The biggest attraction at this year’s Bonnaroo may not be its music, but its plumbing. Yes, you read that right.
Anyone who has attended Bonnaroo knows that the festival is truly isolated on its Manchester, TN locale. After 15 years spent living the port-o-potty life, the festival invested in a major water line to run into the grounds, allowing them to install two fully functional bathrooms (with 150 toilets each!), three new shower buildings, and 58 new water refill stations.
Bonnaroo co-curator Rick Farman spoke about the new johns with The Tennessean, saying “One of the things we heard feedback from the fans on is that, obviously, the Port-O-Let experience is not as comfortable as permanent bathrooms. We decided that would be a good place for us to spend some of our investment capital, and now we’re really glad that it’s going to be out there this year.”
Though the bathrooms are still under construction, the 80,000 people who make their way to Bonnaroo annually have something to celebrate. Farman explains, “In some ways, we’re more similar to a Burning Man than we are to a Lollapalooza. I think that the people who are looking for the Bonnaroo experience are looking for something a little more immersive, and more about coming together with a creative community.”
The festival kicks off in just a few weeks, running from June 9th to 12th with headliners Pearl Jam, Dead & Company, LCD Soundsystem, and, now, Plumbing. As Farman says, “We always want to stay ahead of the curve and create the best experience we can for the fans,” and having a clean place to use the bathroom certainly makes for a great experience.