To the uninitiated folks who think of Bonnaroo as either a mud-soaked or sun-scorched mob of smelly people, this afternoon’s musical lineup is answer enough to why people attend in droves.

Veteran Bonnaroo attendees know three things about the festival: There is no shade, it's going to rain, and the music will be world class.

Tens of thousands of cars, RVs, trucks and vans wind along roadways and converge on Interstate 24 for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday.

It’s not too late to attend the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. While the festival got under way Thursday, most of the activity involved entering the festival site and setting up camp for festivalgoers.

MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- Chattanooga artist Roger Alan Wade hit the Troo Music Lounge Stage on Thursday at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, entertaining festivalgoers who'd made it inside to the 700-acre sit

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival draws almost 80,000 people to Manchester every year. The festival began Thursday with campers moving in and getting situated on the grounds.

Chattanooga musician Roger Alan Wade played an early, electric set on the Troo Music Lounge Stage.

So far, the story at Bonnaroo is rain, though it has not been a steady rain.

Buying most of the 700 acres where the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival sits in Manchester, Tenn., has proven a sound business move, festival co-founder Ashley Capps said.