Manchester, TN. Widespread Panic closed out the fourth annual Bonnaroo Music Festival with an extended, guest-laden set which included the anthemic “City of Dreams.” Performing from 8:30pm until just after midnight, Panic played straight through both its set break and its encore, dubbing a sea of muddy fans “the cast of thousands.”

Returning to Manchester, TN for the fourth year in a row, Bonnaroo overcame past traffic problems while narrowly avoiding a passing tropical storm. Despite occasional showers, Bonnaroo’s schedule ran smoothly, while fans wandered between tents and soaked up a variety of interactive art exhibits. Among the weekend’s most popular activities, fans danced with headphones in the Silent Disco Tent and explored the Sonic Forest . Helping draw fans into the non-profit Planet Roo, Signal Path, ALO and Ozomatli signed autographs in the Rock the Earth booth.

Bonnaroo also served as a springboard for countless collaborations throughout the festival’s ten stages and tents. Late Friday night, Mr. Lif joined Sound Tribe Sector 9 onstage in That Other Tent, while M. Ward welcomed My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis onstage for the final four songs of his set. Keller Williams also fleshed out the later part of his set with an appearance by the Keene Brothers. Returning a favor Thursday night, Dan Lebowitz joined Tea Leaf Green on the Sonic Stage, just before his ALO bandmate Zach Gill jammed with Xavier Rudd as part of Jack Johnson’s backing band.

Trey Anastasio performed the weekend’s only open-air late-night set on the Which Stage with his band 70 Volt Parade Saturday evening. Offering a mix of covers (“In the Light”), new originals (“Goodbye Head”) and songs which fall somewhere in between (“46 Days”), Anastasio also ran through the second half of the Beatles’ famed Abbey Road. Anastasio invited festival breakout Matisyahu onstage for versions of “Close My Eyes” and “No Woman No Cry.” After appearing with Galactic a night earlier, American Idol’s Bo Bice sparred with admitted Idol fan Anastasio on “ Panama .”

Nodding to Bonnaroo’s size, several performers augmented their sets with larger-than-life theatrics. My Morning Jacked performed alongside a parade of 12-foot tall puppets. Particle also performed while backed by a full gospel choir. Late Saturday night, De La Soul invited over 50 fans onstage for the finale of its late-night set in That Tent. 

Sunday saw the return of The Word, a supergroup featuring Robert Randolph, John Medeski and the North Mississippi Allstars. A rare performance by the gospel-influenced jamband, The Word’s mainstage blended into a packed afternoon of music, including sets by Modest Mouse and Earle Scruggs and Friends. Hancock also anchored Bonnaroo’s annual SuperJam, which featured Roots drummer ?uestlove along with members of Hancock’s new Headhunters project.

Widespread Panic fashioned both its sets as extended jam sessions, inviting a handful of the weekend’s performers onstage throughout its three sets. Saturday evening, Warren Haynes emerged for versions of “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” and “Doreatha,” later returning during Panic’s encore for “Maggot Brain” with Mule keyboardist Danny Louis. Not to be outdone, Matt Abts also joined Panic during an extended drum jam, along with Hunter Williams on djembe.

Sunday, Panic also nodded to its roots by jamming with both Bob Weir and Herbie Hancock. Weir emerged first, trading vocal duties with John Bell on “Wang Dang Doodle” and “Little Red Rooster.” Herbie Hancock, Bonnaroo’s Artist-in-Residence, emerged for "You Should Be Glad," "Arleen" and "Life During Wartime." Later in the evening, Col. Bruce Hampton, Robert Randolph and Luther Dickinson joined Panic for a version of “Fixin' in to Die,” with the latter two artists remaining onstage for "Junior," "Fishwater" and "Red Hot Mama." Cody Dickinson augmented an elongated drum jam, featuring a variety of percussion toys.