Things got underway Thursday afternoon and though the music didn’t start until 5:45 p.m., festivalgoers found plenty of music and reason to dance.MANCHESTER, Tenn. – Thursday is considered move-in day at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. It’s also the day that first-timers check out Centeroo, the festival’s main area, filled with a dozen stages, vendors selling everything from food to clothing to posters to jewelry, and activities such as beach volleyball and a giant Ferris wheel.
And its the central place where veterans reconnect with friends and check out changes to the site.
Lisa Lane, 41, and Brandon Meier, 43, have been making the trip from Wentzville, Mo., since 2007, missing only the 2010 event.
“We would have come sooner, but we’d never heard of it,” Meier said.
“We like festivals,” Lane said. “We actually met at Lollapalooza.”
For them, Bonnaroo offers a chance to be outside, see great music and disconnect from the real world.
“We love the camping and the no-worries part of it,” Meier said.
In addition to some changes to the gating and fencing surrounding the What and Which stages, attendees on Thursday found high heat and humidity.
A brief rain shower shortly after the gates opened at noon brought cheers from the gathering crowd, which seemed mostly intent on finding shade. There were long lines at the tent selling band and festival T-shirts.
The giant water slide and slip-‘n-slide also were popular with fans seeking a cool respite.
Music didn’t get started until 5:45 p.m. with Unlocking Truth. Seventeen bands were on tap to perform Thursday. The festival gets going in earnest today. Set to perform on the main Who Stage today are Trampled by Turtles, Hozier, My Morning Jacket and Mumford & Sons.
Electronic DJ Bassnectar will take to the Which Stage at 1 a.m. Saturday, while Flume is scheduled for a 2-3:15 a.m. set.
After 14 years, organizers have worked out the intricacies of getting more than 80,000 people into the site quickly and safely.
Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said this year has gone more smoothly than usual. There was one traffic accident on Interstate 24, he said, though he did not have details.
As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, he said, “everyone should be in in about three hours or so.”
Since its debut in 2002, Bonnaroo has worked with a variety of groups to make sure the many smartphones onsite were working. This year, Verizon Wireless has introduced two 75-foot towers called Cell on Wheels, or COWs.
A new company called CHRGR offered festivalgoers stations to charge phones or devices.
Working the crowd was Jennifer Ortiz of Chattanooga. For $30, patrons got a charger and three tokens. When the device runs out of juice, they could return it with a token and get a fresh charger. On the third return, they could keep the device.
CHRGR CEO and co-founder John Mullin said the devices are sold in bars in San Francisco, Atlanta and other cities around the country.
Also new this year is the option to rent a helicopter via Uber from Nashville. People with a spare $1,500 can fly in and fly out of the festival.
It’s part of a concerted effort by Bonnaroo to make it easier for people in Nashville to attend.
“That is something we continue to explore and refine,” said festival co-founder Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment. In the last two years, festival organizers have introduced day visitor options and limo rides from Nashville for people who don’t want to camp.
“We want to make it easy for anyone to attend and we keep looking for ways to do that.”
He said at some point similar options might be offered to Chattanoogans, but not in the near future.
Contact Barry Courter@times freepress.com or 423-757-6354.