Bonnaroo poured $339 million into Tennessee economy in 2023, study says

Bonnaroo, the annual, four-day music festival held in Manchester, TN. each June not only provides dozens of stages with hundreds of musical acts for thousands of festivalgoers to enjoy, it also contributes millions of dollars to the local economy each year.

Based on a newly released economic impact study held for the 2023 festival, the event contributed $339.8 million to the regional economy, including more than $5.1 million in tax revenue to the region. Bonnaroo’s activities also contributed to the creation or support of 4,163 full-time job equivalents (full-time employees and part-time employees working full-time hours).

This report marks the first time in more than a decade that event organizers have studied Bonnaroo’s economic impact, but sources say there are plans to analyze numbers annually going forward.

Festival Director Brad Parker said the impact numbers revealed by the study come as no surprise knowing that Bonnaroo draws fans and staff from all 50 states and several countries.

“We are proud of our economic and community contribution over the past 20 years to the city of Manchester, Coffee County, and the state of Tennessee,” Parker told The Tennessean via email. “We know Bonnaroo is a significant economic driver to the city, county, and the state, but what does that really mean? Economic reports are a standardized and tangible measure and will help us better gauge how we can integrate and work with the communities we impact.”

The report also determined more than $105.5 million in labor incomes were paid to regional employees as a result of the festival.

Festivalgoer (or Bonnaroovian to those in the know) expenditures accounted for nearly $287 million of the total economic impact of the 2023 festival.

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Ryan French, executive director of South Central Tennessee Tourism Association, said with any economics report, he verifies the findings against other state-generated reports.

“I always back data with data and by looking at the state’s county-by-county snapshot, this information seems consistent with everything that’s been provided before,” he said. “Bonnaroo is huge for Manchester and Coffee County. Just looking at the direct numbers, it almost makes June another Christmas holiday season. The regional impact is massive.”

He added that the festival itself is a microcosm of the impact, which is absorbed outside of the region and even the state.

“Tourism is broken down into sectors and transportation is going to be the largest sector,” he added. “People driving in, stopping at gas stations, that’s 35% of the local economy in tourism. People driving in for Bonnaroo are stopping along the way, eating along the way, lodging along the way and a majority of people have a Nashville stop before they go to the festival.”

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Matt Patton with Angelou Economics, the company that compiled the impact study, said while all of the direct impact numbers are important, don’t underestimate the ripple effects of Bonnaroo.

“Everyone understands the direct impact,” Patton said. “We see those dollars being spent and we see those people employed directly. But, the indirect and induced impacts, those ripples through the local economy generate over $100 million in total economic activity and support over 600 FTEs.”

But Bonnaroo doesn’t just generate tourism money. It also costs money to support. Parker said that Bonnaroo pays or reimburses the city, county, and the state for all additional resources needed to support the massive event.

“Significant tax dollars are generated at the local level from the festival which drives a significant portion of local operating budgets.” he said.

Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com or on X @HurtMelonee.