December 19, 2004

June 10-12, 2005

ot many music festivals can count on fans holding the dates on their calendars months in advance, even if they don't yet know who will perform. And not many festivals can expect to sell 90,000 tickets for a show in rural Tennessee with no advertising. Bonnaroo, founded in 2002 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., is a three-day smorgasbord of rock, jazz, bluegrass and a whole lot of jamming, with a lineup that reads like the contents of an enviable iPod; at last year's festival, Bob Dylan, Wilco, David Byrne, My Morning Jacket, Nellie McKay and Willie Nelson shared the mud with Doc Watson, Nellie McKay, Danger Mouse and Patti Smith. The festival announced its dates last week but offered almost no details about its lineup. (Only one band, the jam stalwarts Widespread Panic, had been confirmed.) It's faith-based concert programming: you may not know exactly what you're in for, but whatever it is, it will be tasty. Ticket information and the full lineup of around 70 acts will be announced in mid-January at www.bonnaroo.com