MANCHESTER, Tenn. — Conditions were hot and dusty Saturday at the Bonnaroo music festival, but no one seemed to mind, especially not Jaime Woodman and Scott Saunders.

        They were first in line to get into the concert area when it opened at noon. Their goal was simple: to get as close to the stage as possible.

        They had done so the night before to see the band Widespread Panic.

        “You could see their facial expressions,” said Woodman, who teaches English in Los Angeles.

        Woodman and Mr. Saunders are among the tens of thousands of fans who descended on the 500-acre farm for the three-day festival about 60 miles southeast of Nashville.

        Promoters sold 70,000 tickets in 20 days on the Internet without the help of Ticketmaster or advertising. They targeted band Web sites and chat groups and sold three-day passes for $140.

        Nearly 50 acts are scheduled to perform music including rock, blues, bluegrass, gospel and soul.

        But for many, the music was the main attraction. Janeen Overton and Brian Fairhurst, both of Asheville, N.C., sell vegetarian food at weekend festivals. Ms. Overton said they applied to work at Bonnaroo “as soon as we heard about it.”

        “This is the biggest thing done on this scene forever,” Mr. Fairhurst said.

        Headliners such as Widespread Panic, former Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, The String Cheese Incident and Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead are known as jam bands for their long instrumentals. They draw thousands to concerts with little radio play.

        They depend upon word of mouth promotion, the Internet and festivals.

        “This opens up a venue or door for a lot of people who have never heard of jam bands,” said Domingo Ortiz, Widespread Panic's drummer.

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