Bonnaroo organizers are turning to loyal fans for help coming up with solutions to make the music festival better in the wake this year’s cancellation.
Storms flooded the Tennessee farm that hosts the yearly festival, forcing organizers to pull the plug on day two.
While typically the festival announces next year’s dates soon after the current year’s festival ends, this year organizers have pushed the pause button on future plans. Instead, loyal fans were asked to participate in a survey about how to improve the festival and avoid future disappointments.
According to the Tennessean, fans were asked things like, “Would you be more likely to attend if Bonnaroo only happened every other year?”
The survey also asked, “Would you attend Bonnaroo if it was a few weeks later in the summer?”. And even, “Would you attend Bonnaroo if it was in late September/early October?”
A post on Bonnaroo’s Instagram account invited loyal ‘Bonnaroovians’ – as die-hard fest fans are called- to weigh in on “future Roo.”
In the post, organizers wrote, “Bonnaroovians, we’ve started to plan for the future of Roo & we want to hear from you!
The first thing we want to look at: when Bonnaroo happens each year, how that affects your experience on The Farm, and if certain times of the year might make it easier or more difficult to attend. Take the survey and let us know what you think 👉 link in bio
We want you to be a part of this process, so we’ll keep you posted on any updates and likely ask you to weigh in on more considerations in the coming months.”
Fans Have Mixed Feelings About Moving Bonnaroo Dates
The idea of moving Bonnaroo to a different time of year got mixed reactions from festival-goers.
Some insisted the focus should be on infrastructure changes to the Manchester, Tennessee farm that has hosted the festival for the past 23-years.
One fan commented on the page’s Instagram post about the survey, writing, “This actually p***es me off. Bonnaroo has been in June for the past 25 years. Live nation over here making it seem like the issue here is the dates, not the lack of investment in the infrastructure of the venue 🙄 let us not forget the 2021 September Roo cancellation that was ALSO for flooding. Changing the dates won’t change whether or not the grounds will flood….”
Another commented, “Or maybe we can level off the low parts of the farm?! Ngl I love the June dates”
Still another lamented, “As someone who works in the public school system, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KEEP BONNAROO IN THE SUMMER. 😩😩😩 I would be so brokenhearted if it got moved out of summer break. That’s not the answer. The rain in Manchester in the fall is usually higher than the rain there in June. The answer is just working on updating the farm.”
But other festival fans were more open to change. One commented, “Autumn would be the perfect time of year ❤️ just jot the same time as Hulaween or EDCO”
Another wrote, “I would attend bonnaroo if y’all put it on christmas day. truly.”
Bonnaroo Has Struggled With Muddy Fields in the Past
While this year’s heavy rain was an extreme example, festival-goers have dealt with Manchester mud before at Bonnaroo.
Since Bonnaroo launched in 2002, the festival has been held each year in June, with a few exceptions.
In 2021, the world tried to recover from the pandemic. And Bonnaroo was scheduled for September but canceled when Hurricane Ida brought flooding.
The festival was postponed three months and then ultimately canceled in 2020 when COVID was at its peak.
But other years have brought enough rain to The Farm to make things messy without forcing any cancellations.
Organizers have not specified when they will make decisions about the future of Bonnaroo. But they say they will keep fans posted and may ask for more input in the future.
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Bonnaroo Organizers Turn to Fans for Fest Fix