Bonnaroo’s seventh run came to a close last night with Widespread Panic’s three-hour set. With some decidedly not-so-jam-bandy artists filling the festival’s big-ticket spots (Metallica on the massive “What Stage” at 9 on Friday night and Pearl Jam in the same location on Saturday, both closing down all but one of the festival’s more than a dozen other venues) and with Kanye West’s show causing a bit of an upset (the show kicking off after 4 in the morning instead of at 8:15 as originally scheduled,) a hearty dose of John Bell (WP’s lead guitarist and vocalist) was just what the doctor ordered.

            I came into this year’s festival excited about such a wide range of artists but after talking with some other attendees it began to look like inviting artists from across the board may have been a misstep for the festival organizers, and the concert’s 80,000 available tickets didn’t all get sold. But while we may have been able to pack a few more folks onto the farm, this year’s attendance was nothing to sneeze at and thousands of people braved the dust and the gas prices to trek to middle Tennessee.