Hello Triple M fans and listeners. My name is Sam Ryan and I am the digital content producer intern for Triple M radio here in Madison, WI. Through this position I have been extremely fortunate and have been given the opportunity to cover this weekends Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, TN.
The idea of going to Bonnaroo has been in the back of my mind for the past couple years, but has usually fallen short due to lack of time, money, or some other issue within members of a group. But finally I am able to go and I can't express my excitement for this experience enough.
To cover Bonnaroo I am bringing my good friend and recent UW graduate Justin Dean, known to most friends simply as Dean. Dean too has a love for music and it will be great being able to share music knowledge and experience with him and the other tens of thousands at Bonnaroo.
When I found out I would be heading to Tennessee as the representative for Triple M this year, I instantly went to the active forums of Inforoo and weeded through topics and finding good-to-know nuggets from experienced 'roo-ers. I have thrown together a list of items to bring that is very similar to other packing lists I have seen on the internet. Some of my note worthy must haves are a flagpole with "motion W" UW flag for flying high at our campsite and marking the great city of Madison's territory at the fest, a 30gb ipod loaded with strictly Bonnaroo performer music, instant coffee for the caffeine fix, and a selection of vintage NBA jerseys for the (cross my fingers) beautiful sunny days.
I have a tendency to try not to look at the projected weather for more than a couple days before an event, but yesterday I had to look at the ten day forecast for Manchester, TN. I will admit, my findings were not great. It looks like scattered thunderstorms are likely for my four days in Tennessee. Could be interesting, but as the Local Natives say, "Who knows, who cares." Regardless of weather, I am sure Bonnaroo 2010 will be an experience of a lifetime.
Moving on to the main purpose for a Bonnaroo weekend, the music! The lineup for Bonnaroo is absolutely amazing. For the first six or seven glances at the lineup I was still finding artists I did not see before. The depth of the number of great artists is amazing as well as the large breadth of genres covered. The festival begins Thursday afternoon and caps off Sunday night as Dave Matthews wraps the festival up. As I look over the schedule here are my most anticipated sets for the weekend.
Thursday
@7pm-8pm Local Natives
@7:30pm-8:30pm Miike Snow
@10pm-11pm The Temper Trap
@11:30pm-12:45pm The xx
@1am-2am Afrojack
Friday
@2:30pm-3:30 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
@4pm-5:30pm Nas and Damian Marley
@5:45pm-7:15pm The National
@9:30pm-11:30pm Kings of Leon
@12am-1:30am Daryl Hall and Chromeo
@2:30am-4am LCD Soundsystem
Saturday
@3:30pm-5pm Jimmy Cliff
@4:45pm-6:15pm The Avett Brothers
@5pm-6:15pm Mumford and Sons
@6pm-7:30pm The Dead Weather
@8:30pm-10:30pm Stevie Wonder
@11:30pm-1:30am Jay-Z
@2:15am-3:45am Deadmau5
Sunday
@2:45pm-4pm Jamey Johnson
@3pm-4:15pm Regina Spektor
@7:15pm-8:45pm Phoenix
@9pm-11:30pm Dave Matthews Band
Link to the Official Bonnaroo Schedule if interested.
Interested in some Bonnaroo tunes?
As readers can see, there will be more than a few scheduling issues that will arise over the four days of music. I will navigate around these issues to the best of my ability and take note of as much as I can. Again, I am very excited for this experience and I look forward to giving Triple M listeners and readers a view from 'Roo!
-Sam Ryan
