[Roos]

Sunday 6/15

7a-2p - Well, staying up all night made us pretty tired on Sunday. So we showered, drank a bit of Whiskey, sat around and talked about how great some of the bands were and how horrible Kanye was, we ate a bit, drank a bit more, and made plans for the day and night. We decided that since we were pretty tired and had seen Widespread Panic before, we would go see the couple artists we wanted, then pack up and leave for Nashville to get a hotel, a shower, a bed, and a head start for the long drive back.

Robert Randolph's Revival - 2:45p-4:15p

Wow. The second best performance of the weekend in my opinion. A master of the slide guitar and a fantastic Funk and Blues band. From an instrumental version of Michael Jackson's 'Rock With You' that the crowd provided vocals for, to the hits that Robert Randolph made, to one of the best bass players I have ever seen. It was the hottest day of the weekend and I was covered with sweat from head to toe... but the music and energy of RRR gave my body chills for the entire show. 9.5 out of 10.

After RRR we went to the internet cafe, logged online, and booked a hotel for the night. Then we headed back to camp, packed up all of our stuff in the car, and came back to the main stage for the highlight of the weekend.


Robert Plant, Allison Krauss, &T Bone Burnett - 6:15-7:45

The best show of the weekend. Plant and Krauss have a new album out together that's filled with American Standards, Bluegrass, and originals. I knew this show would be amazing, but I didn't realize just how good it would be. They blew my mind. I literally stood there with my mouth hanging open for an hour and a half. Not only did they do their album material, but they did Led Zep songs in ways that I never dreamed of hearing them. Plant doesn't miss a note and his voice is better than ever, Allison Krauss is a beauty whose voice is enchanting and haunting all at once while her fiddle playing will blow you away. And to add the genius that is T Bone Burnett, a man who toured with Bob Dylan at the age of only 24... well, let's just say it couldn't have been any better. Not at all. The perfect ending to the perfect weekend.


We left immediately after Plant/Krauss and we drove the back-roads through the hills of Manchester, TN. We arrived at our hotel on the South side of Nashville at about 9:30p, took showers, ate burgers, and slept in a comfy bed for our drive the next day. On Monday morning we woke up and made the 11- 13 hour trek back to Dallas, smiled all the way, honked and waved at all the other dirt-covered, camping-gear-packed cars that we passed who were obviously just as thrilled about their time as we were... and we talked about the few things we can do next year to make the perfect 4-day music and arts festival even better.

On a side note, this trip also opened my eyes to just how much time I spend wasting with negativity (UB) when I could be focussing on more positive things. I'm sure there will be many negative comments or jokes about the 'hippies', the bands, etc... but it only shows the lack of knowledge or understanding of what goes into this festival... and it only shows that some people are just going to always find ways to be miserable, insult, complain, and down-talk others for something that they love and find happiness in. Go for it. More power to ya. It truly is your loss. And you will never know how much until you experience this festival and the people there.

Bonnaroo 2009, here we come. And those of you who pass it up again next year will once again miss out on a fabulous time full of great community vibes, positivity, music, art, partying, and just plain fun.

* I have some pictures. Unfortunately, our camera battery died during Jack Johnson's set on Saturday, so we didn't get as many pictures as we wanted. It was a borrowed camera (THANK YOU PAIGE!!!!) and it took way too long to recharge the model's battery. But I'll post a link to the pictures as soon as I get the USB cable from Paige and can transfer them to my computer.