One after another, cars poured out of the Wal-Mart parking lot in the quaint town of Manchester, Tenn. Thursday morning.
Some of their inhabitants had been sleeping there all night while others stayed awake with anticipation playing the tunes of this year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. More than 200 acts would entertain tens of thousands of people during the four-day festival.
Festival attendees dressed in hippie attire marched from surrounding campgrounds and parking lots to the infamous Bonnaroo arch, painted blue for this year's festival. A collection of tents and stages formed the village of "Centeroo" and housed musical and comedic acts like Pearl Jam and Chris Rock.
This year's comedy tent featured Janeane Garofalo, Mike Birbiglia and Louis C.K. In a press conference, Garofalo said she was thrilled to be performing .
"How can you not be funny in a circus tent?" she said.
The festival, once known for booking jam bands, offered variety in its seventh year with acts like Metallica and Kanye West.
West, who was originally scheduled to play at 8:15 p.m. Saturday on the Which Stage, was rescheduled to 2:45 a.m. Sunday on the main stage. The show began at 4:30 a.m. No explanation was given for the delay, though rumors circulated. Whether it was West's elaborate set or his demand of exclusive playtime, graffiti bearing the phrase "Kanye sucks" was common during his set.
Despite missing West, UF aerospace engineering major Jake Papp, 21, said his first year at Bonnaroo far exceeded his expectations.
"I came for Metallica," Papp said. "They were amazing. The rest was just a bonus."
While Pearl Jam and Metallica played old favorites, newer bands used their stage time for innovation. Academy Award winners Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of The Swell Season invited fans on stage to read their personal poetry, while Hansard strummed his guitar in the background.
Late-night light shows by Chromeo and Ghostland Observatory boomed through Centeroo, muffling the sounds of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós.
The Gainesville-based punk band Against Me! played Saturday afternoon despite the brutal sun. Lead singer, Tom Gabel, shed his shirt to keep cool and many moshers crowd-surfed to escape the heated tent.
Despite the warm weather, the farm saw some rain Friday night that lasted through Saturday morning. The tents prevented any performance cancellations but couldn't help attendees, who waded through the thick mud.
On Sunday, the final day of the festival, tired campers and artisan vendors began to leave, but some stayed behind to catch shows like Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
"I wasn't quite ready to go home," said Papp, who didn't leave until Monday afternoon. "It went by way too fast."
