Bonnaroo Gets Docket Day

The 15th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival had its first docket day, resulting in hundreds of out-of-state attendees returning for a day in court to face drug-related charges.

Photo: Photo by Wade Payne / Invision / AP

Fans cool off in the fountain at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 10, in Manchester, Tenn.

The festival took place June 9-12 in Manchester, Tenn., and on Aug. 12, 277 criminal cases were brought before two judges in Coffee County. In previous years, cases related to Bonnaroo have been spread out over the summer but this year they were crammed into one day and a 43-page docket. Coffee County District Attorney General Craig Northcott made plea deals with numerous defendants that included community service, paying court costs and contributing money to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Nearly 60 percent of the cases were heard and the rest were rescheduled for September. Arrest warrants were issued for defendants who no showed. Artists that performed at this year’s festival included Dead & Company, Pearl Jam, Ellie Goulding and M83.