Seeing Stars

Mary and Seth Baker are lifelong music lovers who had the time of their lives at the festival.

For four days last June, Seth and Mary Baker lived like rock stars. Exchanging their quiet Vero Beach home for a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the Bakers joined 90,000 people – including Elton John, Lionel Richie and Sam Smith – for the 13th annual Bonnaroo, a festival that Rolling Stone magazine says has changed the course of music history. 

The Bakers’ daughter, Meredith, a Vero Beach High School graduate and student at Cornell University, had been talking about Bonnaroo for what seemed like forever. But when Mary bought a group campsite for the family at the festival, Seth reminded her that they would be returning from a trip to Europe the day before Bonnaroo started. They would never be able to pack up the car and arrive in time.

Mary did some research and found out she could opt to “Roll Like a Rock Star.” Each year, 30 air-conditioned buses are parked in a discreet location on the farm – far away from thousands of tents and several stages – where up to eight people per bus enjoy cushy camping, catered meals and transportation. The buses don’t move, but golf carts take anyone from the parking lot to anywhere on campus. Each stage has a private entrance, so the “rock stars” avoid lines and stand a few feet away from actual celebrities, mingling with them before and after performances.