University Star

As the day breaks and the sun becomes hotter you can watch people crawl out of their tents and find shade beside their vehicles, under canopies, etc. Those that had slept at least. 

This is just another one of Bonnaroo's trick, you could say. 

"To hell with the coffee, it's time to get groovy," says the music gods. 

Myself? I crawled out of my RV just a tad before noon that day. Honestly, I barely managed to change out of my dust-ridden clothes from the night before. The Kooks, Electric Guest, tUnE-yArDs, The Infamous Stringdusters and Ben Howard's sets were the first for the day and I'd be damned if I missed them. 

With my feet already a little sore from running around the night before, I set out for the festival grounds. 

To my own dismay, the line was ridiculous. Stretched out at least a quarter mile from my closest gate I waited and sweated patiently with the rest of the Bonnaroovians. 

As I pulled my shirt off a chorus seemed to echo through the crowded line. 

"Mama, life had just begun

But now i've gone and thrown it all away

Mama, ooh, Didn't mean to make you cry

If I'm not back again this tomorrow

carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters"

Guitar solo and all the crowd all joined in together for Queen sing-a-long. 

This was exactly what was needed to keep the spirits high and minds off of sweat beads dripping down our backs. 

So, as one singing body, we all paraded through the gates and went our separate ways after appreciating such a moment. 

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With Friday's afternoon came a cool breeze. 

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Afrocubism, Two Door Cinema Club and Sam Bush helped the sweaty crowd keep moving.

The Avett Brothers and their folky-bliss harmony took on the What Stage, or 'Roo's main stage, while Little Dragon, Fitz & The Tantrums, Trampled by Turtles, Feist, Ludacris, St. Vincent and Dawes put together the last day-time collaboration of acts for the evening. 

Foster the People helped bring down the sun that night while others scampered towards the main stage for good spots at Friday night's headliner, Radiohead. 

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To be put simply, Thom Yorke, lead vocals, guitar, and piano for Radiohead, is a genius. 

The 10pm to midnight show that this band put on was worth more than words could describe. It was an experience that could steal your soul.

"Karma Police," "Paranoid Android," and every other one of their hit songs were played. 

Besides just the instrumental value of such a musical masterpiece as Radiohead has come to be, there was a performance beyond all others. 

A camera angle sat on every member of the band where they were individually displayed on screens as part of the light show. The camera filming Yorke's sat directly in front of his face. Where at one point he would stick his entire eyeball up to the lenses while performing so that the audience could only see his pupil skip spastically. 

Like the mastermind he is, Yorke was uncomfortably patient and calm with a colossal 100,000 plus audience in front of him. 

Mid-set, Yorke said in his stoned, dry voice, "This is a new song..I hope you like it. If not, oh well."

From beginning to end, every 'Roo individual in the audience was struck by such a euphoric performance. They are truly artists' above the rest. 

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It was just after midnight and the entire population that had attended Radiohead only moments before was coming off of a previously undocumented musical "high."

Major Lazer, Black Star and The Word (featuring blues musicians John Medeski, Robert Randolph and the North Mississippi Allstars) welcomed everyone back to reality as their sets started the rest of the night's party. 

The early morning had become crisp at this point. It was necessary to keep dancing at Umphrey's McGee and Flying Lotus' shows if you wanted to stay warm. Which, between Umphrey's loud, jam-band style and the trance Flying Lotus' was spinning, it wasn't a hard to accomplish. 

Time had long gone out the window in between the rhythm and influences. As morning broke, Umphrey's McGee ended their set. As did those of us that were still left inside of the festival grounds. 

With what energy was left, we crawled back to our homes and licked our wounds in hopes for the next day. 

To be continued....