The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which opens Thursday, June 7, in Manchester, Tennessee, will likely always be thought of as a hippie fest featuring a lineup heavy on jam bands like Widespread Panic and Phish in some people's eyes. But the reality is that it has adapted since the inaugural sold-out event in 2002 to include several genres.
In fact, electronic dance music, or EDM acts such as Hippie Sabotage, Kaskade, Snakehips and Carnage, now dominate the lineup, according to the folks at Vividseats.com. They took a look at "Genre Trends at America's Biggest Music Festivals" since 2014 (www.vividseats.com/blog/music-festival-genres.html), and confirmed what regular Bonnaroo attendees have already known: The number of dance and electronica acts increased while the number of all others has decreased.
According to their research, "In 2017, 14 percent of Bonnaroo's acts were of the rap/hip-hop genre, double the share it occupied at the festival in 2014 (7 percent). At 10 percent of the 2018 Bonnaroo lineup, this year's share of rap/hip-hop acts is 2.5 times the share that the genre enjoyed in 2015, when just 4 percent of the festival acts were of the rap/hip-hop variety."
Dance/electronica has in fact grown each year over the past five years, according to the study. It represented 10 percent of the lineup in 2014; in 2018, EDM acts make up 27 percent of all performers falling into that genre.
There are 11 stages at Bonnaroo, with most offering a variety of music styles throughout the four-day festival. But last year, organizers dedicated The Other Stage entirely to EDM, a move that co-founder Ashley Capps says proved to be a big hit with fans.
"It went really well," he said.
Rock has fallen each of the last four years, from comprising 34 percent of the festival acts in 2015 to just 13 percent in 2018.
The fountain in Centeroo at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has a been a popular gathering place for fans since the inaugural event in 2002. (John Partipilo/The Tennessean via The Associated Press)Eminem, The Killers, Future, Muse, Bassnectar, Sturgill Simpson, Bon Iver and Anderson Paak are the top acts on the nearly 100-act lineup. It's just one indication of how the festival has adapted since the first one in 2002.
Bonnaroo is held on a 700-acre former farm in the middle of Tennessee, and the majority of attendees stay on the property throughout, often in tents or make-shift camps. Capps said in past interviews that the festival featured a large number of jam bands during the early years in part because organizers rightly deduced their fans were more likely to camp.
"It was never intended to always be a jam band festival," he said. "We always planned to change not only the site, but the lineup in order to stay fresh and attract a broad spectrum of attendees."
Since that first Bonnaroo, many changes have been made to both the site and the amenities that are offered. Site improvements have included the installation of permanent bathrooms, water stations and showers, roads, grading to improve water run-off and the planting of trees for shade.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.