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Two musical acts that will grace the 6th annual Bonnaroo are Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals and The Decemberists. Colin Meloy, front man of The Decemberists, and Harper are both anticipating a spectacular experience at the upcoming festival venue, which will take place June 14 to June 16 in Manchester, Tenn.

Colin Meloy knocks off his “indie rock snobbiness” for Bonnaroo

For The Decemberists, this will be their first Bonnaroo ever. Lead singer Meloy has never considered himself to be a “huge fan” of what has become jam music. While this festival started off as more of a jam-based music event, the festival organizers seem to be keen on ensuring a more dynamic musical experience. Meloy said he’s lost a lot of his “indie rock snobbiness” and that he appreciates all the work professional musicians put into their music. “I have a profound respect for all musicians,” said Meloy.

Meloy credited the sense of community of Bonnaroo as to why he was initially drawn to perform in it. “[It’s a] community which I don’t think we’ve necessarily been a part of in the past, though I think more and more, those kind of boundaries are being erased, which I think is inevitably a good thing,” said Meloy, who also feels that creative cross-culturalization is a good way to create more interesting ideas in music.

For the Decemberists’ set, Meloy said that they’ve got nothing special planned for Bonnaroo, and that they’re just going to perform their regular show. “I imagine that playing this festival is going to potentially open us up to a new audience, to a certain degree, and we just want to kind of be ourselves really,” said Meloy.

It’s been almost a year since their album “Crane Wife” was released. But the band’s hectic touring schedule has left them little time to work on new material. “Unless I’m struck by an amazing amount of creative inspiration in the month between the end of this tour and when we got to Bonnaroo, I have a feeling that we’ll be playing songs from our other records,” said Meloy.

Since the band will be playing to a new audience at Bonnaroo, Meloy feels that it’s best to play songs from their records and “just be themselves.” Considering Meloy’s reputation as a musical storyteller, one may wonder what kind of story the singer would like to tell after Bonnaroo. He hopes his story doesn’t involve any overflowing Port-O-Johns but rather looks forward to meeting a lot of nice people, hearing some good music and hopefully “engender some new ideas and directions.”

This festival will ensure a plethora of first-time listeners for the band. Meloy said that they hope to impact them by being themselves, which is how he feels The Decemberists have impacted their fans all-along.

At Bonnaroo, Meloy said that he imagines there will be many people who are “relaxing in the shade as much as possible,” but doesn’t know what to expect in terms of the crowd’s personality.

Considering the band’s political activism, Meloy said that he doesn’t want their political views to loom in their set or be distracting. “We want to have it be as much a part of the music as possible. I don’t know that we’ll be spouting political dogma during our Bonnaroo set. I imagine we’ll just be trying to put on a good show,” said Meloy.

Meloy said that the venue will offer a good opportunity for close proximity with his peers and that he hopes to meet other people and bands that he’s crossed paths with on tour but never got to spend time with. Martha Wainwright, Lilly Allen and Spoon are just some of the festival’s performers that Meloy is looking forward to seeing.

In regards to playing a large, outdoor show, Meloy feels that it’s always a little different and that the band needs to connect to a larger crowd. “It’s just, really, a question of being in the right spirit and being willing to reach out to those people and hopefully make an impact,” said Meloy, who intends to leave it up to the crowd to decide whether or not their music will translate to an outdoor arena.

Ben Harper gives front-row nod to Bonnaroo

Ben Harper is a veteran of the festival scene, and with two Bonnaroo’s under his belt already, he expects his third experience with Bonnaroo to be just as crazy as his previous ones.

Southern hospitality keeps Harper coming back to Bonnaroo, “it’s in the South and it’s some of the best musical Southern hospitality that there is in the States. I’ll pretty much go anywhere I’m invited back to,” said Harper. When asked how he expects his performance and Bonnaroo to differ from previous years, Harper said he’s curious as to how the festival has evolved and changed since it began in 2003.

With a new record tentatively scheduled to come out in August, Bonnaroo might provide an opportunity for old fans and new fans to get a taste of what’s to come from Harper, who hopes he’ll get a chance to put together some new songs for the festival.

A plus to performing in a massive venue like Bonnaroo is the fact that musicians can touch tens of thousands of people at once. Harper hopes to make his impact at the festival by delivering the strongest show possible. “That’s how I approach the stage,” said Harper, “with that level of expectation in myself.”

Harper plans to incorporate elements of old-time blues and gospel into his show because he still feels passionate about it. “I think it’s most important to be sincere to what I’m feeling when I’m on stage that’s sure to connect with the root of the music I make,” said Harper.

As for the venue size, Harper said the large size of Bonnaroo is irrelevant. “Man, if there’s 10 people or 10,000 people, that’s the perfect setting for me,” he said. “Everyone’s going to have their specific area of interest when it comes to how they love to hear music, but there’s something really hip about the same group of people ready to hear the Police or String Cheese, White Stripes or what we do.”

Harper thinks these types of bands provide people an opportunity to grow in their musical open-mindedness and that the venue is a great opportunity to get their music across. A few of the musicians at the Bonnaroo festival Harper is excited to see are Annette Coleman, Police and Panic.

If Harper were to lend any advice to up-and-coming artists that are performing at Bonnaroo, he’d tell them to give a nod to the front row and “just sort of connect with them straight away,” because he’s found that energy quickly works its way to the person in the very back.