Over the last few years music festivals have almost lost their meaning. With people using them as an excuse to use drugs and dress crazy, a lot of people look down on music festivals and the people that attend them. As a frequent music festival attendee I know that there is more happening at festivals than meets the eye. I think I would be a great writer to send to Bonnaroo Music Festival because I know how to dig through all that is happening and find a good story among the thousands of people and the whirlwind of events all happening.
The funny thing about music festivals is that they are overwhelming with people and it can sometimes be a pain. But the fact of the matter is that everyone you meet at a festival has their own story of why they are there, how they got there, and what has happened since they got there. It is a writer's paradise! There are so many opportunities for stories.
Obviously the main reason people are at the festival is for the music. It is an amazing thing that music can bring people from all over the world to one area where everyone is listening to the same thing from the artist, but not everyone is feeling the same thing. Music has so much power. It would be incredible to interview an artist or two about how they feel and what they want the audience to feel from their music.
I would be eager to interview some of the less known artists performing. A lot of times people go to the festivals for the big names, usually bolded or at the beginning on the list of the lineup. As you read down the lineup list the names become less known or recognized. Bonnaroo is just another show for the big names like Billy Joel, Florence + The Machine, Kendrick Lamar, but for those bands less known this could be their big break. This is where thousands of people who may not have come to see them perform can hear their music and learn about them. Mumford and Sons is a small band who performed at Coachella a few years ago. They had a small fan base but what really got their name out was a boy who snuck into Coachella and got to interview them. This boy's story reached many college kids at the university he attended and then more and more people got to hear about his experience and about Mumford and Sons.
Besides the obvious interviews, I would be interested in interviewing some members of security and people who work for the bands and for Bonnaroo. These people were there through it all. From set up, to clean up and everything in between these people have been at work and it would be interesting to see the stories that they have to tell about their experiences at Bonnaroo and what it takes to put together a festival as big as this one.
All in all, I think this is an amazing opportunity and I hope whoever gets to go realizes that there is more to a music festival than meeting famous people and wearing crazy outfits and such. I would love to take this opportunity to bring back and remind my readers the importance and true meaning of music festivals. Music festivals are a place where people gather to feel, and to put that into words for readers all over the country to experience without actually being there would be a great a gift.
