When: June 9-12, Thursday through Sunday
Where: A 700 acre farm in Manchester TN

The 10th anniversary of what has probably become the most popular music festival in America. It's about an 8 hours drive, and probably the most amazing weekend you'll ever experience. The line to get in on I-24 will break you. The music will rebuild you. Veterans will tell you it's getting too commercialized, and has been going downhill ever since the year before your first time going, but everything eventually becomes The Van's Warped Tour anyway. Drink lots of water. Expect to be hot. Look forward to that $1 grilled cheese vendor. Expect to see some amazing shows which will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Who:

• Eminem


• Arcade Fire


• Widespread Panic


• The Black Keys


• Buffalo Springfield feat Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Rick Rosas, Joe Vitale


• My Morning Jacket


• Lil Wayne


• String Cheese Incident


• Robert Plant & Band of Joy


• Mumford & Sons


• The Strokes


• The Decemberists


• Ray Lamontagne


• Bassnectar


• Iron & Wine


• Girl Talk


• Primus


• Dr. John and The Original Meters performing Desitively Bonnaroo


• Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas


• Pretty Lights


• Florence & the Machine


• Superjam ft. Dan Auerbach and Dr. John


• Explosions in the Sky


• STS9


• Gogol Bordello


• Beirut


• Big Boi


• Scissor Sisters


• Gregg Allman


• Ratatat


• Global Gypsy Punk Revue curated by Eugene Hütz


• Robyn


• Warren Haynes Band


• Deerhunter


• Opeth


• Atmosphere


• Old Crow Medicine Show


• Bootsy Collins & the Funk University


• Wiz Khalifa


• Matt & Kim


• Grace Potter & the Nocturnals


• The Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band


• Mavis Staples


• Béla Fleck & the Flecktones


• Chiddy Bang


• Jovanotti


• Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers


• Loretta Lynn


• Cold War Kids


• The Walkmen


• Devotchka


• Wanda Jackson


• Neon Trees


• Portugal. The Man


• Sleigh Bells


• Amos Lee


• Best Coast


• Dãm-Funk


• The Sword


• The Drums


• The Black Angels


• School of Seven Bells


• J. Cole


• Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea


• Wavves


• !!!


• Junip


• Freelance Whales


• Justin Townes Earle


• Ryan Bingham


• Deer Tick


• Band of Skulls


• Sharon Van Etten


• Abigail Washburn


• Omar Souleyman


• Twin Shadow


• Kylesa


• Man Man


• The Low Anthem


• Alberta Cross


• Railroad Earth


• Jessica Lea Mayfield


• Smith Westerns


• The Head and the Heart


• Karen Elson


• Beats Antique


• 22-20s


• Phosphorescent


• Clare MaGuire


• Hayes Carll

2/15/2011 4:50:31 PM

Fuck. Yes. Can't wait.

2/15/2011 5:58:50 PM

I'll be shooting it again if all goes well.

2/15/2011 6:03:44 PM

If anyone is looking for a carpool there, hit me up closer to June.

2/15/2011 6:09:38 PM

who is

Quote :

"!!!"

?

2/15/2011 6:26:02 PM

^Surprise guest (Radiohead)

Nah...they are a dance-punk band. A little similar to but not quite as good as LCD Soundsystem. Supposed to be incredible live.

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 6:31 PM. Reason : .]

2/15/2011 6:30:16 PM

lineup looks decent so far. i'm initially more into it than i was last year's.

2/15/2011 7:02:54 PM

yeaaaaaah i think im gonna buy my ticket this saturday

2/15/2011 10:11:11 PM

I think last year probably had my favorite lineup, but I'll still go again this year, provided that the people who I normally go with are down to go.

I'm also still really excited to see who they have for the comedy tent.

From 2 years ago:

2/17/2011 2:20:27 PM

lol @ the dude with the Murder INC sign

2/17/2011 2:58:17 PM

Any first-timers here going?

