BONNAROO 2007: CEMENTS ITSELF AS THE CLASSIC AMERICAN FESTIVAL

With a diverse lineup featuring The Police, Tool, Widespread Panic, The Roots, Ben Harper and The Flaming Lips, find out why Bonnaroo is ‘The’ American Festival!

With an incredibly strong and diverse 2007 lineup, Bonnaroo once again brought 80,000 rabid music fans to rural Tennessee this past weekend in a fest that will not soon be forgotten. While boasting the long overdue reunion of The Police, the intricately dark and heavy rock band Tool and jam band favorites Widespread Panic as headliners, Bonnaroo continued its expansion into a four day festival that brings 5 stages, a comedy tent, a Somethin’ Else jazz club, a Troo Music Lounge featuring up and coming bands, a sonic stage where you can catch your favorite artists giving interviews and autographs and a Centeroo that celebrates extraordinary artists from around the world. Bonnaroo’s creators AC Entertainment and Superfly Productions have built a festival that all other festivals in America can model themselves after.

Although Jam Band favorites Bob Weir and Ratdog, Hot Tuna, Galactic and String Cheese Incident were on hand, the diversity was clear as rising pop stars Lily Allen, Feist and Regina Spektor were on site with Reggae artists Ziggy Marley, Manu Chao and Michael Franti, who were joined by rockers Ben Harper, Wolfmother and The White Stripes, who made way for the acoustic music of Old Crow Medicine Show and Unkle Earl with Abigail Washburn, who performed a few stages down from DJ acts Sasha and Digweed and DJ Shadow, who played alongside a wide range of musical acts like The Flaming Lips, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Kings of Leon, The Decemberists, Paolo Nutini, Xavier Rudd, Hot Chip, The Black Keys and Cold War Kids to name just a few.

“(Weir) I got a much better taste for it because I was living in the campground, I was getting rained on, I was getting muddy all that kind of stuff. It’s kind of wonderful to look back and see what’s grown out of it. This is a huge festival but it’s well run, it’s well put together and almost everyone who is here is camping out.” “(Haynes) Well last year The Allman Brothers played in Chattanooga at this huge festival in Chattanooga and I had to miss Bonnaroo for the first time since it’s inception. I was a little disappointed. You know it’s kind of like homecoming for some of us. I love Bonnaroo and I’m glad to be back. I played here with so many different configurations, with The Dead, with Phil and Friends, with The Allman Brothers, with Gov’t Mule several times and my solo acoustic CD was recorded here. You know it’s definitely a reunion.

Besides the anticipated set by The Police, the most talked about musician on site was none other than the legendary John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame who performed in the now legendary Superjam at midnight on Friday with Ben Harper and ?uestlove of The Roots on drums, jumped on stage with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals set on Saturday and then in on an all out blazer of a jam through Moby Dick, Livin’ Lovin’ Maid, Since I’ve Been Lovin You and No Quarter during Saturday’s midnight set with Gov’t Mule. For many fans in attendance this was no doubt the first time they’ve experienced the legendary musicianship of John Paul Jones and he certainly didn’t disappoint the fans who were lucky to be in attendance.

“(Bell) It came off great right off the bat, like it had been around and was established for a long time like Jazzfest or something like that. That’s just amazing because it doesn’t look like they’ve gotten involved in the regular trappings of some of the corporate garbage that could go down. Or at least if it has we haven’t seen it yet.” “(Coyne) If I wasn’t playing some of these festivals I’d be at them anyway. I think that’s the part that I like about it the most. Let’s all admit that the toilets suck and you’re sleeping in your tent and trying to beat the heat when you’ve been awake until six o’clock in the morning and you try to sleep in your tent and the sun comes up all those elements give it a bizarre adventure element.”

We caught up with former Grateful Dead guitarist, Bob Weir, who was on hand 40 years ago this weekend for Monterey Pop and for Woodstock in 1969 to discuss his thoughts on being a part of those legendary festivals in the past and seeing Bonnaroo build on their success. We also caught up with Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule and The Allman Brothers Band; John Bell, lead vocalist of Widespread Panic; and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips to get their thoughts on Bonnaroo.

Bonnaroo was once again graced by history as Jazz legend and pioneer of free form jazz, Ornette Coleman was on site performing at The Somethin’ Else Jazz Club, and we are happy to report that although Coleman collapsed during his midnight set due to heat exhaustion and was taken to a local hospital, he was released later that night and is expected to make a full recovery. Next up from the creators of Bonnaroo however, will be Vegoose, which was one again announced for Las Vegas beginning Oct 26th and extending until Oct. 28th.
rn
rn (Pictured Sting – photo courtesy Brian Yates)