
I envy you ... the unwashed masses, the blissfully unemployed, the bearded and bedraggled. You get to go to Bonnaroo, to revel in four days of unadulterated muck and music and mind-altering substances. I don't, because I am stuck in meetings all week.
And this is most certainly a bummer. See, I love Bonnaroo. I think it's the best fest in America, an experience every music fan must have at least once in their lives (and I'm not just saying this because, back in 2007, I got to fly a helicopter there).
But this year, because of the time constraints due to back-to-back-to-back business meetings (read: impending adulthood), I'm not going to make it down to Manchester, Tennessee. I will probably regret this for the rest of my life, because Bonnaroo 2009 looks like it's going to be a blast.
And, yeah, I know that the weather forecast for Manchester could charitably be described as "cataclysmic" — the phrase "strong storms" is bandied about, which should make camping in an open field with 80,000 other revelers a rather messy affair — but that doesn't change the fact that there are tons of can't-miss moments spread out over the fest's four days. Which means that if you're brave enough to, uh, brave the weather, you're gonna be in for a treat.
So even though I won't be down in Tennessee with you, I figured I could still lend a hand. I've thrown together a Bonnaroo Cheat Sheet, highlighting some of the fest's best acts. These are the bands you probably can't afford to miss, even if you have to trudge through six feet of water to check them out.
» Thursday: A bit of a light schedule, as most of the 80k will still be setting up their tents, but you'd be doing yourself a favor if you checked out Passion Pit, a much-buzzed electro-pop outfit from Massachusetts who just released their debut disc, a dazzler called Manners. If you can get past frontman Michael Angelakos' pinched squeal, there's plenty of goodness.
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