from Bonnaroo.com:
The creators and producers of the Bonnaroo Music Festivals are committed to presenting an extraordinary and first-class festival experience - for the fans who attend the festivals, for the artists who perform at the festivals, and for the communities and environment in which the festivals take place. The selection of the inaugural 2002 Bonnaroo Music Festival as "Music Festival of the Year" by industry professionals and music fans alike was the result of that commitment. The overwhelmingly positive and cooperative spirit with which the citizens of Manchester and Coffee County, Tennessee, have welcomed back the Bonnaroo Festival for its second year is a testament to our commitment to good community relationships and citizenship.

We have been excited by the potential of bringing the Bonnaroo Festival experience to other regions of the country. In late 2002, we began to focus on creating Bonnaroo NE in Riverhead, NY, on Long Island. For several months, we have been engaged in dialogue and planning with community leaders and representatives of regulatory agencies to carefully address all of the issues relating to the successful staging of the festival.

During the past few weeks, we have closely watched the developments surrounding the organizational and permitting process for another festival - Field Day - scheduled for the same site on the weekend of June 7 and 8. This process culminated with the denial of Field Day's permits and the cancellation of the festival at this site only 2 days before it was scheduled to open.

Planning for an event of such magnitude as Bonnaroo NE requires the highest level of cooperation and commitment from everyone involved in order to achieve success. We have investigated and analyzed the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of Field Day, as well as the atmosphere which the cancellation has created. After careful consideration, we are disappointed to announce that it is impossible for us to proceed and we must cancel Bonnaroo NE. We have determined that it would be irresponsible to the artists, to the festival goers, to citizens in the community, and to ourselves to move ahead with our plans given the circumstances that now exist.

Because of the extraordinary amount of planning required for a festival such as Bonnaroo, we cannot re-schedule Bonnaroo NE for another location this year.

We would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to try to make Bonnaroo NE a reality - our incredible staff; the artists, agents, and managers who had agreed to perform; those on Long Island who shared the vision; and the many fans who purchased the tickets.

All ticket holders will automatically be issued a full refund. There is no need to contact us. It may take a few days for your refund to be fully processed by your credit card company or bank and appear on your statement.

This decision has absolutely no impact on the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2003 in Manchester, TN, which will take place this weekend. Artists performing include the Dead, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Widespread Panic, the Allman Brothers Band, James Brown, Emmylou Harris, and many others. The festival is completely sold out.