The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

The Bonnaroo Festival is a four day annual music festival that was created by Ashley Capps and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment. It was first held in Manchester, Tennessee in 2002. The main attractions of Bonnaro are the multiple stages of live music, many musical styles including world music, americana, country music, electronica, hip hop, jazz, bluegrass, folk, gospel, reggae, and other alternative music. Bonnaro began with a focus on jam bands, but has changed greatly in recent years. It features craftsmen and artisans selling products, food and drink vendors, and also many other activities by various sponsors.

The main stage, the What Stage (100,000 people) and the second stage, the Which Stage (30,000 people) are the two performance areas, open each day of the festival.


Centeroo is a twenty four-hour gathering place that features three large music tents (That Tent, This Tent, and the Other Tent), the Bonnaroo Festival Market (craft and merchandise vendors), music sharing areas, a comedy tent, an arcade tent, a cinema tent, and other special events. Most activities and vendors are open 24 hours with the perfect live music.

The word Bonnaro, that was popularized by a New Orlean's giant Dr. John with his album Desitively Bonnaroo in 1974, is a Cajun slang word that means "a really good time." They have chosen this name not only for its literal meaning, but also to honor the rich Louisiana music tradition which inspired the organizers to provide many styles of live music for appreciative fans. This word, Bonnaroo, is actually a creole-French construction that was taken from "bon" (french for "good") and also "rue" (French for "street").