Les Claypool

Seventy-thousand attendees flocked to the first Bonnaroo in 2002 to check out bands like Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade (pictured here). "We wanted to create an event for the people who love the live-concert experience, not the one that is canned or preproduced," festival organizer Ashley Capps told RS.

• Rolling Stone's Essential Bonnaroo Coverage