[keysersoze]

Yesterday I returned from one of the greatest weekends of my life and I need to share this with you all. Hopefully this thread can inspire some to follow in my footsteps.

For background, Bonnaroo is a four day music festival on a farm in bumfuck Tennessee where hippies, college kids, and everyone in between goes to escape the monotony of every day life and bask in four days of music and debauchery. The site is comprised of a massive campground where 80,000+ people camp for the weekend. The campsite surrounds the main concert venue, called Centeroo, which is a sprawling utopia where ~10 stages play music from various genres all day and all night.



Here, I will tell the story of the weekend and break it down day by day and night by night, if you don't want to read all that -> skip below to the main take away points and summary.

A week ago today, I bought a ticket to the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, one day before the festival. A girl who dropped her digits when I was bartending a month ago invited me to go with her and group of eight people, of which I knew none. I didn't give a damn, I would've gone alone. But I decided that this is what life is all about and went for it, under the pretense that I would mainly do my own thing at the festival.

Tuesday I buy my ticket. Wednesday morning I'm meeting eight strangers to spend a weekend camping with them. We drive down, Wednesday, get into Bonnaroo and set up camp around 3 am. We had a few beers with our neighbors and got acclimated. My group decided to get some rest, but being the adventurous young lothario I am, I decided to venture out into the sprawl of campgrounds to explore. It was around 4 am, I met tons of people and even found a little dance party. This set the tone for the weekend.

DAY ONE

Thursday morning - Rise & Shine. The Tennessee sun wakes you up bright and early dripping in sticky sweat in your oven of a tent. You feel gross and fatigued, but you crack a beer, because it's fuckin' Bonnaroo. I decided to venture out again to have a smoke and find some breakfast. Ended up chatting with a drop dead gorgeous Lebanese girl who invited me to come to her camp to party later. Sadly I never did. I returned and we proceeded through the afternoon playing beer pong, taking shots, others were ripping joints.

At about 4 or 5 we finally ventured into Centeroo to see some shows. Thursday shows are generally all up & coming artists. My group finds a spot for the first show. I told them I had to take a piss and that I'd be right back. I totally meant it, but the allure of sexy chicks took hold and I never returned. I explored Centeroo. Thousands upon thousands of beautiful girls, bright smiles, and positive energy. The first show I saw in full was a band called Iceage, kind of like Nick Cave mashed with Americana metal. Dope show.

After that, I found my way into the silent disco, which is where a DJ spins while everyone is wearing headphones and dancing. I danced for two hours there, completely in my element. At a point around 50 people gathered in a circle for spin-the-bottle dance off competition. Tons of fun.

I eventually walked into an entrancing show and discovered the trippy grooves of a band called Glass Animals. After that it was off to see a personal favorite of mine, the dance party that was Jungle. Before the show, I simply asked some sexy girl what time it was. An hour later we were dancing on each other like we were from some primal tribe doing a mating ritual. After dancing at Jungle and seemingly dancing for about five hours straight, I headed back to camp to play drinking games with my group and neighbors. I could've gone much further with the girl at the Jungle show but I dipped. I couldn't stay in one place too long.

Now, you're probably wondering about the girl that invited me to come with her. What's the deal? I didn't fucking know. We slept in a tent with three others so I didn't make a move yet. She wasn't showing me any signs either. I didn't want to make the rest of the weekend & drive home awkward, so I didn't do anything Thursday night.

DAY TWO

Friday arrives. Again. Hot Sun. Wake up. Sweat. Rinse your head in the water spicket. Brush your teeth. Crack a beer. I did my morning routine where I walk the grounds and have a smoke, chatting up sexy girls along the way. I ended up running into my ex-girlfriend and her three sorority friends. Prior this encounter, we hadn't talked much in months. We started chatting about the weekend so far, plans, etc. These sorority girls were eyeing my abs. I could feel it. My I-dont-give-a-fuck demeanor sucked them in and they were begging me to come party with them at their tent. I stopped by later with a drop-dead gorgeous girl in tow who I had met 15 minutes previously. Just to stunt. The guys in her group hated me I think.

