The 2011 edition of the popular Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival may have just ended, but its organizers are already looking ahead to next year. Earlier today, June 16, organizers confirmed dates and the earliest round of presales for the festival’s 11th year.
Bonnaroo 2012 will run June 7-10 at Great Stage Park, a 650-acre farm in Manchester, TN, that has hosted the festival since its 2002 inception.
Though a lineup announcement doesn’t usually arrive until a few months before the event, the Bonnaroo brand alone is enough to sell tickets. Would-be attendees will have their first chance at 2012 passes when early bird presales begin tomorrow, June 17, at 12 p.m. (Eastern).
Presales for limited allotment of four-day passes will take place on Bonnaroo’s official Web site. Presale prices for general tickets are set at $209.50, plus $23.35 in fees. Early VIP packages — including a pair of tickets, Bonnaroo merch, and special access privileges — will also be available in limited quantities for $1,349.50, plus $72.75 in fees.
Individuals who want to attend but can’t tender the full ticket price up-front will have the option to use Bonnaroo’s payment plans. The GA plan requires $54.40 down, plus nine incremental payments of $25 through November 8, while the VIP schedule is for $219.50 down, plus nine payments of $142.50.
Headlined by Eminem and Arcade Fire, Bonnaroo 2011 reached capacity with about 80,000 daily attendees over the June 9-12 weekend, according to Associated Press.
Though the grounds have a much higher capacity and previous years drew much larger crowds, festival organizers have capped ticket sales at 80,000 in more recent years.
With demand increasing and ticket allotments remaining about the same from year to year, ticket fraud is always a concern. So, as Coachella did this year, Bonnaroo 2011 also upped security protocol for its tickets.
For the first time, Bonnaroo organizers did away with all paper tickets in 2011 in favor of RFID-secured wristbands. Organizers allowed ticket-holders to register their wristbands in advance for added security and to report claims of ticket fraud on the festival Web site.
While festival organizers have not announced specifics regarding the form its passes will take for Bonnaroo 2012, wristbands are once again expected to be the method of choice for it and many other popular destination music festivals across the United States.
