Bonnaroo weekend is a highly anticipated experience in the festival circuit, but with its 3rd cancellation in five years, there could be changes in its future.
Anyone who’s attended Bonnaroo will speak to its absolute uniqueness. The vibe is something unmatched and unreplicable. With the mantra of “Radiate positivity” taken seriously by its attendees, the lack of sponsorship on stages, a wide range of acts performing, and sets that go until the morning light, it’s any festival goer’s dream. The farm hosts around 80,000 each year, with most patrons choosing to camp on site.
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This year, Bonnaroo was going to be different. Instead of the beloved bandanas festival goers received with their wristbands, there were promises of improvements to the grounds and a new Infinity Stage. The Infinity Stage is a 360 degree sound system that replaced the Who Stage which is touted as the first of its size in the United States. Guests were excited to see the changes, and were excitedly awaiting the opportunity to see their favorite artists play this cutting edge stage at Bonnaroo. The Totem Compass team was also anticipating their first Bonnaroo experience by adding an interactive map to their app’s interface and scheduling meet-ups and surprises for the Totem family throughout the weekend. Totem is a friend-finding compass that can help you track your fellow Totem Compass toting friends without any cell service or internet; perfect for festivals like this one. A simple bonding procedure where you touch the two Totems together and press the center crystal enables you to find each other when separated with the help of satellite location and their Unity Mesh Network.
From stages hosting live music, vendors, yoga classes, groves of trees for hammock naps, and an extensive network of bathrooms, showers, and other amenities built into the Outeroo experience, it should be a paradise for those pitching a tent for the weekend. But after torrential rains and scattered lightning storms starting on Friday afternoon, festival goers were left seeking cover in their cars, waiting for the all clear that never came. While the good vibes continued on with slip-and-slides through camps, mud wrestling, puppet shows, acoustic sets from patrons who brought along instruments, and even a pop up set from John Summit in the artist RV park, some were left with unlivable camping situations.
Lines for the exit were upwards of four hours, and even the most patient of Bonnaroovians were losing their ability to stay positive. There were criticisms about the lack of preparation for storms that had been forecasted for weeks beforehand. Many expressed frustrations at the lack of staff available to help get cars unstuck from muddy campsites and direct traffic. Medic tents were abandoned, showers were locked, and there was a stark lack of communication in the first few hours after the cancellation was announced. A majority of the volunteers (who are only paid in free wristbands for the festival) walked out with nothing motivating them to stay and help their fellow Bonnaroovians.
With spotty cell service and an air of uncertainty ringing through Outeroo, the SPIN team was reliant on their new Totem Compasses to help reconnect with each other and plan their next move. The SPIN team tried out the Totem technology over the first few days of Bonnaroo and were able to reconnect after parting ways to catch sets, interview artists, or grab a snack. The map of Bonnaroo on the new Totem Compass App came in handy for finding the last remaining vendors with their lights on, and navigating the way back to camp after braving the muddy grounds of the festival. While we didn’t get to test the Totems for the full duration of the festival, we leaned heavily on them for the time we had at Bonnaroo.
Before the festival was cancelled, the SPIN team had the pleasure of speaking with a slew of artists from the Bonnaroo lineup. John Summit, HAYLA, Flipturn, Die Spitz, Courting, Wilderado, and Hey Nothing talked with us about what makes Bonnaroo so special, their fan communities, and their upcoming projects. We also gifted them Totem Compasses to stay connected with their crew for the remainder of the weekend. HAYLA mused she always gets lost at festivals when she was first gifted hers. Something that will be a thing of the past while she and her crew sport the new technology at festivals. Flipturn joked their drummer, Devon, who has a penchant for wandering, could now be easily found when his sidequests take too long. John Summit was given a limited edition Totem Compass, the clear version reminiscent of clear Gameboys and Apple desktops.
If the weather would have cooperated and Bonnaroo could have gone on, Totem Compass users would have been able to navigate the festival grounds with the help of the map on the app, hung out with the creators of Totem Compass themselves, and found secret sets from BeatBox House. Whether you’re an avid festival goer or an artist looking for ways to connect with your fans, Totem Compasses help you stay connected, and stay in the moment.
While I can’t predict the future of Bonnaroo, it’s clear some fans lost some love for the festival. There were plenty of Bonnaroovians voicing their opinions online and suggesting solutions like upgrading the campgrounds to include drainage, keeping wood chips ready to keep mud at bay, and pushing the festival’s date back to the fall to avoid the increasingly volatile weather Tennessee is facing in the spring. Others had more creative solutions, like encasing the full grounds in a large tent. Bonnaroo initially offered festival goers a 75% refund when the cancellation was announced, but after hearing the feedback from Bonnaroovians in the week following the festival, they updated their announcement. They’re now offering full refunds, and taking the concerns about the grounds seriously. They’ve promised to do right by their fans, and put in the work to the farm and event organization Bonnaroovians have been demanding. It’s the first step on the road to winning back the love of festival goers who have held Bonnaroo on a pedestal for years now.
After abandoning the farm, fans and bands alike made the most of the cancellations with pop-up shows in Nashville and Chattanooga. A slew of artists performed throughout the weekend, and Bonnaroovians took to the streets with their wristbands and merch, greeting each other with a sympathetic and slightly sarcastic “Happy Roo.” Radiate Positivity was still the mission, and as heart wrenching the news of the cancellation is, it lives on.
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