© 1996-2006 John P Dudley

BONNAROO!  - As most of you know, I love live music, and over the past several years I have enjoyed going to various music festivals.  This year I went to Bonnaroo, arguably both the biggest and best of the "jam band" festivals.  On a 600 acre farm in Tennessee, 80 bands got together on 6 stages for 3 days of fun.  Each day started at noon with music on all six stages, and the music continued to 4 AM.

Nearly 100,000 fans camping out in various tents/shelters/campers/RVs attended, including myself, my cousin Ben from Evansville, and my buddy Rob from Portland.  We stayed in an RV trailer that Ben had borrowed, and slept in style - when we slept that is - and had electricity for both the air conditioner as well as the all-important margarita blender.

This was the 3rd year for Bonnaroo, and I am glad I went before it's popularity ruins it.  Bands included some of the top names in rock (Dave Mathews, David Byrne, Phish, Bob Dylan) as well as some of the best bands you've never heard of.

The weather was great, with the exception of the one afternoon when it poured and turned the festival grounds into a swamp of mud.  But in the spirit of Bonnaroo, in the end that just added to the excellent shared experiences.

For more info on Bonnaroo, visit www.bonnaroo.com