I don't really remember this day well. They all blur together. I was very fucked up. I went into Centeroo again at like 4 and woke up sleeping in the grass under a tree hours later. I don't know how that happened.



After my nap I went back to camp to pre game with the group. We got very drunk again. Now this time the girl who I came with wanted to spend some time with me. She wanted to see the Alabama Shakes -> Kendrick Lamar and so did I, so we went together. We snuck in a water bottle of warm shitty vodka and took shots prior to Kendrick. Good times. Then Kendrick comes out and delivers a world-class performance that would make 2pac proud. Crazy energy at that show.

Now as the day builds at Bonnaroo, the artists get bigger and bigger, eventually culminating with the biggest artist of the day as the headliner. This is where most festivals end. But the defining aspect of Bonnaroo is the late night shows, where music plays until the sun rises in a trippy world of lights, dancing, and music.

This was my night. I decided to ditch the girl and ditch the group to do my own thing (a key to my success). I put some ever so sweetly bitter molly on my tongue and swallowed. I went to Flying Lotus where I danced by myself and rapped every word when he dropped "Accordion" and "Exhibit C". Awesome show. The drugs were starting to hit me and it was time to dip and find out where the girls were dancing. I hit the silent disco again. Then the Christmas barn, an intimate mini dance party for when you're tired of huge crowds. I danced with sexy girls all night. I was shirtless with aviators on with my shirt either around my shoulders or tied on my head. I didn't give a fuck about how I looked. I felt it. I felt life. I felt the music. I felt the vibrations of everyone around me.



I danced with dozens and made out with probably five girls this night. Each one gave me more energy, more life. Sex didn't even matter. It was all about the dancing and the energy. I danced until it was completely light out. Finally walked back to camp to crash at about 6:30-7 am.

DAY THREE

I woke up Saturday morning after having slept maybe an hour. My legs felt like I just did squats for the first time. I got breakfast on my morning walk to Centeroo - a dozen delicious Dave's mini-donuts (a Bonnaroo essential). Eventually I passed out in the air conditioned car for a few hours. Much needed.

Then, back after it. Drinking with the crew. By this time I was totally immersed and felt "in". I participated with the inside jokes and bonded. It was scorching hot, so we sat in the air conditioned car taking shots of Crown Apple and slugging beers, only to be interrupted when the sexy sorority girls wanted me to play beer pong with them. Cant complain.

I eventually made my way to Centeroo to see Jamie xx perform his solo set, which was one of my favorites of the weekend. Afterwards I struck up a conversation with a drop-dead gorgeous Greek girl with dark curly hair, olive skin, full lips, flawless skin, and a tight body. I was floored. We connected instantly. Every time I spoke she smiled sweetly with a deep focus on my every word. We joked about how neither of us wanted to go see Mumford & Sons' headlining set. Who would want to see amish men play banjos with the sentimentality of a 16 year old girl? I invited her to come drink with me at my camp and she accepted.

We got back to my camp, I put on Caribou's album Our Love, we drank, told stories, laughed, breaking eye contact for no more than a matter of seconds. The Tennessee air was cool and the commotion of the weekend seemed to stand still. I kissed her as "Can't Do Without You" played. This moment may have been even more euphoric than any sort of MDMA infused night. I fucked her in the tent moments later. It was hot, sweaty, dirty, and incredibly sexy.

There was no post-sex awkwardness. Just bright smiles. We continued to drink and make out for the next hour. I'm pretty sure we were both in love in that moment. Or at least in love with that moment. All I know is I wish it never ended.

Eventually we each had to meet back up with our crews, so we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet and dance during the late night shows. I was gleaming with happiness and so excited to dance with her. But then I had a deep thought - she lives several states away, it would end with a sad goodbye. I deleted her number. I will probably never see her again. I think this is for the best. Nothing could top our moment that night. I'd like to keep it that way.

