scene update
Bonnaroo began with jam-band roots and grew beyond one genre
Bonnaroo began in 2002 on a farm outside Manchester, Tennessee. The Tennessee Encyclopedia traces the festival's name to Dr. John's 1974 album Desitively Bonnaroo and explains the word as Creole slang for having a good time. Its account describes a festival built around a broad mix of styles, including rock, bluegrass, jazz, blues, Americana, hip-hop, and electronic music.
A Guardian retrospective adds another part of the story: Bonnaroo started as a gathering centered on psychedelic jam bands, then expanded to include artists from well outside that scene. That change helps explain why the festival became a meeting point for audiences with different musical habits rather than a single-genre event.
The festival's history is useful context for understanding how jam culture has interacted with larger American music festivals. Bonnaroo's identity has never depended only on one artist or one year's lineup; its early scene and later range are both part of the story.
Source check: The Tennessee Encyclopedia and The Guardian report on Bonnaroo's name, founding, and musical evolution.
Sources and reporting
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