Music Venue

Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo)

A 700-acre permanent festival site in Manchester, Tennessee. Home of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival since 2002. Approximately 80,000 daily capacity across multiple stages. Operated by C3 Presents and AC Entertainment.

Manchester, Tennessee, USA

80,000 capacity

Est. 2002

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About Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo)

Interested in Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo)?

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Great Stage Park (commonly called Bonnaroo Farm) is a 700-acre permanent festival site at 3200 Ragsdale Road in Manchester, Tennessee. It has been the exclusive home of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival since the festival's inception in 2002. The site is located approximately 60 miles southeast of Nashville and 45 miles northwest of Chattanooga, directly off Interstate 24 at Exit 114. The festival draws roughly 80,000 attendees daily across multiple stages and is best suited for large-scale, multi-day outdoor programming. It is not a bookable venue for individual concerts.

Radiohead's 2006 headlining set at Bonnaroo is one of the most celebrated performances in the festival's history. The full concert, directed by Danny Clinch and uploaded to the official Radiohead YouTube channel, has over 2.5 million views:

Radiohead - Live at Bonnaroo (June 2006)

History

Bonnaroo was founded in 2002 by Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment and Superfly Productions. The name derives from Dr. John's 1974 album "Desitively Bonnaroo," which itself comes from a New Orleans slang phrase meaning "a really good time." The first festival was held on June 21 to 23, 2002, and attracted approximately 70,000 people, a number that exceeded the organizers' expectations.

The inaugural lineup featured Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, String Cheese Incident, and Les Claypool. The festival sold out in its first year without any radio advertising or major label backing, relying entirely on word of mouth and internet promotion. This established Bonnaroo as the first major American music festival to succeed primarily through grassroots marketing.

Over the years, the festival expanded its genre scope from its jam band roots to include hip-hop, electronic, pop, and mainstream rock acts. Notable headliners have included Paul McCartney (2013), Kanye West (2014), Dead and Company (2022), Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, and Tool. The festival celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, though that year was disrupted by severe weather.

In 2020 and 2021, Bonnaroo was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival returned in 2022 with a redesigned layout. C3 Presents, a Live Nation subsidiary, took over operational duties alongside AC Entertainment after Superfly stepped back from day-to-day operations.

How the Venue Operates

Great Stage Park is a purpose-built festival site. The property includes multiple performance stages, camping areas that accommodate tens of thousands of attendees, food vendor zones, and permanent infrastructure including water lines, electrical systems, and roads. The site is used primarily for the annual Bonnaroo festival, typically held in June over four days (Thursday through Sunday).

The festival operates as a camping festival. Attendees can choose from general camping (included with most ticket types), VIP camping, RV camping, and glamping options. The campgrounds are organized into pods with community centers, water stations, and restroom facilities. The site also features a permanent main entrance arch, known as the Bonnaroo Arch, which has become an iconic visual landmark.

Access to the site is primarily by car via Interstate 24. Traffic on arrival and departure days can be significant, with wait times of several hours not uncommon. Shuttle services are available from Nashville and Chattanooga airports. On-site parking is included with camping passes.

The festival features seven main stages: the What Stage (main stage), the Which Stage, This Tent, That Tent, the Other Tent, Who Stage, and the Where Stage. Additional stages and venues include the Comedy Theatre, Cinema Tent, and various interactive art installations. The site also hosts the Bonnaroo 5K race, a permanent water slide (the "Splash-a-Roo"), and a dedicated kids area.

Notable Performances

Bonnaroo has hosted numerous memorable performances across its history:

Radiohead (2006): A legendary headlining set on the What Stage, later released as a full concert film on the band's official YouTube channel with over 2.5 million views. The performance is widely regarded as one of the greatest Bonnaroo sets ever.
My Morning Jacket (2004): A breakout performance that helped establish Bonnaroo's reputation for must-see jam band sets. The band's performance of "One Big Holiday" was uploaded to the official Bonnaroo channel and has over 793,000 views:

My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday (Bonnaroo 2004)

Paul McCartney (2013): A three-hour headlining set that included Beatles and Wings classics. McCartney played for nearly three hours, closing with a pyrotechnic finale.
Kanye West (2014): A controversial headlining set on the What Stage, part of his Yeezus tour.
Dead and Company (2022): Two headlining performances marking the festival's return after the COVID cancellations.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (2022): Headlined alongside Dead and Company in the return year.
Foo Fighters (2023): Scheduled to headline the 20th anniversary edition before the festival was partially cancelled due to flooding from Hurricane Ida remnants.

