of Bees. In fact, this is my first time ever heading down to Tennessee for the epic four-day sun and dirt fest and I’m excited. I have a (large) handful of bands and artists that I’m looking forward to seeing. But still no schedule! There have been rumblings about why it has taken so long to come out. It isn’t typical procedure for it to be this late in May with no schedule announcement. With the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd in the hospital, rumors are flying as to whether his recovery before the festival is going to happen — and if, perhaps, the delay is due to the question marks surrounding that situation.
With no schedule, we’re left piecing together the days bands are playing from their individual websites. Here are the bands I’m most excited about on the days they’re playing.
First, the National’s website has them at Bonnaroo Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday. I so hope that’s true. Also, Jill Andrews, who you’ll remember from our feature a few weeks back, is scheduled to play every day. Awesome.
Here’s the rest — and here’s to hoping that there aren’t many conflicts:
Thursday: Sarah Jarosz, Local Natives, The Dodos
Friday: Punch Brothers, Dawes, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, Dr. Dog, She & Him, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue
Saturday: Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, The Avett Brothers, Dave Rawlings Machine, Mumford & Sons, John Prine, Brandi Carlile
Sunday: Calexico, Lucero, Kris Kristofferson, Medeski Martin & Wood
For those of you going this year, who are you looking forward to seeing most — and who am I missing here? What are some tips you can give a first timer? Guilty pleasures? You’ll be seeing me at Weezer — for old time’s sake — unless they play during Stevie Wonder. Can’t miss this.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Don’t miss Mumford and Sons. Their tour is almost entirely sold out and there are very few US dates. (Unfortunately none near me.)
Biggest tip I can give for Bonnaroo is to get there as early as possible. Maybe even a full day early. You want to be camped as close to the stage area as possible. If you aren’t close you’ll be stuck with a 30+ plus hike to your campsite. It’s nice to be able to pop back and forth to your campsite between sets and load/unload or pick up something you forgot. (Like your beer!)
May 17th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I would personally check out Conan O’Brien. This year’s line up is pretty great. Looking forward to hearing about who you see while I regret not going!
May 17th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Big things for Bonnaroo:
- pack lightly
- bring a hoodie and rain gear
- multiple pairs of shoes, they will get wet.
- flashlights! (and batteries)
- deck of cards or some games that can be played easily and efficiently while drinking and listening to music
- plan a LOOSE schedule, have two-three bands a day that have hours in between them. I’ve found that camping out a stage for a few hours is usually better than running around and missing your favorite songs from your favorite bands. I found a lot of music that way as well.
- nap during the day. the overnight stages are almost always a highlight.
- stay hydrated. I usually walk back to my camp a few times during the day every couple of hours and refuel with some granola bars, some beers, and some WATER. you can also bring any sort of camelbak or Nalgene into the concert area empty (or unsealed waters, I usually buy a few cases and bring 2-3 in with me at a time) to stay hyrdated.
I’m a water snob and their water is very sulfury. perfectly fine, but tastes eh.
- bringing a giant flag to hang at your campsite helps you out the first couple of days in finding your site (and telling others where you are.)
- I agree with getting there early. Have beers ready to drink while in line, maybe a frisbee/football, and sometimes stickers to share with your neighbors in-line. It’s taken me between 2-9 hours to get in most years, so it’s highly flexible, but always at least a couple hours. Be ready for it AND ENJOY IT. It’s your first taste of the festival and should be part of the fun.. not part of the wait.
May 18th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Gabriel and aburtch–
thanks so much for the tips! I can’t believe it sometimes takes 9 hours to get in. holy moly. I’ll definitely take all this to heart. Thanks again.
Ryan: Conan is on.
May 18th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
last year was my first, and it took us 12 hours to get there from Madison, but another 10 hours from off highway to the campground. check out jam band blogs and threads for the back ways in, or you’ll miss an extensive amount of Thursday (cant miss local natives).
also the schedule last year wasn’t built for indie bands, so time slot & stage should be a more important determinant than who you wanna see most (Anco last year in the mid afternoon sun was not so pleasant). also bands at night tend for some reason to have more time for stage/sound setup so like gabe^ said, a nap during the day will give you energy for the night shows.
the best items you can have are
-camel back
-head covering
-baby wipes
May 21st, 2010 at 8:11 am
The schedule is out now
May 21st, 2010 at 8:14 am
And sadly, The Avett Brothers are playing at the same time as Mumford & Sons.
May 21st, 2010 at 8:18 am
ugh! I’m seeing other painful conflicts as well, but the Avett Brothers/Mumford & Sons one is downright comical. I mean, if ever there were two bands with the same audience…
May 21st, 2010 at 10:29 am
Don’t be too disappointed though. Regardless of conflicts, Bonnaroo will be an amazing experience. You will still be able to see plenty of shows.
Just be smart, pace yourself, relax some at the campsite, and most of all, try and meet new people.
It’s also important to have a way to listen to music at your campsite. I always bring my ihome.