“And now, a word from the President”
a true-blue psychedelic guru stakes out his territory.
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(full disclosure: I’m directly related to Ray Bong, so take any praise and criticism with a grain of salt)
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“BONNAROO IS THE ONLY FREE NATION ON EARTH!”
So goes the rallying cry of noise musician and natural-born psychedelic politician Ray Bong. Elected President of the United States of Bonnaroo by members of his campsite in the early years of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (held yearly outside Manchester, Tennessee since 2002) on the strength of his spiritual and psychedelic leadership during the festival’s long weekend, the President has subjected audiences (both willing and not) to this and other pronouncements each year. He’s even formalized his role, giving a “State of the Union” address each year (11am on Friday at the corner of 1st and 3rd, for those interested).
What is it like to travel with a self-proclaimed spiritual leader through the halls of his power? It occurred to me some years ago that my personal experience of festival life is somewhat skewed from the norm - as part of Ray Bong’s Presidental cabinet (I was self-appointed as Junior Undersecretary of Hype in 2009, and have served in that capacity since), the focus of my experience is less about absorbing and sampling ideas and more about promoting and disseminating them.
In my first article, I discussed the way music festivals create space for the exploration of identity. The obvious focal points in these events are the stages and the artists on them: professional purveyors of personality, paid to proselytize from their pedestals. But there are those who choose to serve as community leaders from within the ranks of the crowd as well. Whether unable to gain the sanction of the event promoters or simply uninterested in diverting energy from the mission of education to popularize their message, these folks often show up as (an unofficial) part of the “Free Hugs Campaign” or in outlandish costumes, seeking to disrupt others’ staid experience of the crowd and in so doing dispel boredom and disconnection.
Among these people, Ray Bong stands out as something different. With his electric-rainbow hair, chaotic musical stylings, and in-your-face attitude, his purpose is not only to jar people from their slumber but to impart a lasting message: expression is freedom, and freedom is everything. He (and we, as his cabinet) spends the entire four days of Bonnaroo each year exhaustively covering the festival grounds, passing out hundreds of free buttons, t-shirts, and CDs in hopes of spreading his message of total freedom. For four years, I’ve watched the President patrol his fair country, making the case to its citizens that they are in control of their own realities. I've seen uncertainty and confusion melt into excitement and elation as strangers, delivered into a strange and wild world of music, sunstroke, and hedonism unwittingly make contact with a man who is more than just a mascot: he is the President, and he wants you to serve.
