For many at Bonnaroo, the most difficult part of the weekend happens before they walk through the gates.
It happens when they decide to come alone.

Whether it was a lack of friends willing to make the trip, conflicting schedules or a desire to do something for themselves, solo attendees arrived at Bonnaroo carrying the same uncertainty: What happens when you’re surrounded by thousands of strangers?

For first-time Bonnaroo attendee Estrella Gomez, a 25-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, the answer wasn’t immediately obvious.

“It was honestly a little bit intimidating coming in because I’ve never been to a big festival,” Gomez said.

Colin Zimmer, a 22-year-old from Knoxville, Tennessee, felt a similar uncertainty when he arrived at his campsite. He was the first car to arrive at Camp Busyhead – a themed campsite on the festival grounds – and he became concerned that not many people would show up.

“It’s just gonna be me, a solo traveler, in this campsite just all alone,” Zimmer said to himself when he was setting up camp.

He was proven wrong Thursday morning when neighbors started to arrive.

Despite those initial nerves, Zimmer described Bonnaroo as a place where meeting people feels surprisingly natural.

He said everyone he’s met has been accepting and kind, engaging in conversation, giving him kandi — tradeable festival trinkets — and high fiving.

Zimmer said he formed friendships almost immediately after he arrived. He befriended two of his neighbors late at night and has been hanging out with them pretty much the whole weekend, he said.

For Luke Owens, 24, who traveled from Lexington, Kentucky, the welcoming atmosphere sets Bonnaroo apart from other festivals he has attended.

Owens recalled waking up his first morning at Bonnaroo to find neighboring campers grilling.

“I woke up the next morning, and my neighbors were grilling me… whatever they call an egg in the basket,” Owens said.

The interactions may seem small — a shared breakfast, a conversation between campsites, a high five while walking to a set — but they help ease the fear many solo attendees bring with them.

“I’ve always been big into how strangers are friends you haven’t met yet,” Zimmer said.

Still, attending Bonnaroo alone presents challenges. Gomez said one of her biggest concerns before arriving was not having a familiar face nearby.

Zimmer acknowledged there are moments when being alone in a crowd can feel awkward, especially when surrounded by groups of friends. Yet those same circumstances often push solo attendees to strike up conversations and form connections they may never have made otherwise, Owens said.

In addition to community, solo attendees pointed to another benefit: freedom. Without a group schedule to coordinate, each decision is entirely their own.

“I don’t have to be like, ‘Okay, my group wants to go here this time. I want to be here this time,’” Gomez said.

The independence allows Owens to fully embrace whatever the weekend offers, he said.

“I can go see The Chats,” Owens said. “I can go be an adult human being and do whatever I want to do.”

That balance between independence and connection emerged as a common theme among solo attendees. While each arrived without friends, none described spending much time feeling alone.

Instead, they found themselves sharing meals with neighbors, meeting people at shows and discovering a community built around a shared experience.

For Zimmer, the decision to attend alone came after years of wanting to experience Bonnaroo but never finding the right group to join him. Eventually, he stopped waiting.

“I said yes to myself,” Zimmer said.

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