Leah and I have launched another summer trip around the country–our 6th, for those of you who are counting–and while we usually leave in May, when Florida weather and politics become most offensive, we delayed our adventure by a month because I had the mad idea of attending the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee, scheduled from June 15 – June 18.
By opting for a primitive RV site and a 4-day General Admission pass, we were guaranteed a grassy rectangle measuring 20 x 50 ft. for up to 6 days, and ongoing music from over 100 artists across all genres at 6 stages scattered over a 700-acre farm known as Centeroo.
For the next 5 days, we’d be totally reliant on our 39 gal. freshwater tank, and all the power we could muster from a roof-top solar array assisted by my F-150’s 7.2kW on-board generator.
This would be a huge conservation experiment for us, considering our current record for dry camping was achieved by overnighting at a Wal-Mart parking lot.
But first, a stopover in Nashville was warranted to prep the Airstream for the forthcoming festival, followed by mingling with the hoi polloi on Broadway after dark.
Of course, Nashville never disappoints, whether it’s the people…
the shopping…
or the Broadway bustle!
With a 70-mile drive ahead of us, we headed out at 7am on Thursday, anticipating festival traffic and longish check-in times at Outeroo campgrounds due to compulsory rig inspections for contraband.
Leah had done early research on Bonnaroo dos and don’ts, and each day, she would bring me an update of a new annoyance or inconvenience that always threatened to be a festival deal breaker.
“Did y’know,” Leah mentioned sometime in February, “that bicycles are not allowed inside the festival grounds.”
“Well, that sucks,” I replied, “considering we’ll be using them throughout the rest of our trip, and we have no choice but to take them with us. So what are we supposed to do with them?”
Leah located a bike shop en route to Nashville in Mufreesboro that would update the firmware on our ebikes and allow us to store a big black storage tub filled with glassware, cooking knives, and power tools–all restricted items inside Bonnaroo.
We arrived by 9am to less traffic than expected and even less fanfare during our inspection.
“Got any weapons?” asked a worker bee in a safety vest.
“Nope,” I responded.
He glanced at an over-stuffed backseat and truckbed without regard, then asked to see the inside of our Airstream. He poked his head through the door and announced. “I seen enuf, you’re good to go.”
“That’s it?” I said, whispering to Leah. “Is this a shakedown, or Is he fishing for a tip? Do you realize we could have brought everything with us instead of driving ourselves crazy with these bogus rules?”
“We carry an umbrella so it doesn’t rain,” is all she said.
We were directed through the gate and around a winding gravel road before we settled onto our grassy site,
and soon enough, we were surrounded by a non-stop tailgate party defined by beer, wine, and weed. Canopies, tents, and rigs of all shapes and sizes helped form a kaleidoscopic quilt of shelters and good times.
Randy from Alabama, my RV camping neighbor and veteran of a dozen Bonnaroo summers regaled us with many interesting stories of past concerts, and offered valuable advice on how to survive the weekend. When Leah lamented about the prospects of standing in the heat for hours with the hoards, Randy had the perfect solution.
“There’s an accessibility tent before you get to the Bonnaroo arch, and the staff there can issue a permit for your chairs and provide access to all the viewing platforms near the stages,” he suggested.
“Well, that’s a gamechanger,” I exclaimed. So Leah and I did as Randy recommended. We donned our knee braces, wandered through the Plaza 7 village,
and the Grove…
before we limped into the accessibility tent, where an attendant with multi-colored hair and a tiger tattoo registered us with ADA bracelets. Mission accomplished.
On Thursday, we learned that the 4-day passes and all Outeroo camping had sold out.
We were 85,000 strong.
What could possibly go wrong?
Next up: Bonnaroo–the Music…
Streaming thru America 