Final Project - Visual Journalism

Bonnaroo 2025: How Going to a Music Festival Changed My Outlook on Music

With next year's Bonnaroo lineup released, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on my experience at Bonnaroo 2025. 

[A visual of the 2026 Bonnaroo Lineup; picture above leads to source.]

This year, I was fortunate to attend the 2025 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. And, while my experience was cut short, I am excited for next year's lineup. 

[A visual of the 2025 Bonnaroo Lineup; picture above leads to source.]

Bonnaroo is a 4-day festival that brings together the best of all genres, ranging from rock, pop, R&B, country, folk, metal, and even stand-up comedians and visual artists. Since its launch in 2002, the music festival has attracted fans of all ages to Manchester, TN. The festivities are held on a 700-acre farm, complete with campgrounds, a walk-through forest path, and stages that premiere headlining artists and on-the-rise stars. 

This year, Bonnaroo was held on June 12–15, 2025, and next year it's set to be hosted June 11–14, 2026. 

In addition to the artists, Bonnaroo offers a variety of activities. Attendees are able to explore Where in the Woods, a walk-through forest to catch a break from the sun and rest during the hotter hours of the day. There is even the Legendary Roo Run, a 5K loop around The Farm to support causes that Bonnaroovians hold dear to their hearts. To cool off after these events, the musical-goers can walk through the village market, a unique marketplace full of crafts, art, and activities, or re-energize at The Fountain, a Centeroo staple. 

[A picture of the other activities hosted at Bonnaroo; pictures of The Fountain and 5K lead to sources.]

The premieres are broken into six locations: the What Stage (the biggest stage, where the headliners perform), Which Stage, Other Stage, Who Stage, This Tent, and That Tent. But 2025 saw the introduction of the new Infinity Stage, the "world's largest 360º spatial audio experience." To say this was exciting was an understatement.

[A picture of the Bonnaroo map; picture above leads to source.]

At its core, Bonnaroo is a modern-day Woodstock with bracelets, good vibes, and good music. 

But how did I hear about Bonnaroo, and why was my experience cut short?

Before The Event

My friend Lexi introduced me to Bonnaroo. She had gone plenty of times in the past and told me that I would love it. Tickets were reasonably priced, and I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone. But it was when she showed me the 2025 lineup that I was truly hooked. That night, we bought our tickets and began planning our trip.

Below are the artists we knew we had to see:

The Events Leading up to Bonnaroo 

During the months leading up to Bonnaroo, we made sure we had and did everything we needed: securing our campsite, receiving our bracelets, and making sure we had more than enough sunscreen.

When it hit June 10th, we were headed off toward Tennessee. While this was an 8-hour drive, we made the most of it by listening to musicals, the artists we couldn't wait to see, and singing duets. 

Eventually, we crossed the state line and were one step closer to the festival. We even passed the World's Biggest Bass Pro Shop. 

The First Night on The Farm

When arriving at Manchester, we were greeted by a long line of concert-goers waiting for their campsite location. While we did wait in line for about an hour, the staff ensured everyone got to their campsite safely. And as we got closer to our designated spot, the excitement continued to grow.

Before we could get dressed and ready for the week full of activities, we had to set up our tent and spend our first night next to other Bonnaroovians.

Setting up the tent proved to be a challenge, as I had never set one up before, and there were only two of us setting up a tent meant for eight people. And––to our dismay––there were even spiders infested in our camping area.

But we made the most of it.

We got everything situated, and we were finally ready to settle down and prepare ourselves for a week full of music and time spent together.

 

Day 1: Rediscovering Country and My Unexpected Music Taste

Day one at Bonnaroo began with a breakfast we had meal-prepped beforehand: peanut butter jelly sandwiches and water. I'd never stayed the night in a tent before, and with the Tennessee heat creeping in, I woke up incredibly exhausted for my first day.

