In 2023, a few friends wanted to kick off Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival with the crack of a beer.
They planned to gather a group outside the festival’s arch — a towering entrance into Centeroo — and shotgun a beer. They used karaoke microphones and tall signs to advertise across the grounds, hoping to draw a crowd. More than 100 people showed up, an overwhelming number for the organizers.
Social media posts appeared soon after the first shotgun, asking if “Shotgunaroo” would return. It did in 2024 and again in 2025, when a sea of festival-goers gathered outside the arch at 2 p.m. Thursday to chug a beer with new friends and sweaty strangers. People guzzled Modelos, Michelobs and seltzers. Those not indulging in alcohol threw back canned waters or energy drinks.
Organizers held signs and a voice boomed through speakers, provoking the crowd to cheer with every minute that passed. Some dressed in banana suits, others in bikini bottoms and floral tops.
“Last year we probably had 600-700 people. This year we’re hoping to break a thousand,” said Zach Howe, Shotgunaroo organizer.
By 1:45 p.m., the event’s numbers surpassed the 2024 turnout. The arch lit up with a countdown and, at 2 p.m., hundreds of cans cracked open all at once. Empty drink containers hit the ground and smiling faces looked up with either sweat or beverage dripping down their chins.
As a social media post promotes, the group shotgun isn’t just for those day drinking. Shotgunaroo is open to anyone who wants to join.
“Bring your crew. Bring a beer/seltzer/soda/water/Capri Sun. Let’s make this the biggest Shotgunaroo yet,” Howe wrote in a Reddit post.
Returning Bonnaroovians replied with anticipation and excitement.
“Let’s ring in another year of shenanigans on the farm,” one Redditor wrote.
Another posted, asking for a rundown of how to shotgun.
“Crack and chug,” a user replied simply.
One appeal of the group shotgun is the sound. At once, the crack of hundreds of cans produced “pure ASMR,” as Howe described it.
Seasoned Bonnaroovians and first-timers alike shared high-fives and trinkets as the crowd scattered. The security line for Centeroo grew as the shotgunners filed into the festival.
Shotgunaroo is now a coveted part of Bonnaroo — people look forward to it every year. Luckily, the organizers, a group of friends from Texas, plan to continue the tradition of hosting it.
“This feels like the unofficial-official Bonnaroo start,” Howe said.
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