Dear Bonnaroo,
As June has come and gone, I sit in my apartment with my body not sore from dancing for four days straight, my mind not foggy from a 17-hour drive home, no Amish Donuts in my stomach, but yet I still feel a buzz that only Bonnaroo can produce. If you’ve been there, you understand.
If you have yet to experience the Farm, words cannot do it any justice. It’s not quite the same as returning from our beloved home, but I still feel something. Maybe it’s my body subconsciously thinking it was at Roo as it does every year at this time. Or perhaps it’s the memories from old photos and videos popping up from not only my phone but on my timeline from my friends. There is something special about Bonnaroo. Even when it doesn’t happen, the magic still somehow finds it’s way to us. Scrolling through my feed, watching videos and pictures of past Roos, and watching Homearoo streamed by Bonnaroo365, for now, the third weekend brought me through a roller coaster of emotions. From sadness to happiness, to nostalgia, euphoria, and back to sadness again.
The bonnablues are absolutely a real thing. But it also proved that Bonnaroo is more than just a gathering of hippies listening to music in a field every June. It’s a community like no other that lasts throughout the entire year. I frankly can’t think of any other festival that impacts people’s lives as much as Bonnaroo.
So many great things have happened in my life because I attended my first Roo back in 2017. Not only have I discovered new top-notch music year after year, but I’ve found a new home, made new lifetime friendships, and found love, as the Farm introduced me to my girlfriend of now almost three years. Bonnaroo will always have a special place in my heart.
Before the announcement of the cancellation, I was optimistic about experiencing Septemberoo. You may call it blind ignorance, but due to our world’s current state, I couldn’t think of anything more fitting to end this bizarre time. A place for four days with nothing but love, music, freedom, and togetherness, which we all need so desperately. A break and a release of everything we are going through. Of course, safety is the main priority, and although it’s heartbreaking we won’t be on the Farm this year, I understand and have come to peace with it.
2021 is far away, but imagine that feeling of walking through gates next year after everything the world has thrown at us. After not being on the Farm for two whole years. After fighting through the worst times of our lives, through the pandemic, the lockdown, racial injustice, unemployment, the list goes on, and we still have the peace of mind to smile through all the bullshit and come together through love and music.
Yes, the wait sucks, but Bonnaroo is always worth the wait, whether it’s 12 hours in line or two years in between. Next year will, without a doubt, be the best year yet. So thank you, Bonnaroo, for giving us a light at the end of the tunnel. This year we will live through the memories we’ve made on the Farm, and I know we will be together soon.
Sincerely,
Tyrone Basket, a Bonnaroovian