It was about 9 a.m. on a Sunday in June, and I was lying in the grass in a near-total state of peace and harmony, performing yoga poses with some of my fellow festivalgoers. A tweeting bird interrupted my lapse of consciousness as it landed in a tree overhead.

“I wonder if he has the proper clearance and permission to be up there,” I thought. “Did anyone scan his wristband? Does that bird even have a wristband?! Why, he doesn’t even have wrists! Someone needs to be in control of that bird, and tell it what to do and where it can go! Who’s in charge here? What if he brings his own worm up there! That wouldn’t be ethical at all. He should be supporting the ‘official Bonnaroo vendors’ (after all, they are the ones who ‘have made a real commitment to support Bonnaroo,’ i.e. paid thousands of dollars). These humans didn’t put up all of this fencing, and the vendors sure didn’t pay their fees, so some random bird can just perch up there for free, and not buy something from an official vendor.”

OK, focus on the task at hand, trying to stand on my head.

Yes, this instructor somehow gave me the confidence in myself to briefly ignore the laws of gravity and attempt to perform a headstand . . . right here in the public eye. Luckily, I was far enough away from everyone else that I didn’t fall on top of anyone when my two seconds of upside-down glory came crashing back to earth.

Last century, the idea that every year some of the best musical acts in the world would gather in some field in Manchester for the summer’s biggest camping party wouldn’t have been in my wildest dreams.

But rock ‘n’ roll royalty continues to come to Tennessee for the fest; Sir Elton will arrive this year. Wonderful!

But I am afraid that somewhere along the line over the past 12 years, the organizational conversation turned from “How can we enlighten people, celebrate music and art, change the world and temporarily build a better society than the one that is ‘outside’?” to “how many $8 Miller Lites can possibly be moved to these sheep?”

The festival is wonderful, it is a truly amazing undertaking, packed with art and friendly people; it has been the summer camp where my musical heroes have gathered. Almost all of them have been there over the years: the Dead, Tool, the Wailers, Metallica, Rusted Root, Mastodon, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Panic, Phish, Dylan, Old Crow, moe., Béla, Primus, Nine Inch Nails and Willie have all performed.

If you have problems with pesky things like “the sun” or “dirt” or “people,” it may be best you just don’t go to Bonnaroo. I think you can watch it on the Internet now, so you don’t have to deal with “socialization” and “the outdoors.” If this is you, either find some other way to enjoy music, art and your vacation days, or first examine your worldview a little so you can be open to taking advantage of the amazing four-day festival without preoccupation with such thoughts as “there’s mud on my leg” or “the sun is literally going to kill me because I have not let my skin see its rays since last summer and didn’t have the foresight to bring something to protect myself from it during the peak-heat hours of the Tennessee June.”

The festival’s labor situation is excellent; much of the necessary staff works in exchange for a ticket. But, hopefully someday we won’t need the good folks at Clean Vibes and individuals will actually find suitable places to dispose of their thousands and thousands of overpriced plastic beer cups—or better yet, not even use them in the first place!

Keep Bonnaroo about art, not consumption!

In the festival’s first few years, almost everyone there had something to share with the others; they may have given that item away for free, they may have asked a fair price for it in U.S. dollars, or they may have traded it for a different item. Many members of the staff and security would actually encourage and partake in this type of behavior and commerce.

Now, the guidelines state this sort of thing should not be part of the experience. It seems some want the Bonnaroo patrons to be hungry and trapped in Centeroo, with lots of spending money and very few of their own necessities.

I’m telling you, do support the independent food, art or jewelry maker, so Bonnaroo doesn’t turn into the corporate WalMart of summer music festivals.

That may sound a little harsh, but anyone who calls Bonnaroo a hippie festival is stuck in 2004.

I’m all for musical diversity; I enjoy all styles of music and discovering new bands. I understand, as I am now part of the generation that spends much of its income on such non-entertainment related items as mortgage loans, electric bills, washing detergent and Boston Butt roasts, some newer pop-rock and electronic acts must be brought in to draw in the next generation of festivalgoers.

But is this increasing diversity and commercialization causing the festival to lose some of its improvisational, otherworldly magic? (R. Kelly . . . come on?)

Or is that simply a matter of growth and social evolution?

We are in the age of cellphones. One doesn’t have to ask a stranger a question and engage in conversation with someone new at Bonnaroo; look it up on the trusty smartphone. In fact, there’s no need to interact with the other festivalgoers at all. Keep your head down and your eyes on the screen. . . . Remember, it can be hard to be in the moment when you give your mobile device all of your attention and energy.

Does anyone remember the white board in Centeroo where people would leave messages for others? That was our communication gadget in the early years. . . .

But complaints and unrealistic thoughts of the good ole’ days aside, I was still out in a field with a few hundred strangers/friends learning yoga moves on a sunny Sunday; I witnessed a Beatle perform a phenomenal show just a couple of nights prior, Björk brought the bass, the hilarious Daniel Tosh was there and there were incalculable musical notes played, and creative people doing humorous things.

The sun would set on that Sunday, and Bonnaroo 2013, with Mr. Tom Petty crooning the jam-fest classic “Friend of the Devil” as a light drizzle cooled off the exhausted weekend warriors (and I happened to find myself wearing a Grateful Dead cape) confirming that, while it is not perfect, Bonnaroo still comes about as magically close to it as can be on this earth.

For more on Bonnaroo, visit bonnaroo.com.

This year, we have Elton John, Jack White, The Flaming Lips, Cage the Elephant, Yonder Mountain String Band, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Avett Brothers, Lionel Richie and many others to look forward to.