No Raincheck for Bonnaroo U

Belmont students and faculty at Bonnaroo. (TJ Samuels)

Bonnaroo, Nashville’s biggest music festival, has been canceled for next year, leaving Belmont’s Bonnaroo U to find ways to adapt. 

The festival was canceled so the farmgrounds can recover from heavy rainstorms, said Bonnaroo U officials in an Instagram post on Aug. 21.

“That land’s been hit pretty hard… So, it’s probably a good time for them to rethink the direction. I know whatever the case might be, based on our relationship, that we’re going to be supportive… And we’ll be glad to have the students walk alongside us,” said Dr. Sarita Stewart, one of the founders of Bonnaroo U.

For the regular attendees, the cancellation was disappointing but understandable. For Belmont faculty and students, it raises concerns about how the Bonnaroo U classes will be affected.

“I feel certain they are going to bring it back in 2028. And I think that it’s going to afford us a whole lot of opportunities,” said Dr. Ken Spring, the other founder of Bonnaroo U. 

In the meantime, what that means for Bonnaroo U this summer is still under discussion.

 “We’re actively working to try to determine how to move forward with the class, because the class is really great,” said Stewart.

Bonnaroo U at Belmont is a combination of three courses giving students the opportunity for hands-on experience to research the analytics of a music festival and then present those findings to professionals from Live Nation. 

Students said they thought working the festival helped them understand whether they want to pursue a career in the industry.

 “I think it’s so important for students to see what they really want to get into… Seeing if they actually want to do it or not,” said former Bonnaroo U student Veronica Pernas.

Some students who took the Bonnaroo U class in previous years were disappointed to hear about the cancellation.

“The work that we did was for next year, so that was kind of shocking… all of that work we did isn’t going to get applied in the near future,” said Olivia Davolt, who took the course last summer.

Despite the setbacks, there is excitement for the future of Bonnaroo.

“I think in 2028, we should see the fruits of all of that labor there. There should be a really strong presence of Belmont down on the farm, sort of contributing to that community,” said Spring.

Written by Trinity Selman with contributing reporting by Olivia Barsczewski