As you read this I should hopefully be in the process of purchasing dry ice and other last minute essentials preparing for my annual 45 minute trek south to one of the largest, best run music festivals in the country.

I must admit that’s been both a neat and weird experience seeing Bonnaroo grow and develop as it has over the past seven years. My first ‘Roo experience was with my two college roommates, neither of which were fans of the ‘jamband’ scene. Nevertheless, I convinced them to go because they might not get to experience anything like it ever again. In preparation of exposing them to the festival scene, I made them a 3-volume mix CD set aptly titled: “Don’t Pigeonhole Us – We’re More Than Just Jambands!” And yes, I take my CD mixes seriously. I couldn’t tell you what exactly those tracks were now, but the point was I made them because I wanted to share what I knew would be a wonderful experience with others.

I could sit here and tell you about these different experiences: how the Flaming Lips 2003 late night changed my life for the better, when Levon Helm brought me to tears or how I finally learned to like Widespread Panic. But this would all be pointless if I didn’t mention the one thing that’s most important about going to Bonnaroo – being with your friends. That is what it’s supposed to be about. The epic peaks and valleys of the music that you experience serve as the soundtrack to your weekend. Having the time of your life, getting away from everything that’s wrong with the world and sharing that experience is what is important and I think sometimes we can lose sight of that. READ ON for more on Bonnaroo 2009…

So this is the first year I will be flying solo to Manchester.  As my friends and I get older, we find ourselves making decisions that are often for the better financially and sometimes you have to forgo a little bit of fun to do something that’s (gasp) responsible.  It’s not the first festival I’ve attended by myself – that award goes to the disaster that was known as Coventry. So it seems a tad ironic that Phish will be headlining the only other festival I’ve attended alone. I will admit at first I was a bit apprehensive, but I’m not anymore. I know I’ll meet a ton of people and hopefully establish some new friendships along the way. So even though I’ll miss my most favorite people in the whole wide world being by my side, I know that I won’t be alone — but instead have 80,000 new friends to share the experience of Bonnaroo with over the next 4 days. And I, for one, am looking forward to it.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s not to discredit the music of the festival in any way. Because that’s what it’s about too. After all, what would I have to write or report on while I’m hanging out in the possibly humid-dry-hot-wet climate known as Coffee County? Music saved my life when I was about 8 years old and I haven’t looked back since.  To quote my favorite red-headed musician:

“Music is the realest thing in the world to me, and anyone who’s been there can feel it.” Trey Anastasio, Bittersweet Motel

The same could be said about Bonnaroo. So without further ado (and the fact that I need to get some more items, including this laptop, packed) I thought I’d post my tentative schedule of events over the weekend and if you see something not on the list you think I should check out, please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to heed your suggestions.

Thursday:

Hockey 8:15pm-9:15pm
Those Darlins 8:30pm-9:30pm
Portugal. The Man 8:30pm-9:30pm
The Low Anthem 10pm-11pm

Friday:

Toubab Krewe 12:30pm-1:30pm
Patterson Hood & the Screwtopia 2:15pm-2:45pm
Bela Fleck & Toumani Diabate 3:30pm-4:45pm
moe. 4pm-4:30pm
King Sunny Ade & the African Beats 5:15-6:30pm
Al Green 6pm-7:30pm
Justin Townes Earle 6:30pm-7:30pm
The Features 6:40pm-7:30pm
Beastie Boys 8:30pm-10pm
David Byrne 8:45pm-10:45pm
Phish 11pm-2am
The Protomen 11:30pm-12:30am
Pretty Lights 2am-3:15am
Girl Talk 2:15am-3:45am

Saturday:

Booker T & the DBTs 3pm-4:15pm
Tony Rice Unit 3pm-4:15pm
Heartless Bastards 3:15pm-3:45pm
Bon Iver 3:30pm-4:45pm
Allen Toussaint 4pm-4:30pm
Del McCoury Band 4:45pm-6pm
Gov’t Mule 5pm-6:30pm
Of Montreal 5:15pm-6:30pm
Wilco 6pm-8pm
Elvis Costello 6:45pm-8:15pm
Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band 9pm-12:30am
Daily Show Stars 12:30am-1:45am
Nine Inch Nails 1am-3am
MGMT 2:15am-3:45am

Sunday:

A.A. Bondy 12pm-1pm
Todd Snider 2pm-3pm
Andrew Bird 4:15pm-5:45pm
Merle Haggard 5pm-6:15pm
Band of Horses 6:30pm – 8pm
The Heavy Pets 7:30pm-8:30pm
Phish 8:30pm-12pm

So I know what you’re thinking… something along the lines of: Jennifer, you’re crazy if you think you’ll be able to pull that schedule off. Well, you’re correct, but I’ll do my damnedest. Whether I make it to catch an act or not — I’ll enjoy every minute of the entire experience and will do my best to convey my thoughts on the on-goings of Bonnaroo over the next few days.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the weekend and my random ‘Roo tweets.

Jennifer Kirk

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