Photos by the authorI saw a lot of crazy things at Bonnaroo this year—Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar freestyling with Earth Wind & Fire, a mystical grove built of empty porta-potties, a little bit of nudity, people looking freshly showered—but by far the most surprising thing I witnessed was a wedding.In the crowd during the festival’s closing set, by Billy Joel, a bunch of utility golf carts—ice trucks, as it turned out—had been parked together and lit up, holding up an awning. A guy was tying flowers onto the awning. Everyone nearby was watching the guests mill around instead of paying attention to Billy Joel.I found the groom, Josh Loffer, wearing a suspenders and beaming with pre-wedding excitement. He and his bride-to-be, Alison, were members of the Bonnaroo ice crew, which calls itself Icyroo. Alison was off getting ready out of his sight, as is customary at weddings, so I took the chance to ask Josh a few questions and find out both how one happens to get married at Bonnaroo and what it’s like hauling around the most coveted resource in a sunny field in 90-degree heat.A few minutes later, the guests lined up on either side of the awning, forming an aisle for Alison to walk down. A ring of Bonnaroovians formed around the whole ceremony snapping pictures. Josh and the wedding’s officiant stood at the makeshift altar talking and laughing, and then Alison showed up. They exchanged vows and rings. It was beautiful. As the ceremony ended, people threw—what else?—ice. Behind them, 70,000 people cheered.So you met your wife here?
We’ve known each other since eighth grade, so it’s been more like 12 years or so. We were really good friends, like best friends, and we’ve always kept in touch with each other. Because, you know, when you get out of high school sometimes you spread apart from your friends. But we always had this bond to stick together. Anyway, one time in the not-so-distant past, we pretty much got our feelings for each other out in the open, and then she drove from Ohio to Bonnaroo on Sunday night to be with me and hang out.Who was playing?
That was Tom Petty. Later on that night we had our first kiss.And you guys were both on ice crew together at the same time?
The guy I work with on ice, Brian, who is now resigning this year, I had been working with him two years prior, and I got her to come onto the crew on Sunday night. She came the following year, after we had our first kiss, and we ended up working Icyroo together. And then they had us back, and we thought “you know what? All these people were here when we got together and made it official, that like you and I are a thing.” And we thought no better than to have them here and to have a full-on wedding at Bonnaroo, where it happened. Two years from this date.What does Bonnaroo mean to you?
It’s a great thing, man. I love what comes together here at Bonnaroo, and I love how it’s about music. And it’s bringing all different types of music to people. It doesn’t matter what your flavor is. Bonnaroo has it. And it’s a great community.What’s it like working on ice crew at Bonnaroo?
It’s awesome, man. Everyone on the crew is fucking awesome at what they do. Everyone brings different great traits to make Icyroo fucking brilliant and work efficiently. When you’re the lifeblood of a festival, you’ve got to be on it. And everyone on this crew brings it. We get everyone hydrated. It’s awesome! It’s a really great honor to be a part of that and know that we’re hydrating everyone that’s putting this festival on and making sure it goes without a hitch.What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen here? Other than your own wedding, which I guess is pretty crazy.
I mean, it’s Bonnaroo. The craziest thing that I’ve seen happen is I was out in Centeroo with Alison, my bride-to-be, and we got ran over by a brass band, a marching band. It was the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. They stomped around us, and they finished their set by circling us.Kyle Kramer doesn’t remember getting married at Bonnaroo, but that’s not saying it didn’t happen. Follow him on Twitter.
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We’ve known each other since eighth grade, so it’s been more like 12 years or so. We were really good friends, like best friends, and we’ve always kept in touch with each other. Because, you know, when you get out of high school sometimes you spread apart from your friends. But we always had this bond to stick together. Anyway, one time in the not-so-distant past, we pretty much got our feelings for each other out in the open, and then she drove from Ohio to Bonnaroo on Sunday night to be with me and hang out.
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That was Tom Petty. Later on that night we had our first kiss.And you guys were both on ice crew together at the same time?
The guy I work with on ice, Brian, who is now resigning this year, I had been working with him two years prior, and I got her to come onto the crew on Sunday night. She came the following year, after we had our first kiss, and we ended up working Icyroo together. And then they had us back, and we thought “you know what? All these people were here when we got together and made it official, that like you and I are a thing.” And we thought no better than to have them here and to have a full-on wedding at Bonnaroo, where it happened. Two years from this date.What does Bonnaroo mean to you?
It’s a great thing, man. I love what comes together here at Bonnaroo, and I love how it’s about music. And it’s bringing all different types of music to people. It doesn’t matter what your flavor is. Bonnaroo has it. And it’s a great community.What’s it like working on ice crew at Bonnaroo?
It’s awesome, man. Everyone on the crew is fucking awesome at what they do. Everyone brings different great traits to make Icyroo fucking brilliant and work efficiently. When you’re the lifeblood of a festival, you’ve got to be on it. And everyone on this crew brings it. We get everyone hydrated. It’s awesome! It’s a really great honor to be a part of that and know that we’re hydrating everyone that’s putting this festival on and making sure it goes without a hitch.What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen here? Other than your own wedding, which I guess is pretty crazy.
I mean, it’s Bonnaroo. The craziest thing that I’ve seen happen is I was out in Centeroo with Alison, my bride-to-be, and we got ran over by a brass band, a marching band. It was the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. They stomped around us, and they finished their set by circling us.Kyle Kramer doesn’t remember getting married at Bonnaroo, but that’s not saying it didn’t happen. Follow him on Twitter.