Trent Reznor |
The 2009 edition of the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN is in the books, with hundreds of performers spread out over four days. Thursday, June 4 was opening day for the festival, with a smaller lineup of acts and rainy weather overhead. Bonnaroo really kicked into gear on Friday, with the reunited Phish playing the first of their two headlining sets (they would return again late Sunday night). The Beastie Boys brought Nas onstage with them to debut a new track from their upcoming album, Hot Sauce Committee, tentatively titled "Let It Out." Public Enemy, David Byrne, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and blog favorites Animal Collective were also on the bill Friday.Day three was headlined by Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, who played one of their traditional, epic sets, clocking in around three hours. The Boss even played a request for their version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Wilco performed material from their upcoming release, Wilco (The Album), and Jimmy Buffett was a late addition to Saturday's lineup as well. Nine Inch Nails played a late night set, which Trent Reznor claimed was the band's final U.S. performance. Reznor has hinted that the current "Wave Goodbye" 2009 tour is the final trek for NIN, and onstage at Bonnaroo, he again hinted that while he would still be making music, "it's just that I'd lose my... mind if I kept doing this." NIN will head overseas for the next leg of the tour.
Snoop Dogg |
Phish closed out the weekend on Sunday by bringing a special guest on stage - Bruce Springsteen. The Boss, introduced by Phish's Trey Anastasio as his "hero," teamed with Phish for three songs during their set: "Mustang Sally," "Bobby Jean" and "Glory Days." Snoop Dogg, Neko Case and Andrew Bird were among the other notable performers on Sunday.Bonnaroo's producers tell Billboard that ticket sales were "up dramatically" in 2009 and that the festival has topped itself once again. Superfly Presents' Jonathan Mayers told Billboard, "Each year we try to raise the bar in every facet of the festival. You have to keep evolving, you don't want to stay static or you go backwards. Every year you want to look back and say 'wow this was better than the last year.'"
