NEW YORK (Bonnaroo
Music and Arts Festival/ www.bonnaroo.com) -
Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment have announced the dates for the fourth annual Bonnaroo
Music and Arts Festival. Confirmed to take place June 10 - 12, 2005, the three-day camping and music festival will once again be held on the same pristine, 700-acre farm in Manchester, TN, 60 miles southeast of Nashville.
With the announcement of Bonnaroo 2005, festival organizers reconfirm their commitment to the task of making each Bonnaroo a unique experience, while retaining the core concepts that make it superior among modern music festivals. With a focus on spontaneity and live performance prowess, Bonnaroo is a one-of-a-kind event, where top-quality artists from a range of genres perform freewheeling sets for unwaveringly supportive crowds.
"Bonnaroo has come a long way from its first year as its evolved into an internationally respected festival," says Superfly's Richard Goodstone. "And we couldn't have arrived at this place without first earning the respect from our fans and the bands that play our event. We are always striving to grow and change in order to create the best experience for all involved."
Since its inaugural event in June of 2002, Bonnaroo has continued to make a strong impact on the American music industry. Now considered one of the launching pads for the careers of such artists as Norah Jones and Jack Johnson among others, a Bonnaroo showcase is one of the most highly sought after summer plays each year. Rolling Stone magazine called the festival "one of the 50 moments to change the history of rock and roll."
The NY Times said, "Bonnaroo, in just its third year, has already revolutionized the modern rock festival." Billboard magazine's inaugural "Backstage Pass Awards" this year named Bonnaroo "Top Festival." As the festival's fan base is renown to be one of the most open minded, respectful and loyal of its kind, the word has spread to the world's most marquee artists as well as to its young up and comers. Bands at every level want to play Bonnaroo and the fans let them know in many ways how happy they are they've come.
A creative and cultural mega-success, Bonnaroo has featured everything from marquee artists such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Wilco, David Byrne and The Flaming Lips to cutting edge DJs and hip-hop artists to gospel music and indie rock, in addition to beloved roots rock artists such as The Dead, Widespread Panic, and the Allman Brothers Band. From Polyphonic Spree to Damien Rice to Robert Randolph to Kings of Leon to Yo La Tengo to The Bad Plus and more, Bonnaroo constantly demonstrates its iconic deep breadth of diversity.
Bonnaroo also features a host of activities and festival extras to enhance the experience. Past attractions include artist interviews and workshops, a brewer's festival tent with beers from all over the world, a 24-hour cinema tent, along with visual design elements such as a lighted fountain, barricades covered with artful murals, and giant bobble heads created by cutting edge artists.
From street performers like The Globe of Death to an authentic Mardi Gras parade complete with floats and a comedy tent with some of today's hottest young comics, Bonnaroo is now no longer merely a music festival - it's a multi faceted entertainment experience that is at a different level from anything of its kind.
The festival is also quite the tech savvy event as it has wireless hot spots throughout the grounds, offers the shows for download at livebonnaroo.com and hosts an internet cafe as well as a music sharing village. Boasting a wildly dedicated fan base, Bonnaroo sold out in advance every year solely via the internet with no traditional advertising.
The Bonnaroo Music Festival has spawned a series of corollary media products, including three volumes of live CDs, and two DVD documentaries featuring live footage from the 2002 and 2003 festivals. Released by Sanctuary Records Group and produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Blue Man Group), the 2003 CD, is a follow-up to last year's Live From the Bonnaroo Music Festival double-disc CD, and the Bonnaroo, Vol. 2 single-disc.
The 2003 Bonnaroo documentary DVD, 270 Miles From Graceland, features live festival performances, along with artist, fan, and staff interviews. Produced by premier pop music photographer/documentarian Danny Clinch (the official photographer of the 2002 and 2003 Bonnaroo photo galleries), the DVD follows up the Live From Bonnaroo 2002 DVD. A CD and DVD of the 2004 festival will be released in April 2005.