Once the crew got back, they dropped some molly while I just decided to drink, weary of damaging my seratonin receptors. We went to Centeroo and apparently the Molly was a little too good. Two guys freaked out. I tried to console them and inject positivity into the situation. They were lost causes and went back to camp. This left me with two girls, the one that had invited me and her friend. They were starting to freak out too because the drugs were too strong, but I successfully did everything in my power to steer them towards a good trip. They both started rubbing my arms and told me how thankful they were that I was with them. They bought me unlimited drinks. The three of us danced all night at Bassnectar, D'Angelo, Flume, STS9, and wherever else had lights & music.

When we got back to the tent in the morning, I finally started hooking up with the girl who brought me, but we couldn't fuck with three other people in the same tent so it didn't happen. Goodnight.

DAY FOUR

Sunday... a culmination of sadness, fatigue, and poor hygiene. We were about tapped out, physically and mentally drained. My girl decided she was going to purchase us a dope hotel in downtown Nashville for the night because neither of us wanted to see Billy Joel anyways. We stayed for our final show, Caribou, which may have been the weekend's best.

We left the Bonnaroo grounds at 10 pm to the sound of Modest Mouse's "The Good Times Are Killing Me". I could've shed a tear.

We arrived in Nashville super late, showered, and decided to head out for one last hurrah of our trip. I was out of cash by this point so she bought all my drinks, too. We eventually got back to our hotel and split a bottle of Svedka vodka with our feet in the pool. We laughed together and reflected on the weekend, smiling, pushing, and basking in each other's essence. We'd shift from deep conversation to crude humor then back again. Finally, it was time, and we went back to the room and fucked three times. I don't know how I had the energy to do so, but I did it. Then at last, we slept in a real bed with air conditioning and clean clothes and all that great modern stuff.

I woke up Monday morning to the silhouette of a model-bodied naked woman opening the blinds as the sun gleamed passed her body in a dope hotel that she paid for me to fuck her in to cap off the best weekend of my life. I couldn't help but smile

Bliss

SUMMARY

Here's the breakdown:

Approaches: Hundreds
Dances: 30+
Makeouts: ~10-12
Bangs: 2

This is in the span of four days. I could've had more lays if I tried, and I don't say that to brag, I say that to demonstrate one fact - I wasn't even concerned with getting laid. I had a deep desire to simply talk to girls, to dance with them, and if the vibe was really right, to hook up. With thousands of gorgeous young girls it's hard to focus on one for more than a fleeting moment.

I have never been in an environment so conducive to game. It was unfair. Like fishing with dynamite. Like playing Madden on the "Rookie" setting. Like doing homework with the solutions manual. You get it.

Every girl I talked to wanted to talk to me. They were open. They asked me questions. They smiled. This may have stemmed from my general positive energy, or my shirtless bravado, but I digress. I was on fire.

I'll say it, I've learned more this past weekend about game and life than any blog or book has ever taught me. My game wasn't manipulative, it wasn't bitter. My positive interactions stemmed from my genuine desire to understand the beautiful girl I was talking to. I appreciated their beauty. I wish the world could be like that forever.

And for the average guy?

Openers: What show are you going to see? What time is it? When does X band start? Where is the What Stage? Do you like Mac Demarco?
Escalation: DANCE
Logistics: Everyone stays in a sea of tents a short walk away.

I often went more direct: "I must say, you look gorgeous"

It is literally game on ROOKIE mode.

Now, if you're only going to seduce chicks, go to a club or something. If you love life music, wonderful people, and beautiful girls, Bonnaroo is for you.

I have never felt more like myself - raw, uninhibited, full of wonder and awe. I experienced infantile joy again. I danced all night. I made lifelong friends. I had sex with beautiful girls. And I saw some incredible displays of live music.

Everything in the world was right. Four days of nothing but sunshine, drinking, music, friends, laughter, dancing, drugs, and beautiful women. I will never forget this weekend. It changed me. It made me realize how much I love people and how much I love life. Meet me there next year friends.

Sangri La

Nirvana