The festival has also hosted surprise appearances, late-night sets (running until 4 AM or later), and unique collaborations. The late-night sets in This Tent and That Tent are a signature Bonnaroo feature, with past performers including Bassnectar, ODESZA, and Pretty Lights.

2026 Festival

Bonnaroo 2026 takes place June 11 to 14, 2026, at Great Stage Park. The lineup was announced on December 2, 2025. Headliners are Skrillex (Thursday, June 11), The Strokes (Friday, June 12), Rufus Du Sol (Saturday, June 13), and Noah Kahan (Sunday, June 14). The festival will also feature over 100 acts across four days, including GRiZ, Turnstile, Teddy Swims, The Neighbourhood, Role Model, Kesha, Clipse, Wet Leg, Alabama Shakes, Japanese Breakfast, Blood Orange, Major Lazer, and Four Tet. Kesha will curate the 2026 Superjam, titled "Kesha Presents: Superjam Esoterica: The Alchemy of Pop." "Weird Al" Yankovic will perform a special late-night Saturday set called "Bigger and Weirder Saturday Late Night Roovue."

The 2025 festival was canceled due to extensive flooding on the campgrounds. In response, festival organizers announced changes to the grounds including reduced campsite areas prone to flooding, better turf management, expanded roads, and improved stormwater systems. Camping capacity has been reduced, and camping entry now begins on Wednesday rather than earlier in the week. Centeroo stages will operate from Friday through Sunday, with a welcome party on Thursday night.

Tickets went on sale Friday, December 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM CT. Ticket options include 4-Day General Admission, GA+, VIP, Platinum, and Roo Insider, with a variety of camping and parking options. Check the Bonnaroo website for the most current information.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

Great Stage Park is not a venue you book directly. All Bonnaroo programming goes through C3 Presents and AC Entertainment. The festival books across a wide range of genres and stages, from the main What Stage to smaller tent stages that feature emerging acts.

Independent artists targeting Bonnaroo should focus on building streaming numbers, securing a booking agent with C3 or AC Entertainment relationships, and playing showcase festivals. The festival's smaller stages (This Tent, That Tent, the Other Tent, Who Stage, and Where Stage) regularly feature up-and-coming acts. The festival also programs through its own emerging artist initiatives in some years.

For artists performing at Bonnaroo, the exposure is substantial. The festival generates significant streaming bumps for performers in the weeks following their sets. A tent stage slot can meaningfully raise an independent artist's profile. Use our Tour Revenue Calculator to model how a Bonnaroo appearance could affect your touring income. Read our music festival strategy guide for practical advice on getting booked at major festivals.

Drawbacks and Things to Consider

The site is in rural Tennessee. Manchester has a population of approximately 12,000. The nearest major airports are Nashville (about 70 miles) and Chattanooga (about 50 miles). Traffic on arrival and departure days can involve multi-hour waits on Interstate 24.
Summer weather in Middle Tennessee is extreme. Temperatures regularly exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) with high humidity. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in June. The 2023 festival was partially cancelled when remnants of Hurricane Ida caused flash flooding, turning campgrounds into mud fields and stranding attendees.
The camping experience is not for everyone. General camping means pitching a tent in a field with limited shade. Dust, heat, and noise from neighboring campsites are constant. VIP and glamping options exist but cost significantly more.
C3 Presents and AC Entertainment control all booking. Independent artists cannot rent the space. You must go through the festival's programming team or a booking agent with existing relationships.
Performance fees for smaller acts are modest. The financial value of Bonnaroo is in the exposure and the post-festival streaming and touring bump, not the appearance fee itself.
The festival has faced increasing competition from other major U.S. festivals. Attendance has fluctuated in recent years, and the festival has adjusted its capacity and format in response. The long-term trajectory of the event under Live Nation's influence is a topic of ongoing industry discussion.