If you're reading this piece, you will likely have one of two reactions to the question posed in the headline. Some of you are ready to scream, "Yeah! WTF happened?" Others are thinking, "Seriously, who gives a rat's ass? Hallelujah!"
But it's worth noting, for better or worse, that Bonnaroo 2015 is pretty much unrecognizable as the festival that began 13 years ago this month in Manchester, Tenn. The 2002 inaugural edition featured Widespread Panic headlining the first two nights and Phish's Trey Anastasio headlining the third night. Also featured: Phil Lesh and Friends feat. Bob Weir, Galactic, The String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper (who returns for the fifth time this year), Jack Johnson, The Disco Biscuits, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Code Talkers, Moe, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Gov't Mule, Soul Live, Old Crow Medicine Show, Umphrey's McGee, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Particle ... you get the picture. While "jam band" is a fairly nebulous term, a solid 90 percent of the acts at Bonnaroo 2002 fall under the rubric in its broadest definition. The 2003 headliners were Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Widespread Panic and The Dead. In 2004, Dave Matthews and Friends, The Dead and Trey Anastasio. In its infancy, Bonnaroo was unmistakably a jam-band festival.
Flash forward 13 years, and the Bonnaroo headliners are Kendrick Lamar and Deadmau5, Mumford & Sons and Billy Joel. Of those, only Mumford & Sons has even a hint of the jam-band ethos. A look at the undercard reveals several acts that have at least some association with the jam-band circuit, among them Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and Nashville's own Moon Taxi. Though My Morning Jacket isn't exactly a part of what most folks consider the jam-band circuit, they do a fair bit of improvisation in their sets, and they've become popular with many jam-band fans, though that isn't their core audience. Regardless, perusing the list of roughly 200 acts playing this year, it's safe to say less than 10 percent of the acts have any ties whatsoever to the jam-band world.
So is that a bad thing?
Obviously, most music fans don't think so, or the Bonnaroo brand wouldn't be thriving. I'm guessing the majority of people reading this fall into the aforementioned "Who gives a rat's ass" category, and that's why the drift away from jam has been so dramatic. Among my Scene cohorts, I'm typically considered the jam-band guy, but frankly, the term makes my skin crawl. Yes, I'm a fan of the Grateful Dead (I even play in a GD tribute band), John Scofield and Medeski Martin & Wood, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and I enjoy the guitar work of Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring. But I don't have much use for the majority of jam bands, and I'll be the first to admit that some pretty egregious crimes against music have been committed in the name of the jam. I'd rather see Kendrick Lamar than any currently touring jam band. Heck, I'd even prefer to see Billy Joel, and I'm not a fan of his music, though I know he's a dynamic performer. Mumford & Sons ... well, maybe not so much.
Naturally, with the evolution of the musical direction, the crowds have changed too. For instance, while the percentage of jam bands has plummeted, the hipster-to-hippie ratio has skyrocketed. There's still not much in the way of cultural diversity, but there are a lot more Chuck Taylors than Birkenstocks plodding through the dusty grounds these days. The preponderance of facial hair is still about the same, though in that regard, the ironic-to-sincere ratio is also on the rise.
All that said, it seems that the hippie spirit of the original Bonnaroo — at least when it comes to being cool to your neighbors, letting your freak flag fly and expanding your mind in any number of ways — is still alive. It's as if the growing contingent of indie-rock fans — who as a group can tend to be a bit more cliquey and standoffish — is playing hippie for the weekend, whether that means wandering through the proverbial looking glass, running around barefoot, getting their bodies painted, or God help us, being genuinely warm and friendly. The same dude who stands with his arms crossed during the inevitably heady War on Drugs show at Marathon Music Works might be seen high-fiving a shirtless, noodle-dancing stranger when the band plays Saturday at the Which Stage.
So while the trend is noteworthy from an anthropological perspective, this purported jam-band fan is completely fine with the evolution of Bonnaroo. Not to say I don't pine for the days when headliners included Phil Lesh and Friends with John Scofield (2006), or Neil Young, who started his 2003 Crazy Horse set with a raucous five-minute-plus guitar solo on "Love to Burn" before uttering a word. I certainly enjoy the jams.
But 15 hours a day of noodly five-minute guitar solos? No thanks. And this from a guy who's played more than a few noodly five-minute guitar solos himself.
Here's even more Bonnaroo 2015 coverage!
by Adam Gold
Thirty-two undercard acts to discover at Bonnaroo 2015
by Adam Gold, Seth Graves, Sean L. Maloney, Jim Ridley, D. Patrick Rodgers and Stephen Trageser
Has Bonnaroo been completely, er, denuded of its hippie roots?
by Jack Silverman
A new crop of indie rockers make 'Roo debuts
by Charlie Zaillian
Kendrick Lamar makes headliner status and EDM finally makes the main stage
by Lance Conzett and Seth Graves
Once again, Nashvillian acts large and small land amid the Bonnaroo lineup
by D. Patrick Rodgers
by Adam Gold
All the best rappers are at Bonnaroo this year
by Sean L. Maloney
A rundown of Bonnaroo 2015's rockinest offerings
by Lance Conzett
An eight-time general-camping veteran on what it's like to wake up in Tent City
by James Roslowski
The Bonnaroo 2015 comedy lineup is no joke
by Ashley Spurgeon
by Adam Gold
Why Kacey Musgraves and Sturgill Simpson Are Better Off at Bonnaroo
by Chris Parton