After getting ourselves ready, we knew that our first day would be discovering new artists. Because Luke Combs and Insane Clown Posse (ICP) performed later, we had a whole day of exploring Bonnaroo, taking pictures of the decorations, and engaging in the activities they had set up.

 

Before the Luke Combs concert, Lexi and I decided to eat. While the food was a bit pricey, the portion size exceeded our expectations. 

 

But the Bonnaroo experience would only begin with the Luke Combs concert––the one that Lexi was excited to go see.

While I was not an avid listener of country music, I had a wonderful time listening to Luke Combs. And he made me rediscover my love for country. As I left his concert, I added many of his songs to my playlist and began deep-diving the genre I never found myself gravitating toward.

The best part of his performance, though, was when he brought out Jon Bellion––one of my top favorite artists. Although I had many favorites already on the lineup, such as Glass Animals, I never expected to hear him live, let alone at Bonnaroo.

While others in the crowd didn't know who he was, I met a friend who also listened to him. Together, we locked arms and sang "Good Things Fall Apart," one of my favorite songs of his. We were the loudest people in the crowd, and I'm glad I got to see a snippet of what Jon Bellion sounds like live.

Insane Clown Posse were the artists I was most excited to see for the day.

Although they performed late, the excitement of seeing them combatted any exhaustion I was feeling. The same could not be said for Lexi, though, who had a headache and was struggling to leave the tent. But after taking medicine, she made sure I could see the artists I was the most excited for. I am incredibly grateful she made the trek back to the stage, as ICP was one of the most enjoyable concerts I had ever gone to.

My sister told me to stay away from the barrier, as the closer I got to the front, the more the crowd became a mosh pit. And, although I did keep my distance, security ensured that no one got too rough. 

Their performance even started with a bang: playing my favorite song of their's called "My Axe." 

We would eventually go back to our tent, exhausted but glowing with excitement.

 

[What leaving the ICP concert looked like.]

Day 2: Disbelief, Distress, and Displeased

Day Two would be the end of my Bonnaroo trip. What was supposed to be a 4-day week got cut short because of rain and the flooding of campsites. 

The day started as usual, with us getting ready to see Foster the People, Tyler, the Creator, Glass Animals, and a variety of other artists. 

As we left our tent, we were greeted with the worst news: our campsite had been flooded. The tarp above our tent was sagging in, rain soaked through the carpets we had laid out, and the dripping water was making its way into our tent through a hole in the polyester. We thought that if we waited it out and continued to push up on the tarps to get excess water out, maybe the weather would clear and we'd feel safe to make the journey to see Wallows. 

But we waited for hours, and it seemed like the weather was only getting worse.

Below is a video of what other people were experiencing:

@theinnerobserver Welcome to Shit-Show-A-Roo 2025! Or maybe, Disaster-Roo 2025? Yeah, I think Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival made the right call. Today is worse than yesterday. We are still stuck at Bonnaroo ~ and the rain just keeps coming. 😵‍💫 The state of everything here right now is crazy. #bonnaroo #weather ♬ my axe - gay clown

The weather did eventually clear up, but the damage had already been done. With our hopes up, we tried to go see Foster the People. But because the signal on The Farm only worked in certain areas, we heard the official announcement that Bonnaroo was cancelled after we had already started walking toward the main stages. 

The cancellation wasn't hard to believe, as we passed by a multitude of campsites under a foot of water. People were slipping, tarps were ruined, and it was completely unsafe for anyone to continue going to the festival in these conditions. 

 So, with our hearts heavy, we decided to pack up and leave that night. 

[Another picture of the aftermath; picture above leads to source.]

Although my experience was cut short, I loved everything I saw and could see the care the team spent in creating a festival for musical lovers. This care even extended past the festival, as they offered us a 100% refund and implemented new changes to help combat the Tennessee weather and keep concert-goers safe. Hopefully with these safety precautions, Bonnaroo will continue to thrive. 

I hope that, with the 2026 year, Bonnaroo continues to be a place that fosters musical talent and community and I look forward to seeing what this upcoming year brings.