The Origin Story
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Caleb Arias
Creator of The Bonnaroo Yearbook
Coachella 2019 - The Idea is Born.
Coachella was my first major music festival and I was intimidated to meet new people, so I asked fellow festival goers,
“Would you like to write something in my book?”
Someone replied, “Oh sure that’s so cute, it’s like your Yearbook!” That stuck with me.
LOLLAPALOOZA 2021
LOLLAPALOOZA 2021
Lollapalooza 2021
Determined to push myself, I set a goal to fill an entire notebook at my next festival. What started as a way to connect with new people, became an exciting tradition of capturing festival connections.
People loved the idea and wanted me to share the pages online. So I did!
When I got home, I took photos of all of the pages and posted them to a dedicated instagram account.
Social Media Didn’t Feel Tangible Enough.
I Wanted To Take the Yearbook Further.
BONNAROO 2023
BONNAROO 2023
Bonnaroo 2023
For Bonnaroo 2023, I committed to my most ambitious yearbook project yet,
The Bonnaroo Yearbook
Over the course of 6 days, I gathered over 1,000 signatures, photographed anyone willing to participate, and created a final printed yearbook full of scans of the original pages, photos, fun facts, superlatives, and even an impromptu camping neighbor proposal set-up! All of this was my first time going solo to a festival and my first time camping. It was a lot more work than I realized, but so rewarding!
BONNAROO 2024
BONNAROO 2024
Bonnaroo 2024
This time, I brought my girlfriend with me to Bonnaroo, her first-ever festival! While balancing our personal festival experience with creating the yearbook, we captured even more memories, expanded the project, and refined the process. We gave out special pins to signers, got to feature film photography from @iambonnaroo, and I decided to dedicate myself to going to Bonnaroo every year to bring this project to the community.
The yearbook project has found it’s home, Bonnaroo.
Bonnaroo 2025
This year my girlfriend Sydney and I are coming back to the farm to create the 3rd iteration of The Bonnaroo Yearbook.
With over a decade of photography experience, 6 years of going to festivals, and two printed books under my belt, the Bonnaroo Yearbook continues to grow. Every year, more Roovians get to leave their mark and take home a tangible piece of their festival experience.
The Bonnaroo Yearbook 2025 is coming soon!
As seen on The What Podcast!
“What started as a simple icebreaker at music festivals has blossomed into the Bonnaroo Yearbook, a one-of-a-kind community art project created by photographer Caleb Arias. Caleb’s journey began when he brought a journal to his first festival and invited others to sign it. By the time he attended Bonnaroo, he discovered its unparalleled sense of community and decided to publish the Bonnaroo Yearbook to share and celebrate the memories he'd collected. Get your copy of the Bonnaroo Yearbook at https://bonnarooyearbook.com and use promo code THEWHATPODCAST for 50% off! A big thanks to Caleb for joining the show and offering this exclusive discount.”
- The What Podcast
Want a copy?
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The final printed book contains high res images of every single page signed by contributors, 250+ photos from the farm, interactive I-Spy inspired images featuring Kandi from the community, as well as fun facts, superlatives, and a hand numbered limited edition page. All in a beautifully printed hard-bound book.
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The book takes about 6 months of work to photograph the pages, determine superlatives, edit the design and layout, and shoot all of the I-Spy imagery. Shipping can be expected by December of 2025.
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Following our IG enters you for a chance to win a Bonnaroo Yearbook 2025 edition. Also, if you pre-order the 2025 pdf your name will be entered twice into the giveaway!