by Michael Ray

Created on: April 30, 2009

In the summer of 1999 a musical festival came to Coffee County Tennessee. It was called Itchycoo. In the midst of Y2K worries and with Napster fresh out of the box dozens of bands and thousands of rock 'n roll fans descended on the town of Manchester, the county seat, to party with their favorite bands. Headliners included Dave Mason, Blue Oyster Cult, Marshall Tucker Band, Badfinger, and Joan Jett, just to name a few of the 47 total bands. The event drew nearly 80,000 wild, screaming, and sometimes naked fans who braved the drought conditions and the hot Tennessee sun. Then disaster struck. On the final day of the event promoters ran out of money and the entire event went to hell in a hand basket. From this "Woodstock like event" Bonnaroo was born.

In 2002 Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment sponsored the first Bonnaroo on the 700 acre farm of Sam Mcallister. Located just off I-24 in Middle Tennessee the event causes annual traffic backups along I-24 and excess traffic in the nearby towns of Tullahoma, Hillsboro and Shelbyville. Do they mind? With Bonnaroo visitors spending an estimated $3 million dollars per year during the four day event, the locals have learned to accept, if not tolerate the mass invasion.

Bonnaroo promoters worked out a deal with farm owner Sam Mcallister in 2007 and purchased 500 acres in which to hold the annual event. The new purchase include the main festival area as well as areas which could be used as camping facilities. The famous "What Stage" and "Which Stage" were included in the multi-million dollar deal.

The main and largest stage known as the "What Stage" boasts a 100,000 fans capacity while the smaller "Which Stage" entertains approximately 30,000. Bonnaroo's main street "Centeroo" is lined with concession stands selling souveniers, music, food and drinks.

A total of 589 acts have been featured during Bonnaroo's 7 year history for an impressive average of 84 acts per year. (Compare that to the 34 at Woodstock).

The festival has sold out every year, with nearly 70,000 in 2002 and 90,000 in 2004 - 2008. Bonnaroo's population is nearly twice as big as the population of Coffee County, and 10 times the size of Manchester. Campers have come from all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. It's not always fun and games though with the heat, drugs, and booze. A number of arrests are made every year and a few deaths have occurred.

If you plan on going show up a few days early. Traffic will be easier to navigate and some of the locals will rent out their yards and driveways for camping and mobile home parking. I'm there each and every year as I only live 15 miles away. I realize there's 80,000 people there but keep a look out for me!

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