Bonnaroo Livin': Day 4

Staff writer Kylie Piper is volunteering at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this weekend. As a part of her experience, she is posting daily blog posts while she is there. This is the fifth and last post of the series. Read the first, second, third and fourth posts.

I can’t believe the last day of Bonnaroo is over.

When I woke up today, I began taking down the tent and preparing my car for departure.

I did not have to work a volunteer shift today, so I killed some time before heading to Centeroo, where the main performance stages are located, to do some shopping for band merchandise. Little shops at Bonnaroo sell band merchandise like jewelry, clothing, artwork, bags, instruments, and just other objects.

After buying some things for my family and friends, I went to the Which Stage to watch Kacey Musgraves, an up-and-coming country artist with impressively clever lyrics and a sweet, Southern voice. Her performance was spot-on, and her set included a few song covers — including Weezer’s “Island in the Sun” — and many of her own songs. It was definitely one of my favorite performances of the festival.

Delta Rae performed after Kacey Musgraves, and their folk-rock sound was perfect for the Sunday Bonnaroo atmosphere. They played a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” which seemed to really impress the audience.

I left Delta Rae’s show early to get to the What Stage for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis because I knew it would attract a lot of people. And Macklemore put on a great show. He interacted well with the audience and seemed really excited to be playing at Bonnaroo. He even told us that Bonnaroo was better than Coachella, which caused a huge roar from the crowd.

Kendrick Lamar was up next, which I wasn’t too excited about. I’m not really a fan of his, but it was definitely an interesting performance. I had more fun watching the people around me react to Kendrick Lamar’s performance than I did actually watching Kendrick Lamar’s performance.

Then it was time for The National. Matt Berninger, the band’s lead singer, gave an extremely passionate performance, and the other musicians seemed to really be enjoying themselves, too. The show was so polished, they deserved to be a headliner.

Finally, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed on the What Stage. They were truly a perfect ending to the festival. Their set included their most popular songs as well as some songs that only true fans would know, and Petty performed with a grace that only comes through playing lots and lots of shows.

I had been told that being at Bonnaroo is like escaping from the real world, and now I know exactly what that means. It’s been really nice to have no stress or commitments. Really, the most stressful thing I’ve done since my arrival on the farm is deciding which bands to see.

But alas, I must leave this place. I have truly had an incredible experience here. Now that I’m a Bonnaroo veteran, I have this advice to offer to anyone who is considering going to the festival: pack plenty of water and sunscreen, don’t bring shoes you care about, make friends with your camp neighbors and don’t stress if you have to miss an artist that you wanted to see. Focus on the artists that you do have time to see. Any time spent at Bonnaroo is as special as the festival itself.

Happy Bonnaroo!