Seniors Jonathan Harwood, Neill Robertson and Becky Schwartz are traveling 635 miles to the famous Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival June 9 to 12.

Since 2001, the annual festival has offered a wide variety of live musical performances on over five different stages. The festival also houses tents featuring comedy performances and activities like the Silent Disco, a dance party where attendees listen to music through headphones to keep the noise level down.

Harwood and Robertson have wanted to attend Bonnaroo together for years, and they are now looking forward to it as a celebration of their high school graduation.

“My plan has always been to go with one of my best friends,” Harwood said. “This is the first time our plans have worked out, and we are both excited to be going. It seems kind of like a fairy tale ending to our high school years.”

Schwartz, meanwhile, is looking forward to camping out at the festival with her older sister. She’s also excited for this year’s lineup, which includes bands like Arcade Fire and Widespread Panic and rappers Eminem and Lil Wayne.

Harwood, who plays the drums and the guitar, especially appreciates the wide variety of music Bonnaroo has to offer.

“As a musician, Bonnaroo is kind of like heaven,” he said. “The weekend is literally packed with so many amazing bands and artists that I’m having trouble figuring out which ones to go to.”

While Harwood, Robertson and Schwartz are all excited to listen to the music, one Whitman band almost had the opportunity to actually perform at Bonnaroo.

Blackbird Sunset, a band comprised of seniors Bryan Mooney and Carter Martin and sophomore Ben James, submitted their song, “The Romantic,” to the Road to Roo contest. Fans from all over the country voted for two bands to play at Bonnaroo.

“We entered the Road to Roo contest because Bonnaroo is a fantastic festival with an outstanding lineup of bands,” Mooney said. “Obviously, it would be a great opportunity for us as a band.”

On the first night of the contest, Blackbird Sunset was the 33rd most voted for band but fell steadily in the rankings from there.

“We weren’t selected because our fan base isn’t large enough for us to compete with many of the other bands in the contest who tour often,” Mooney said. “I find it impressive that we even managed to make it to number 33.”

Mooney then decided against going to Bonnaroo as a spectator because it conflicts with graduation.

Last year, Kara Kreutzberg (’10), Dan Pappalardo (’10) and Andrew Beehler (’10) all went to Bonnaroo together and adjusted their schedules to accomodate graduation.

“We came to a group decision that we would leave a day early after Jay-Z’s performance,” Kreutzberg said. “Jay-Z ended at around 3 a.m., so we hopped in our pre-packed car and trekked home.”

Looking back, Kreutzberg rememebers the fun she had at Bonnaroo and the mad scramble to get home in time for graduation as an unforgettable experience.

“Of course we were celebrating our completion of high school, but I was still concerned about making it to graduation,” Kreutzberg said. “Overall, I guess it could be considered a rite of passage.”

This year, Bonnaroo also ends right before graduation, but Harwood isn’t going to let that dampen his fun.

“Now that school is over, I am going to live it up,” Harwood said. “Bonnaroo is a time to go crazy and have fun — no teachers, no homework and no rules.”