The Essentials: Bonnaroo Edition

Bonnaroo is celebrating its 15th year as one of the most popular music festivals in the United States. The four-day festival that takes place every June in Manchester, TN has been named “Festival of the decade” by Consequence of Sound and is listed as one of the 10 Best Festivals by GQ Magazine. While you enjoy the many different activities such as the Silent Disco Tent and listen to some of the headlining acts such as U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weekend, and Chance the Rapper you may come across some needs you forgot about.

While you may have your outfits all planned out so you can look your best - well the best you can without a proper shower for several days – and your lineup for the weekend prepared you may come across some seemingly basic things that will get you through the weekend. Here, I’ve compiled a master list of some things that you may want to bring with you to The Farm.

1. Water – while this may seem like a obvious thing to bring, you’d be surprised to find that you may overlook it when checking things off your packing list. Bonnaroo has water stations set up so bring your own water bottle and refill to your hearts content. With that being said, it probably wouldn’t hurt to bring a small cooler filled with bottled water of your own in case of an emergency.

2. Sunscreen, hats, and bandanas: While you may have a tent or the back of someone’s SUV to escape the sun, you can’t hide from it forever out on The Farm. Applying generous amounts of sunscreen and keeping the sun off your face with hats will keep you from severely burning and possibly getting sun poisoning. Bandanas are not only a great fashion choice, but are also great for wiping the sweat off your face.

3. Baby wipes and dry shampoo: The easiest way to freshen up is to wipe down all necessary areas with baby wipes and throwing the god-send of dry shampoo in your hair can make you look and feel a million times better in that humid Tennessee heat.

4. First Aid Kit/Hand sanitizer: You never know when you’re going to need band-aids, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic cream, or bandage wraps. Anything can happen and it would be annoying to have to go all the way to the first aid tent for just a band-aid. And you’re outside, hand sanitizer is a must so you can prevent from collecting germs and getting sick.

5. Lightweight bag/backpack: Something small that you can shove the essentials in – phone, portable charger, extra sunscreen and hand sanitizer, snacks and water – so you don’t have to keep running back and forth from the campsite and miss out on the festival.

6. Good/Waterproof shoes: think function over fashion here. You’re going to be on your feet for the majority of your time and Tennessee weather can be very unpredictable. Pack you some good, comfortable, waterproof shoes and your feet will thank you later.

7. Food/Snacks: You may want to bring some of your own food to cook so you don’t spend so much of your spending money on the various food trucks around. Snacks are perfect to keep handy so you can keep your body fueled and your energy up throughout the day. Granola bars and trail mix are perfect for this.

8. Ziplock bags/Paper towels/Toilet paper: Ziplock bags are so versatile: keep your leftover food you cooked for extra meals and snacks, put your phone in there in case it starts to rain, put your mini bottles of shampoo or lotion in them to keep from making a mess in your bag. Paper towels and toilet paper - well, I think this is pretty self-explanatory.

9. Blankets and chairs: you would hate to get grass and dirt all over your amazing outfit, right? Pack some extra blankets and a folding chair to comfortably sit and lay out on.

With this these tips in mind, make your list (and check it twice), pack your bags, and get ready for one the best festivals of the summer. If you haven’t grabbed your tickets yet, there are still some available on the Bonnaroo website and for a list of the lineup and the complete schedule for the weekend, click here.