MANCHESTER, TN As one can imagine, there were several guest appearances over the weekend at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. Del McCoury and DJ Logic joined Robert Randolph and the Family Band on the Arena Stage Saturday for Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Randolph later joined moe. for a marathon version of Meat during the late night set in The Ballroom. The Disco Biscuits Marc Brownstein (bass) and Aron Magner (keyboards) also sat in with moe. for a jam that sequed out of Recreational Chemistry. Umpheys McGee guitarist Brendan Bayliss emerged for part of Rebubula, a song which Umphreys used to cover. String Cheese Incidents Michael Kang (mandolin) and Michael Travis (percussion) the joined moe. for a version of Crackers Low and Bring It Back Home, which concluded the bands late performance shortly after 5 a.m.
Meanwhile, Galactic was rocking a late night show of its own in The Theatre. The band welcomed Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno to the stage as well as Logic and Randolph. At 4:30 a.m., Particle began its early morning show at the Cinema tent. Special guests included Brownstein, Jeff Raines and Stanton Moore of Galactic, guitarist Jake Cinninger (Umphreys McGee) and guitarist Tim Palmieri (Psychedelic Breakfast). The set concluded around 8 a.m.
The Festival was an overwhelming success. Local authorities were very happy with the fans behavior and the obvious increase in business. As of Sunday, only 14 arrests had been reported. Onsite, the vibe remained positive and the overall population acted incredibly responsibly. With the exception of a brief passing shower on Sunday, the weather was cooperative (bright sunshine with high temperatures reaching the lower 90s and dipping to the 60s at night). Festival promoters thanked the crowd last night prior to Trey Anastasio’s performance and informed us that there will be another Bonnaroo next year, hopefully in the same location.