It's been three years since I experienced the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival for the only time in my life thus far .
Radiohead headlined, naming their show one of their all-time favorites and filming it for an upcoming DVD; My Morning Jacket put on a three-hour late-night extravaganza with covers of The Who, The Band, and The Rolling Stone; and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers pulled out hit after hit, as well as Stevie Nicks, for tens of thousands of half-bored hippies.
And after several heat-related dizzy spells, a smorgasbord of disappointing sets and sound problems, swarms of dirty folks roaming around in various states of undress, and over $50 spent on corn dogs, there's a chance I may be getting roped back into making the 12-hour trek to Manchester, Tenn. and back.
The 2009 line-up was leaked late Monday night on TV on the Radio's MySpace and it may be the best-looking one yet, especially after last year's crummy mish-mash of headliners, Pearl Jam, Metallica and Jack Johnson, which I legitimately thought was a joke at first.
The list of artists covers every pivotal point in my musical life; the 8th-grader (Phish, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Galactic, Ben Harper), the senior in high school (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Andrew Bird, The Decemberists, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists) and my current self (David Byrne, Elvis Costello solo, TV on the Radio, Of Montreal, Animal Collective, St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear).
Yes, I used to be a pretty devout Phish fan in the day, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy seeing the reunited group once (or twice) more. Besides, where else does anyone expect to find Raphael Saadiq, Merle Haggard and Kevin Barnes together in one weekend?
Tickets are in the $220-250 range, so I'll have to mull this over a bit more, but visit www.bonnaroo.com to see the entire list of artists and decide for yourself.

-Kyle