Many know of Woodstock, the 3 day music and arts festival that marketed itself as an aquarian exposition that included three days of peace, love, and music. Comprised of mostly teens and 20-somethings, there was a sea of love that engulfed the 600 acre farm in Bethel Woods on that weekend in August of 1969. It was heralded as a defining moment in not only music history, but cultural as well. Many believed such an event could not be replicated. Many believed it was a one-time occurrence that signified current socio-political issues. However, the good news is they were wrong.
Enter Bonnaroo, a 4 day music and arts festival held annually since 2002 on a 700 acre farm in beautiful south Tennessee. I had the wonderful pleasure to go to this year’s Bonnaroo and I must say that I was blown away. It was far out. All my expectations were exceeded and in such a manner that I am making it imperative to come back next year. The amazing quality of this festival is that it is the closest event (in both size and scope) in this 21st century to the original 1969 Woodstock that exists. Of course, there are several festivals that are much closer to what Woodstock was, but none of these festivals are as massive as Bonnaroo is. Even if this is the case, there is still a feeling of oneness and interconnectedness of everyone and anyone there there, swimming in a sea of peace, love, and happiness.
During the Phish show on Sunday, for example, I had experienced something that I had not felt since my past life regression at Woodstock. A feeling of resonating at the same high level as everyone else around me. There was no need for words, since it was collectively understood that everyone was in a state of harmonic bliss and ecstasy. Becoming so high on the energy of those around me and, likewise, me radiating higher energy fields towards others, created an environment of sensational enlightenment. A realization was found within me that saw how wonderful the higher Self, that true self, is.
There was very little ego at the festival. People would give and receive freely. Personally, I was given many free gifts and I likewise returned the favor, even though none usually asked for anything but if they did, I would gladly assist them in any way I could. Such an exchange of energies demonstrated the oneness that exists in the global consciousness of humanity. It was the most wonder-filled experience I have had in this life and revitalized my will to continue my life goal of giving individuals the tools to create a consciousness shift within themselves, since this would ultimately create a global consciousness shift within humanity.
The weather at this wonderful event was great. The only time it rained was the first night and everyday after that, it was either sunny or overcast. This was radically different than the forecasted weather of showers and thunderstorms. I see this as being conscious co-creation at work. As one of the theories of quantum reality is that consciousness creates reality, which is also an ancient truth that mystics and sages had talked about since time immemorial, it was demonstrated to work at Bonnaroo. I feel that the 80,000 souls that were there had willed it to not rain and for sunshine to manifest itself in order to have a beautiful weekend filled with peace, love, and music.
Peace and Love. These words were echoed by many of the musical acts playing at the festival, including Al Green, Snoop Dogg, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more. In the words of Snoop Dogg, “All you need is a little bit of peace and a little bit of love.” How true. As with Woodstock, peace and love are fundamental to the vibe that exists at Bonnaroo. Because of this, there is no violence, hate, or animosity. As of writing this, there was only one confirmed death this year, which is significantly less than if one were to look at the statistics of any city the size of the Bonnaroo audience. Keeping with spirit of the original festival centered around peace and love, Bonnaroo showed that it is possible, just give peace a chance.
This year’s biggest musical group was definitely Phish. As I mentioned before, the ultra high energy field that existed during the Phish show was something that cannot be explained in words, but is something that must be experienced directly and personally. It has been said that without Phish, there is no Bonnaroo. This is quite true. In the words of Jonathan Mayers, president of Superfly Productions (the people behind creating Bonnaroo), “Phish was definitely one of the inspirations for the festival and all the great events that they did, so we really wanted to do something special with them and we’re going to.”The only band with 2 shows at Bonnaroo, Phish was definitely the highlight of my ‘roo and I’m sure it was for many others. I had never liked Phished prior to seeing them live at Bonnaroo but after that experience, I could not declare that statement and not be lying.
Peace, Love, and Music. Bonnaroo was and is all of these. Following in the legacy of Woodstock and becoming the “aquarian exposition” of the 21st century, it is a continued demonstration that a better society can exist when everyone treats everyone else as they would like to be treated. A better society can exist when everyone feels connected with everyone else. A better society can exist when everyone radiates peace, love, and joy into the global consciousness. This was my first Bonnaroo experience and I fully encourage everyone to go next year. If you are interested in this, drop by the forums and we can all get a massive Peace and Loveism camp going.
Peace, Love, and Music…forever.
I loved reading this and I dont really like to read