December 2, 2007

Remember when 70,000 people showed up to an inaugural Bonnaroo for a lineup consisting exclusively of jambands and improvisatory musicians? The crowd hasn’t grown much in number since then, but the festival’s stature and credibility have increased tremendously. At this point you’d have to consider this camping behemoth one of the more preeminent festivals in the world.

And it’s possible that 2008 will continue to see to ‘Roo cement its reputation. The blogs and message boards are abuzz today after the Digital Media Wire passed on a rumor that Led Zeppelin and Metallica have just signed on to play Bonnaroo ’08. This wouldn’t be the first appearance of a member of Led Zeppelin at Bonnaroo — last year bassist John Paul Jones participated in the SuperJam at the festival and sat in with Uncle Earl and Gillian Welch on a few tunes.

If true, can you even imagine how much money Superfly and AC Entertainment had to have thrown at Zeppelin’s management to convince them to sign? Considering Bonnaroo grossed $17 million last year, we’re thinkin’ a million dollars isn’t out of the question. We don’t envy the competition: This summer’s festival season is sure to be intense with Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo and the newly announced Vineland Festival all attempting to outdo each other. For now this is just a rumor, but it sure is fun to think about the possibilities.

I’d call this a full weekend, with bright spots abound. I watched two friends enter the eternal bond of matrimony then walk back down the aisle to the sounds of