The eighth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival wrapped up Sunday evening after hosting more than 120 acts varying from the hard rocking Nine Inch Nails to the old-school jams of Bruce Springsteen and Phish.
Festival promoters even added a last-minute surprise, Jimmy Buffet, to Saturday's schedule.
More than 70,000 music lovers trekked to the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn. to take part in the four-day festival known for its eclectic line-up and even more eclectic audience.
Most festival attendees rough it hippie style staying up all through the night to catch the shows and then camping on the festival grounds.
A freshly-painted orange Bonnaroo arch, a giant mushroom-shaped water fountain and five main tents and stages cleverly nicknamed What, Which, This, That, and The Other make up the village of "Centeroo."
Hundreds of vendors lined the dusty streets selling everything from tie-dye tapestries and homemade knick-knacks to a Whole Foods grocery tent.
The festival opened Thursday, and the rain did not prevent patrons from wading through the mud to watch bands like Portugal. The Man and Passion Pit in the covered tents. It was Portugal. The Man's festival debut and they played a flawless set with the fluidity and poise of a much more seasoned band.
"I'm just so glad to be here," gushed the band's lead singer, John Gourley, in a press conference Friday.
The Alaskan native credited the performance with the practice they've had from touring over the last two years.Friday rocked on with rap legends, The Beastie Boys, revving the crowd for an evening of Girl Talk and Paul Oakenfold.
Also featured on Friday was the much-anticipated Phish reunion. They would play another three-hour show Sunday with the help of Springsteen, who stuck around after his show Saturday evening.
Springsteen's stage presence was like no other. He engaged fans by taking requests from the audience, including a fan who had brought a Santa Claus shaped poster requesting, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."
Bruce could not disappoint even if it was 85 degrees and summer.
Even before Springsteen's show came to a close, fans were camped out at the Which Stage to secure their spot for Nine Inch Nails.
The strobe lights flashed to the industrial beat and lead singer, Trent Reznor, belted out his signature lyrics. It was hard for anyone to believe when midway through the show, Reznor announced it would be the band's last show ever in the United States.
Saddened NIN fans pulled out their lighters for an emotional last live performance of "Hurt."Sunday featured a performance by Snoop Dogg who entertained with hits like "Drop It" and "Let's Get High." Snoop's crowd was happily dancing and singing along to his catchy beats.
In addition to the music, Bonnaroo also provided patrons with a full schedule of other activities including a cinema showing a large selection of films and a comedy tent featuring Jimmy Fallon and stars from The Daily Show.
The festival also brought back Planet Roo village to promote greener living. According to a press release, Bonnaroo ran a recycling and composting program in partnership with Clean Vibes.
"Trash talkers" sat next to trash stations to coach patrons on which kinds of trash belong in which bins at the festival. Fans also brought in bags of recyclable materials to exchange for rewards such as artist memorabilia, vendor vouchers and other prizes.
As the shows came to a close, tired hippies began to disassemble their campsites and load up their vehicles.
The once jam-packed campgrounds became an abandoned ghost-town.
"It's the happiest place on earth," said Santa Fe Community College student, Sam Nagle who attended the festival for the first time this year. "And now that it's over, I've got the end of Bonnaroo blues, but I'll be back next year."
