NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of people will be flocking to Manchester, Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Among them will be Belmont students. The festival is part of their curriculum.
Nearly 20 students will head to Bonnaroo as part of “Belmont at Bonnaroo.” The study-away program is a course at Belmont University. Students have taken several classes leading up to this weekend. The event will be a hands-on way for students to see the inner workings of a successful festival.
“We bring industry executives and artists speak to students so [they] have chance to speak with them and have [a] one on one with them,” said Dr. Sarita Stewart.
The program is led by faculty members Dr. Sarita Stewart and Dr. Ken Spring. It consists of two co-curricular classes "Research Methods and Festival Culture" and "Sociology of Music."
Each day at the festival, students will be talking to festival goers for research, asking a variety of questions. This will give them a deeper look at music festivals and see what makes them successful.
Students will be living backstage on a tour bus and have access to certain artists and industry executives.
"I want to work in the music industry," said student Peyton Prince. " this would be great for me to move forward in that direction because we will see everything that goes on behind the scene."
After the festival, they are expected to combine their research and create a report. They'll get six hours of college credit for completing the course.
