Two rests Mar Third Bonnaroo Festival

Tue Jun 15,12:26 AM ET

by Ray Waddell

MANCHESTER, Tenn. (Billboard) - The third annual Bonnaroo festival notched its best numbers yet for gross and attendance last weekend, but two baneities cast a pall on the event's strong performance.

More than 90,000 hardy fans braved sweltering heat and the occasional severe thunderstorm to watch 80 acts, including Bob Dylan, the Dead, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews & Friends and David Byrne, take the stage on a 700-acre farm about 60 miles south of Nashville. Steve Winwood replaced Willie Nelson on Saturday's bill after Nelson was forced to bow out because of carpal tunnel problems.

Co-producers Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment estimated this year's gross at about $14.5 million. That figure will likely be enough to make the festival tops among all engagements for the year. Last year Bonnaroo grossed $11.5 million, second only to Bruce Springsteen's record-setting 10-night stand at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

But while Bonnaroo 2004 was a huge success operationally, musically and financially, the rests of a 22-year-old woman believed to be from Kentucky and a 20-year-old Michigan man attending the concert definitely tempered other achievements.

Both attendees were taken from the festival grounds to Manchester Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. Authorities suspect drugs as a factor in both cases, pending autopsy reports.

These were the first rests at Bonnaroo, and producers said they made every attempt to be prepared for such emergencies.

"When you have this many people out here, the percentages are that there will be something incipient," said Jonathan Mayers, co-owner of New Orleans-based Superfly. "We've been fortunate so far that it's been a small percentage. It's a big responsibility when you're out here."

This was the Dead's second appearance at Bonnaroo, after closing last year's festival. "This is just a stop on the road, man," Dead bbuttist Phil Lesh said. "A way station to wherever or whatever. It's all about the journey."

That said, the veteran band seemed impressed with how Bonnaroo was run. "They really have it together," drummer Mickey Hart said. "They have the formula down. There are no great lines out there, and everybody seems really happy."

Other acts on the bill included Primus, Wilco, Burning Spear, String Cheese Incident, Ani DiFranco, moe., Gov't Mule, Los Lobos, Galactic, Yo La Tengo, Femi Kuti, Gomez, Yonder Mountain String Band, Damien Rice, North Mississippi Allstars, My Morning Jacket, Gillian Welch, the Del McCoury Band, Taj Mahal, Sam Bush Band, Kings Of Leon, Neko Case, Calexico, Leftover Salmon, Cut Chemist, Chris Robinson, Maroon 5, the Black Keys, Bad Plus, Donovan Frankenreiter and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Mayers hoped to continue improving the festival. "Every year you're learning," he said. "Every time you think you've got a handle on it, new situations happen. That's why every year we step it up, and we know next year's gonna be better, and the next better than that."

Reuters-Billboard