Unplugging Again at Bonaroo 2008

I've been waiting to see one of my all time favorite bands in concert for nearly 10 years now.

Pearl Jam will be headlining at Bonaroo this year. My wife Amy and I, along with four of our best friends, will be leaving early Thursday morning for a long awaited adventure to a 700 acre farm in Manchester, TN.

I really can't think of a better way to get away from the crazy demands of corporate life. There's something about and excuse to be outside and completely unplugged from meetings, email and conference calls. Being outdoors always lifts me up for a recharge.

We'll be joined by more than 75 thousand other music fanatics, all eager to enjoy the hot weather, cold beers, fantastic artists, and the company of complete strangers, who over a weekend, will become familiar friendly faces.

Joining the show this year will be a variety of acts including SuperDrag, Dark Star Orchestra, Willie Nelson, Metallica, Chris Rock, DJ Tiesto, B.B King, Jack Johnson, Talib Kwali, Yonder Mountain String Band, O.A.R. and a play bill full of many others.

Enter The Marketers
It's no wonder that with the popular acts above and a crowd of thousands of voluntary captive men and women, the event attracts a huge number of corporations, looking to tap into the Millennial ad Boomer demographics.

Via the website and mailing list, I've been receiving pre-event promotional offers and alerts, directing I and my friends to take part in just about every creation of an out of home promotion you can conjure up. Sponsor companies including at&t, Xbox360, Sobe, Jansport, Nokia will be out in full force to create brand awareness and capture names for their database.

Bonaroo is truly the place to be in June. I'll have a report with observations of the best marketing ideas at the show when we return...

But for now, here's a 2007 Bonaroo performance by another one of my favorite bands, Tool. See you next week!

Unplugged

I have an iPhone now. My laptop is usually within reach. Email. Text Messages. Safari. Oh my.

How many of you are also victims of connectivity? The corporate world fosters an addiction to technology. I call it an addiction because for may of us (myself included), if technology and communication tools are accessible, the option to ignore it all but disappears.

For the holiday weekend, my trusty dog Ruger and I will once again journey into the woods. Our scared spot lies halfway between a field and a lake, and is conveniently out of range for any wireless signals.

Surround by a group of old and true friends, we'll cook our own food, cut wood and build fires. We'll play Frisbee and softball and tell stories of years past. We'll laugh out loud at comedy that only we understand. We'll sit in silence, simply being in the present moment. And we'll listen. Listen to the Whipper Wheels as they sing to the passing moon. We'll listen to the wind as it flies past the leaves. We'll listen to the coyotes and cows in the distant night. And we'll listen to each other.

For all of this, I am filled with gratitude...