2/17/2011 4:25:05 PM

just bought my ticket

2/19/2011 12:23:10 PM

Quote :

"Supposed to be incredible live."

they are not that similar to LCD Sounsystem and they are better live.

2/19/2011 1:48:15 PM

Woah, killer...I didn't say they were exactly like one another but they are definitely a little bit similar. !!! is a little dancier, sure, but I mean...there are definitely similarities in the style of music both bands make.

And while I'm sure !!! is great live, no way they are better than LCD Soundsystem live. LCD is one of the tightest bands I've ever heard live.

And I should clarify that I like !!! a lot and am really excited to see them.

[Edited on February 19, 2011 at 3:08 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2011 2:56:51 PM

I saw !!! at Langerado a while back and LCD at Bonnaroo. !!! was a much more exciting act for me at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlr9Mc6pQcI

I mean I guess slightly similar I guess.

2/19/2011 9:45:08 PM

I guess I just mean in the sense that they both make music that combines elements of dance/electronic and rock music. Beyond that, not very similar.

At any rate, I'm pretty excited to see !!! at Bonnaroo. It'll be veeeery hard for them to top LCD for me, though. LCD was even tighter when I saw them a few months after Bonnaroo at Virgin Mobile FreeFest,

2/20/2011 10:21:43 AM

You people going to try to get a wolfweb meeting together there? Lol

2/21/2011 12:05:15 PM

ive got tickets to the final lcd show at msg

2/21/2011 12:14:49 PM

I've got tix to Terminal 5

2/23/2011 11:42:54 PM

Schedule is up:

http://mindreader2011.bonnaroo.com/

Worst conflict is Sunday night: Robert Plant vs. The Strokes vs. Explosions in the Sky vs. Beirut vs. Dr. John & Dan Auerbach. Here's what my schedule is looking like right now:

THURSDAY:
Futurebirds
Wavves
School of Seven Bells
J. Cole
Twin Shadow/The Walkmen
Deerhunter
Little bit of Dam-Funk

FRIDAY:
Sharon van Etten
Phosphorescent
Kylesa
The Sword/rest/eat
Opeth
The Decemberists
My Morning Jacket
Arcade Fire
The Black Angels
Lil Wayne

SATURDAY:
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
Deer Tick (nothing I really want to see in this time frame)
Man Man
Wiz Khalifa
!!!
The Black Keys
Buffalo Springfield
Eminem
Dr. John with The Original Meters & Allan Toussaint performing Desitively Bonnaroo
Girl Talk

SUNDAY:
Smith Westerns
Mavis Staples
Bruce Hornsby/rest/eat
Daniel Lanois' Black Dub
Robyn
Beirut
The Strokes

Most excited about Friday, but Man Man>Wiz Khalifa>!!!>Black Keys>Buffalo Springfield on Saturday should be a lot of fun, as well as Robyn and The Strokes on Sunday.

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 4:54 PM. Reason : s]

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 5:08 PM. Reason : s]

5/13/2011 4:50:02 PM

Hate that dr john conflicts with bootsy collins on saturday, but he's still doing superjam with dan auerbach on sunday, which should be cool

5/13/2011 5:12:56 PM

fuck me, explosions in the sky is at 6:45 on sunday...have to see if the people i'm with will want to stay that late...

5/13/2011 8:24:38 PM

that's not even that late really

5/13/2011 10:02:07 PM

debating on seeing karen elson, wanda jackson and loretta lynn in case jack white shows up

[Edited on May 17, 2011 at 8:41 AM. Reason : elson]

5/17/2011 8:41:26 AM

I'm sure he'll show up to one or two of them, since he'll be there with the mobile record store. Won't be able to catch Wanda or Loretta, but I plan on seeing some of Karen Elson's set for that exact reason.

