NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Renee, owner of the Mercantile Cafe in downtown Manchester, has watched Bonnaroo become part of her hometown and her own life — and now she's watching it go.
With the festival not returning next year, she's reflecting on what it meant to the community beyond the music.
"Well, personally I'm a little disappointed simply because I look forward to it. Now I have attended the festival every year except for the past maybe three years. I love it," she said.
Renee said she can see both sides of the issue. When Bonnaroo was at its peak, many campers never left the festival grounds which meant fewer visitors making their way into town to spend money at local businesses.
"Back in the day when they were selling 80 plus thousand tickets, you weren't getting out once you got in there. So people didn't get to come and eat at the local places," she said.
But the festival's impact reached far beyond her cash register. Renee said Bonnaroo became a fundraiser for local families, sports teams and nonprofits.
"So that was our big fundraiser, was to go out there, run the ice trucks, run some of the goods for selling beer, whatever, whatnot," she said.
Now, with the festival's future uncertain, she's left with the memories.
"I've seen Elton John, I've seen from the heart. You know, you think about all these people," she said.
Renee hopes the festival or something like it finds its way back to Manchester.
Do you have memories of Bonnaroo or thoughts on what its absence means for Manchester and Middle Tennessee? We want to hear from you. Watch the full story in the video above, and reach out to reporter kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com to share your story or connect about issues facing your community.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
Kelsey Gibbs brings us a powerful story of humanity, compassion, and love in action while showing us the hard and lifesaving work our officers do daily. Nashville is lucky to have people like Lt. Hotz wearing the badge.
- Carrie Sharp
