Dead, Panic to Play Bonnaroo
The former members of the Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic will
headline the 2003 Bonnaroo Music Festival, which returns to a
600-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, June 13-15.
Bob Weir and Phil Lesh will team up again under the recently
revealed moniker “The Dead,” which includes Grateful Dead drummers
Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann with guitarist Jimmy Herring and
keyboardists Jeff Chimenti and Rob Barraco.
Widespread Panic will feature George McConnell on guitar this
year. The band’s Bonnaroo 2002 performances were among its last
with founding guitarist Michael Houser, who passed away last
August.
Others returning to Bonnaroo include singer-songwriter Ben
Harper, who will be joined by his Innocent Criminals, and banjoist
Bela Fleck, who brings his Flecktones. Gov’t Mule frontman Warren
Haynes, on the other hand, plans to strip down to just his acoustic
guitar.
First timers will include anti-jam experimentalists Sonic Youth,
indie instrumentalists Tortoise, Southern rock mainstays the Allman
Brothers Band, master turntablist Mix Master Mike, and hip-hop
collective the Roots. Smaller acts will include the bluegrassy
Yonder Mountain String Band, ambient “livetronica” outfit Sound
Tribe Sector 9 and the jazzy Garage-a-Trois.
“Our goal is not only to present the best established live
performers, but also to be a springboard for the next generation of
great artists to reach a national audience,” explains Rick Farman,
co-founder of organizers Superfly Presents.
Tickets will go on sale at bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February
22nd, but prices and limits are still unknown. Organizers are
expected to announce additional acts and festival activities within
weeks.
“The process of seeing everything unfold has given us invaluable
experience and insight on how to run every aspect of the festival
better,” says Superfly’s Rich Goodstone, adding that his
organization is “focused on improving and enhancing everyone’s
experience . . . artists, staff, sponsors, and of course the
fans.”
Confirmed Bonnaroo 2003 artists:
The Dead
Widespread Panic
James Brown
The Allman Brothers Band
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Jack Johnson
Sonic Youth
Tortoise
Moe
Galactic
The Roots
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Medeski Martin and Wood
Yonder Mountain String Band
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Nickel Creek
G. Love and Special Sauce
Sound Tribe Sector 9
O.A.R.
North Mississippi Allstars
Warren Haynes
Keller Williams
Garage A Trois
Kid Koala
Z-Trip
Particle
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Smokey and Miho
The New Deal
RJD2
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
Mix Master Mike