With bands like Metallica and Pearl Jam, the 2008 Bonnaroo
Music and Arts Festival was still successful, despite the fact that jam-band
festivals have become more numerous, over the years.
Although the schedule was overall respected, there was a
highly unpleasant event related to the performance of Kanye West. According to
The Associated Press, the rapper was supposed to perform at 2:45 a.m. Sunday
morning but he showed up at 4:25 a.m. Imagine the crowd wasn’t at all happy
with this change.
The people from the festival were so upset that they were
chanting “Kanye sucks” and hitting the stage with glow sticks, reported The
Associated Press. While the thousands in the audience were waiting for the
artist to appear, they were announced that West’s show will be delayed until
3.15 a.m. Getting sleepier and more annoyed, some of the campers returned to
their sleeping bags before the rapper’s performance.
Those who had the patience to wait for him were informed
that the show would start at 3.30. But it didn’t start then either.
The rapper made his appearance at 4.45 a.m., nearly two
hours later that he should have. Apparently this delay was caused by problems
setting up West's stage set, a very complex arrangement. Ken Weinstein, a
spokesman for the annual festival said the delay was because they had to unload
the Pearl Jam stage and set the West stage.
Although his performance was very impressive, the fans were
still upset with the delay and with the fact that the rapper didn’t apologize. A
spokesperson for West didn’t immediately comment on the event.
Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph said Kanye disappointed
his fans.
The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is held on a 700-acre
site south of Nashville,
and this was the 7th edition. The 80,000 tickets weren’t all sold
but the festival gathered enough people to demonstrate that it was an important
event.
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