5/17/2011 3:18:53 PM

so far this is how my schedule is shaping up, but i'm sure it will change/not be as full if i decide to go back to my tent to eat or rest for a bit

thursday
futurebirds
karen elson/wavves
school of seven bells
maybe lewis black/band of skulls
sleigh bells
deerhunter

friday
sharon van etten/jessica lea mayfield
phosphorescent
maybe warren haynes to see if anyone cool shows up
wanda jackson
my morning jacket/some of primus
arcade fire
black angels/big boi
ratatat i guess

saturday
black joe lewis and the honey bears
deer tick
portugal. the man
loretta lynn/maybe devotchka (depends on jack white, will be surprised if he's there and doesn't do "portland, oregon" with loretta)
black keys
buffalo springfield
not eminem
bootsy collins/dr. john (may just stay at bootsy)
maybe gogol bordello/girl talk (i think girl talk is going to have major spillage out of this tent)

sunday
smith westerns
mavis staples
hang out/maybe galactic
gregg allman/robyn
robert plant/dr john superjam
not sticking around for panic

i'm gonna hate not sticking around for all of MMJ, but i'd like to catch a bit of primus, and MMJ will never outdo their 08 show, which i've mentioned on these boards about 1000 times since i saw it. plus, i'm pretty lukewarm on the new album, and i'm sure they'll play a lot of that. there's always potential for shit from evil urges like "librarian" and "look at you" as well. haha but as terrible as it is, "highly suspicious" is actually kind of good live. i only caught about 20 minutes of les claypool last year, and i'd really like to see more of him since he's such a monster on bass. really hoping he plays later with bootsy too since they've collaborated in the past.

i'm also gonna hate having to cut out from robert plant early for dr. john since i love his newest album. i think he'll probably do some zeppelin songs too since he did 3 with allison krauss in 08.

[Edited on May 17, 2011 at 3:54 PM. Reason : underline fail]

5/17/2011 3:53:39 PM

So I won't be going this year I've gone the past 3 years and my friends and I made it a yearly thing, but with everyone (but me...hurray transferring) graduation and trying to find work, it just isn't feasible. It's really tearing at me because it's like my one vacation a year.

Hope everyone has fun. Make sure you go in to the pit area on the main stage (the What stage) for every act you want to see there. There is always room, particularly in the far side, so long as you get there a little while before they start letting people in. The line will look long as hell, but a shit ton of people can fit in there.

Also, coming in from NC (24 W), DRIVE PAST the first exit that the electronic signs tell to to get off at. It'll probably be exit 114, or thereabouts. You'll still be in stop and go traffic driving past people on the shoulder for a couple miles, but you'll soon come upon exit 111...take that. My friends and I stumbled upon that last year hoping to beat everyone, and we only took an 1-2 hours to get in, as opposed to the 6 and 9 hours it took respectively to get in our first two times. Also by luck, it gave us what was the best camping spot, imo.

If anyone wants to know anything else, let me know.

5/18/2011 12:34:05 AM

I'm going next year, because for some reason I've never gone my two years of college and this year I'll be in Europe.

I plan to carpool in the major, maybe with some tdubbers if possible.

5/18/2011 12:58:45 AM

^^ what time did you arrive in line the first 2 years though? getting in is usually a huge crapshoot regardless of what exit you take. in 08 my friends and i got to the car searching area off exit 111 around 5:00am on thursday, and one car with a few of my buddy's college friends was there at the same time as us and waited off to the side for another car to show up. we went ahead and ended up about as far away as you can be, and those guys ended up about a 5 minute walk from centeroo and probably didn't wait behind us for very long.

in my opinion, it's completely worth it to leave your car where you park and haul all of your stuff over to tent only. you can have as much space as you want, and it doesn't open until 8:00am thursday, so even if you don't get in until noon there's still usually a lot of room. i think my group got in last year around 10:00-11:00am, and we ended up with plenty of space. it's awesome not having to walk very far back to your campsite at 4am, and it's also really nice to be able to go back and forth between camp throughout the day for food or to chill out for a while. i'll be there again this year.

