It’s festival week in Tennessee with two of the largest in the country taking place: Bonnaroo this past weekend, our own Riverbend continuing through Saturday. This was my 13th Bonnaroo and is my 37th Riverbend. I’ve done zero CMA Fests in Nashville, which was also last weekend.
I’ve seen plenty of changes at both over those years, which is very likely why both are still around. Adapt or go away, right? Since Bonnaroo is fresh on my mind, let’s talk about those changes.
Security is at the forefront of many people’s minds these days, and it certainly was in Manchester, Tennessee, at Great Stage Park. Only clear bags and backpacks were allowed inside Centeroo this year, for example.
Metal detectors were at every gate, though as you can imagine, the volunteers who manned them for 12-hour shifts got tired pretty quickly of the constant beeping from cell phones, cameras, car keys and anything that set them off, so there wasn’t a lot of policing going on.
Still, most everyone understood and appreciated the idea of having them. Also, the gates to get in and out were closed overnight, which was new this year.