Bonnaroo called 'best yet'

'Roonies kill time before the David Byrne concert Friday night at Bonnaroo. Light sticks, glowing bracelets, earrings, necklaces and even hula hoops provided as much of a light show in the audience as the bands did on stage. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Order this photo]

The estimated 75,000 Bonnaroo visitors are all on their way home, exhausted, muddy, but largely satisfied.

"Best yet," said Linnea Peters, who made the trip from Colorado for the third year in a row.

This year's event was big on tradition -- the tie-dyed shirts were back in force, rubber boots replaced Birkenstocks as the footwear of choice, and not one rapper or hip-hop performer started their show even remotely on time.

Arrests, no deaths

Other "traditions" at the 8-year-old festival are less than positive -- arrests and deaths. In the latter, at least, the event broke with tradition.

"There have been no deaths as far as we know," said Sandy McKinney of the Coffee County Sheriff's Department Monday morning. "There have been 65 arrests -- so far. They're still out there, so there could be more."

In another report, Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves told a reporter the arrests were not all drug-related, that there were some domestic violence and disorderly conduct charges. The number of citations was not available.

Those 65 arrested did not include the three men arrested last week in Murfreesboro for allegedly making cookies with hallucinogenic mushrooms. The "treats" were intended for Bonnaroo, but neither the cookies nor the cooks made it that far.

Since the first Bonnaroo in 2002, seven people have died, including one who wandered onto the interstate and was struck by Ricky Skaggs' tour bus in 2006, and an employee who was killed during the set-up activities in 2005. There were no deaths reported in 2008.

Stars shine

Bonnaroo 2009 was the first time Phish has played there together, reuniting for two shows, Friday and Sunday. It was the last time Trent Reznor would play with the Nine Inch Nails. It featured mega-star Bruce Springsteen in a three-hour set (an hour of encore music alone), and another appearance of The Boss Sunday night, jamming for three songs with Phish. It also featured Tennessee native Charlie Allen of Manchester, whose song about Bonnaroo had shades of Hank Jr. and captured the fun energy of opening night.

From an old carnival sideshow with games to free batting cages, from the Comedy Sweet to the eco-friendly Planet Roo exhibits, from Snoop Dogg to Merle Haggard, there was something for almost everyone at Bonnaroo this year. Though Bonnaroo was founded as a roots-rock, indie-heavy jam band festival, it years ago adopted a wider musical spectrum that draws from all genres, including hip-hop, heavy metal and pop. Although some purists have condemned the festival for "selling out" by luring big-name artists such as The Police and Pearl Jam, it hasn't affected attendance at all.

Larger crowd

Ashley Capps, the co-founder of Bonnaroo and the president of AC Entertainment (which produces the festival with Superfly Productions), said about 75,000 attended this year. That's up significantly from last year's fest, no doubt partially thanks to the thousands of devoted Phish fans who were eager to see their reunited band.

Capps acknowledged Thursday, with its pounding thunderstorms and tornado warnings, was "a challenging night." But the rest of the festival was marked by mostly sunny, clear and hot weather. Capps said it was one of the smoothest-running Bonnaroos yet.