5/18/2011 11:57:03 AM

We left and arrived at generally the same time each year. We left Garner at around 4am or so, and got in at 2-3pm (Central time) all three years.

It could have been a fluke last year, but after two years of going in that long as line, winding around Manchester for 6-9 hours, we decided we'd drive by that line, and we just stumbled upon that one.

5/18/2011 4:41:00 PM

i see. i'm pretty lucky since one of my friends from high school went to college and still lives in murfreesboro, so it's only about a 40 minute drive from his place to the farm/line of cars. i think exit 111 is closer to the direction we come in from, and actually i think last year they might've sent us down to 114, but i could be wrong.

5/18/2011 9:40:56 PM

Countdown is in the single digits now

5/31/2011 4:26:53 PM

1 week!

6/2/2011 10:34:49 AM

Starting to look like I can't go...fuck

6/2/2011 2:12:20 PM

i'm making my friend who's picking me up from the nashville airport take me directly to third man records. it's gonna be awesome.

6/5/2011 12:24:21 PM

^I went after Bonnaroo last year. Didn't want to go before because I didn't have anywhere but my car to put whatever records I'd purchase and I didn't want them to sit in the heat for several days and get warped. Ended up not getting anything, but it was only a few minutes out of my way and it was super cool to see that place. It's incredibly small.

[Edited on June 5, 2011 at 12:34 PM. Reason : s]

6/5/2011 12:33:27 PM

So I live about 30 minutes away from Manchester. Is this the sort of thing where you pretty much have to stay there the entire weekend? I don't think I would enjoy being immersed in a drunken party atmosphere THAT long.

6/5/2011 1:19:05 PM

^^ yeah i've heard it's really small. one of my high school friends lives in murfreesboro, so i can just leave anything i buy at his house while i'm at the festival. hopefully i'll find some cool stuff. maybe some employees will know whether jack white will make any appearances over the weekend.

^ some people get hotels and just leave the farm at night, but i don't know why the fuck you'd want to. it's not that bad of a drunken party atmosphere, although i guess that could depend on your neighbors.

6/5/2011 6:28:54 PM

^,^^

Yeah the area I was in last year was really quiet at night (apart from the music). Granted, we were in vendor camping. Even inside the festival it wasn't like there were drunk people yelling everywhere. Very chill atmosphere.

6/5/2011 7:00:11 PM

fucking shit. bootsy collins got moved to the same time slot as loretta lynn. god dammit.

6/5/2011 11:20:58 PM

my morning jacket and arcade fire were insane

6/13/2011 9:02:33 AM

who all went...post pictures! tell us all about it

6/13/2011 10:04:48 AM

My good friend Chris Yoder, who graduated from State last year, just passed away yesterday while at bonnaroo, possibly from heat stroke or heat exhaustion. I just wanted to post in here to say how much he will be missed and we'll always be thinking of him and his family. R.I.P. Chris......

6/13/2011 10:53:09 AM

^ that sucks

can't believe two people i kinda know went to the country music festival instead SMH dude

6/13/2011 11:18:49 AM

^^

wow that sucks....R.I.P!

6/13/2011 11:22:41 AM

my friend got pictures of some guy who was running around naked playing with his dick and showing his brown eye to people

6/13/2011 12:32:03 PM

Chris worked with me. He will be missed greatly.

6/13/2011 2:54:29 PM

these Arcade Fire videos from the weekend are pretty fucking great

6/13/2011 4:06:53 PM

I never understood why they didnt just move bonnaroo up two months so it would be cooler. To be honest, the tales of the unbearable heat are what kept me from ever going.

6/13/2011 9:15:47 PM

it wasn't as hot as last year, but it was still pretty hot. it's definitely not that comfortable, but it's far from unbearable. the temperature at night is perfect, and that's when all the best shows happen anyway.

6/13/2011 9:44:32 PM