Hippies in the south

BOSTON — The 7th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will take place June 12-15, 2008 in Coffee County, Tenn. The festival, held on a 700-acre farm, is presented by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment. Along with its wide-range of musical performances, this year’s Bonnaroo contains many extra activities to keep the attention of any wandering hippie.

Since its first festival in 2002, Bonnaroo has focused on arts, comedy, music, and giving back to the Coffee County community. Each year, Bonnaroo supports Coffee County through donations made with ticket sales.

Since Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment purchased the 700-acre Manchester farm in 2007, they have added new attractions for entertainment. “It’s an incredible property that can lend itself to many different kinds of events and gatherings,” explains co-founder of Superfly Productions, Jonathan Mayers.

The 2008 festival activities have evolved into a new kind of festival experience. “It’s rewarding to see how the festival has matured in all aspects from production to music programming,” explains co-founder of Superfly Productions, Rick Farman. “We believe that it’s these ingredients that make being at an around-the-clock festival so unique and special.”

With added attractions, there will be more ways to experience Bonnaroo than ever. “But what we are just as excited about as producers,” continues Farman, “are the special attractions we have created such as the Cinema, Comedy Theatre, Somethin’ Else Jazz Club, Planet Roo, and the new elements we are creating for this coming year.”

Bonnaroo has a full itinerary, and it presents a musical line-up that touches on many genres of music. It originally promoted jam-bands in 2002, but the 2008 line-up names artists like Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Death Cab For Cutie, Sigur Rós, M.I.A., and Willie Nelson as the headlining acts.

Bonnaroo’s weekend in the sun for hippie types who never saw the 1960s has its silly moments,” reports The New York Times, “but compared with hipster cool or mass-market consumerism, hippie idealism makes a fine alternative.”

The festival, which contains a large selection of activities to choose from, also invests its resources into the community. In a 2005 study done by the Bonnaroo organization, the impact of the annual festival on Coffee County was more than $14 million in business revenues and more than $4 million in personal income.

Bonnaroo is a large festival and limits ticket sales to 80,000 per year. Starting ticket prices were $209.50, and are currently $244.50. With each ticket purchase service fees are applied; however, this includes a $3 fee that goes to the Coffee County community, $6 facility fee, and $1 for charity.

With positive press from The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, and Spin Magazine, the festival has earned itself a good reputation. The attendees of the festival will have an overwhelming amount of entertainment, and time management will be just as important as staying hydrated in the warm June sun.

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