The Festival Spirit

Summer is a time for sunshine, great tunes and rocking out with thousands of your closest friends. For enthusiasts, the summer concert festival is a chance to see several bands in one venue and a chance to spend a weekend with their friends. For the duration of the festival, they're one thing and one thing only -- a fan. \nMusic festivals have a long history. The godfather of all music festivals, Woodstock, took place during four days in August of 1969. Since that date, several long-running festivals have taken place every summer. Some tour from town to town, some occur in the same place every year.\nCurrently, one of the largest summer music festivals in the country is the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. This year's Bonnaroo will be held June 10-12 in Manchester, Tenn. The festival is in its third year, and according to it's Web site, www.bonnaroo.com, it is "hailed among critics and fans for its near-flawless logistics, peaceful vibe, and progressive lineup." Tickets go for around $150, depending on how early they're bought.\nBonnaroo 2005 will be junior Trevor Boland's third trip to the festival. It's served to introduce him to one of his favorite new bands, Kings of Leon, and to spend three days with his closest friends.\n"It's just an experience, being there with so damn many people," Boland said. "It doesn't matter if it's sunny or if it's pouring rain. Last year it was 100 degrees and sunny and people were getting sunburned or there was torrential downpour. It didn't matter."\nThis year, Boland is excited to see the Mars Volta and King Leon, among others.\n"I also kinda have a thing for Joss Stone -- the woman can sing," he said.\nToby Oler, an IU alumnus who majored in event coordination and perspectives on live music through IU's Individualized Major Program, knows festivals. In doing his homework, he's attended several Phish festivals, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the High Sierra Music Festival and several smaller regional events. His best memory is of a Phish concert. Because parking was limited, 15,000 fans parked 20 miles down the road and walked to the concert. \nThe unique challenge of planning an event on the scale of a summer music festival, Oler said, is that the attendees still need their basic necessities. \n"You have to think about what people do on a daily basis and you have to have it there. They still need food, water and shelter. It's daily life on a much grander scale."\nBut all the pre-planning in the world won't assure that an event will be fun. For that, Oler said, the proper mix of acts is a necessity.\nThe planners are putting a lot of money into it, and they want people to come," Oler said. "There've been huge ones and there's no festival spirit. You have to get the right bands to bring in the right people for the right price on the right day."\nAnd when all those magic elements come together, the "festival spirit" is in the air.\nIt's that spirit that keeps senior Carrie Ann Mulvihill hooked on summer music festivals. Her attitude toward music is a self-described "obsessive," and she even traveled to Amsterdam last spring break in order to attend the "Jam in the 'Dam" festival. \n"The purpose of Jam in the 'Dam was an attempt to bring some jambands and a bit of the jam scene to Europe, where they don't really get many good shows and the music isn't as popular but there are still some die-hard European jam fans," Mulvihill said. \nMulvihill attended Bonnaroo last summer, where the festival playlist included the North Mississippi All-Stars, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the Dave Matthews Band and the Dead. \nNo matter how great the music, the deal-maker can be the atmosphere -- sometimes literally.\n"Last year during the Dead's show there was a huge thunderstorm; that the was second night," Mulvihill said. "So for the whole third day inside the venue area there were places where you'd have to walk through mud almost up to your knees. It was so much fun."\nThe novice, Mulvihill said, should keep one thing in mind -- drink a lot of water. Oler also said it was important.\n"At these things, it's a basic to survive," he said.\nBecause of the sheer volume of humanity that attend concert festivals, Boland recommended leaving early. \n"You have to know what you're getting into," he said. "We spent 8 hours in traffic. Also, bring water, food, alcohol, whatever. You can get what you need there, but it may be expensive. Taking it with you is better than spending $5 on a beer."\nBut to guarantee a good time, Mulvihill recommended "an open mind and going for the music." Festivals offer a chance to see several of a fan's favorite bands working together and taking the time to jam.\n"Umphrey's McGee is my favorite band, and their performance at Bonnaroo was mind-blowing," Mulvihill said. During their show, all the band members of Moe, another favorite of mine, came out and traded places with the band members of Umphrey's. So it went from Umphrey's playing, to Moe, and back to Umphrey's. That's just the kind of thing you see at festivals." \nKeeping the focus on the music keeps with the festival spirit, because so many festivals offer up diverse types of music. \n"I don't necessarily go to the biggest shows, I go to who I like," Boland said.\nBut no matter the show, the festivals always guarantee some great music, he said.\n"You'll see something good no matter where you go"