I wanted to go somewhere epic and do a long-distance trip to mark my start into full time van life, and what could be more amazing than my very first major music festival? Bonnaroo is a multi-genre music festival in Manchester, TN, and the whole purpose of this road trip I’ve been on so far.
It was amazing, sweltering hot, full of surprises, made new friends, hot AF, became a fan of new bands, got to see some legends…oh and btw, it was effing hot! I loved every second of it!
Jun 11: Bonnaroo Farm | Manchester, TN
Lincoln wasn’t going to the sitter til after noon, so we head off to Land Between the Lakes Recreational, South Welcome Station to dump/refill my tanks, and spend some time playing with him before I needed to drop him off. I ended up on a dirt road where I noticed a sign marking a one room school that burned down in 1940. I swear to you, I suddenly heard footsteps… The trees were pretty thin, and I could not see anyone. Sure it was probably just a hiker, but my gut said GTFO, so that I did! I then head to a picnic area to make lunch and run around with Lincon for awhile.
I was so sad to drop off my pup! And he was pretty sad too…he went from being excited to come back to the sitters house, to infinite sadness upon realizing I was leaving without him 😠Onwards to Bonnaroo… It was a mixture of emotions, super excited for the week ahead, but also, super odd to be in the van without Lincoln and missing him so much already. There were pre parties going on, but I was pretty exhausted, so I got all set up then went to bed, cause I’m old and stuff.
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Manchester, TN | June 13-16, 2024
Today’s Driving Stats: 189 miles, 4hr 23min
Jun 12: Pre Roo
The actual festival doesnt actually start til Thurs, but RV campers get to show up on Tues. Im glad I came early, cause it gave me time to catch up on sleep after such a long drive, and also check out everything before things got too crazy. It was so SO awesome to see the famous Bonnaroo arches for the first time! Also checked out the shops, wandered around, checking out all the flags and decorations at peoples camps.
It went into the mid 90s and I got dizzy, so ended up knocking out for most of the day. Later in the evening, I checked out Where in the Woods, and it was straight up magical in there!
Jun 13: HAPPY ROO!
As luck would have it, one of my best friends knew a guy who was working at Roo, so we linked up to say hi and hang out for a bit. We saw Eggy, a really good funk band, and also She She She, soulful..disco? I liked their sound a lot…another new band going into my Spotify. It was still pretty hot, and I was drinking tons of water with eloctrolites, cause I came prepared… but still wasnt feeling so great and again knocked out for most of the day.
Later in the night, I went to see Pretty Lights since its all anyone ever talked about as a must see. I think I was just in the mood to rock out and this was super, mellow. Id like it a lot for music to code to, but I was starting to get tired, and needed a pick me up. So I dipped and ended up catching Oliver Heldens, a house dj, and that was pretty fun.
I grabbed something to eat and joined someone at a table, then another couple came and joined us…and everyone was so cool. I ended up getting my very first ever kandi! And he taught me the PLUR handshake! And then right after, the couple gave me my second kandi… a kandibar!! Coolest thing ever! GWAR was about to start, so I raced to catch them and oh man, what an amazing, amazing show! So much alien blood and semen everywhere!! I absolutely have to go to a full concert one day!
Jun 14: See All The Things!
Today, I just gave up on trying to go out during the day, cause it was over 100 degrees and I cant function in that kind of heat. It would have been awesome to check out new to me bands playing during the day, but decided not to push it. There were anyway a ton of bands I wanted to check out after dark, and oh man, I was running all over the place!
Started off with Khruangbin, a soul band. Even though its not totally my vibe, they were pretty good…I wandered off and ran into the rock band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and that was a super cool surprise find. Afterwards, lingered for a bit watching Dr Fresch, a fun electronic DJ. Interpol is a rock/punk? band that seemed super popular, and yeah…they were really good. Straight into my Spotify.
I’ll admit, I’ve been sleeping on Post Malone… Of course I know who he is, cause hes like, famous famous, so figured I should go check him out. I ended up recognizing some of his songs, but honestly? He blew me away…all of his songs were awesome. Not sure if its cause I was seeing him live, cause hes a really amazing performer, but yeah, I see why hes famous now. Into Spotify, on my concert list.
Heard lots about people excited to see Svdden Death, an electronic DJ and omg, I freaking loved it! I was interested in checking out the rock band, The Mars Volta, and that was a really, really good show…loved every song. I left cause I wanted to see T-Pain. I recognized a couple songs, but he was kind of just, yelling over tracks which wasn’t super awesome. I dipped to catch the end of Mars Volta, cause I really liked them.
Jun 15: Winding Down, But Not Too Much!
Yet another over 100 degree day… physically I was over it, but I really..really wanted to go see Jon Batiste, so I head out into the sun to see him and I am SO glad I did! Hands down, the most incredible performance all week…he was amazing. He sounded amazing, put on a great show, playing all the instruments, pulling out all the dance moves, and sounded awesome. Found out hes from New Orleans when he burst out with some jazz party vibes. Must see him in concert one day.
Choices were made… I left Batiste to cause I wanted to see Sean Paul. He was okay…I love his music but the show was just..okay. On the way out, I caught Renee Rapp. Not usually my vibe, but she put on a great show. I feel like everyone but me knew every word to every song..I hadn’t heard any of her songs. But she’s going in my Spotify now cause I really liked her stuff. (Oh woah, just saw she played Regina George in Mean Girls…well then!)
So, this heat was killing me not so softly. I decided to try and run my ac out of desperation, and blew a fuse. Then my inverter died. Had to take my bed apart to replace the fuse and get my batteries running again. I went into full “I cant even!” mode and went to sleep, then I head out to see Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’ve seen them in concert before, but loved how they went into a full on funk jam here. I wish I could have stayed for the whole show but….wasn’t feeling great so called it a night.
Jun 16: That’s a Wrap!
I was at the end of my rope, but if I’m only going to see one show, I knew it had to be Megan Thee Stallion. Linked up with someone from Reddit who also was here solo for the first time, and he introduced me to friends he made near his camp who were all super cool. Will admit, I barely knew Megan, but everyone I know said I MUST go see her. I was planning to stay for a couple songs then go back to bed but that didn’t happen. Woah what a show! Okay, she’s awesome, and fierce AF…I adore her now. Perfect ending to Roo for me.
Will I go again? Sure, if I get a 12v AC then absolutely… I came out knowing maybe 5 bands, and found so many really amazing new to me music to add to my rotation. The people are just incredible too, super sweet and fun and crazy and cool. So many high fives and “Happy Roo!” Everyone I came across just being really good people. It’s such a great vibe. I loved all of it.
