Bonnaroo Festival styles range from uptown to down home

Photo by Barry CourterThe Magic Mushroom dish from Poutine Fries is just one of the offerings available from food trucks at Bonnaroo.
Photo by Barry CourterThe Magic Mushroom dish from Poutine Fries is just one of the offerings available from food trucks at Bonnaroo.
photo Photo by Barry CourterThe lines for the dozen food trucks on site are always long because the food is good.

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MANCHESTER, Tenn. - How do you do Bonnaroo?

There are almost as many ways to partake of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival as there are people at the event.

photo Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known by his stage name deadmau5 performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, June 13, 2015 in Manchester, Tenn.

For the uninitiated, the mere mention of Bonnaroo conjures images of sweaty hippies camping in mud. The reality is, some people do rough it, but most, especially the thousands of people who come every year, create campsites that have all the comforts of home, and then some.

And then there is the VIP experience, which includes special seating, bathrooms and showers, a daily prepared meal and easy access. Some load up their compact cars, their trucks, their minivans or their SUVs and treat them as their home-away-from-home for four days.

Others drive up in fancy RVs and set up what amounts to a living room with tables, carpeting and lights, with crystal stemware and fine china. Generators roar around the clock, powering air conditioning and electric fans and charging phones.

Some campers subsist on little more than trail mix and fruit, while others create gourmet meals on grills or in RV ovens.

"We have a pretty sweet sleeping setup," said Megan Bockmeier, a senior at the University of Central Florida. She camps in the general camping area.

"We have a Dodge Magnum and we put an IKEA mattress in there and leave the tailgate open. We cover it with a tarp for shade."

This is Bockmeier's third straight year at the festival. On the last two, she's brought her school books with her to study. On Saturday morning she was at a picnic table inside Centeroo with her ecology book. All around her, workers were setting up the stages as people slept on the grass or ate from the dozens of food trucks and tents.

"I fully embrace the food truck idea," said Joe Winland, 37, owner of Heaven & Ale in Chattanooga.

photo Adam Granduciel of War on Drugs performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, June 13, 2015, in Manchester, Tenn.

Winland said he'd tried a Roti Roll, a naan wrap filled with curry pork, carrots, onions and kimchi, on Friday, and Saturday morning he was sampling the Hangover Poutine Fries dish featuring crispy fries, cheese and gravy and a sunny-side-up egg.

"This is awesome. I might eat this twice today. I really think everyone should commit to eating at the food trucks once a day."

Over the years, Bonnaroo has tried to accommodate the many ways people enjoy the festival, creating spaces for just about every need.

Some spend mornings poring over the schedule, trying to figure out how to see as many shows as they can. Others focus on one must-see act and spend the day resting around their camps.

A few people stay in hotels in Manchester or Nashville and drive in each day. Veterans learn that pacing yourself is key if you plan to see any of the shows than start after midnight.

"I plan my summer around it," Bockmeier said.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@times freepress.com or 423-757-6354.

photo Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind and Fire performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, June 13, 2015 in Manchester, Tenn.

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