The What Podcast - Bonnaroo, Festivals and Music News

Latest Episode

Inside Bonnaroo 2026: Clues, Presale News... and a Trip to Mexico City?!

Season 8, Episode 43 November 12, 2025 1h Video

Bonnaroo came alive last week with a flurry of updates for 2026, and The What Podcast is back to dive into them! Beth joins us this week and we recap Bonnaroo's social reactivation after months of silence, and listen to the first Roo Clue "bread" hint. We also speculate if the lineup drop could happen earlier than ever before and what to expect for ticket sales.

Then it's off to Mexico City! Beth and Bryan outline their plans for attending Corona Capital next week, and what U.S. festival fans can learn from Mexico's sponsorship-forward model that helps keep tickets surprisingly affordable. Expect a preview of a 90s-leaning top line (Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Deftones) and undercard curiosities, plus a compare/contrast on crowd energy, branding on stages (yes, Doritos), and production style versus Bonnaroo.

Listen to this week's episode here or watch it on YouTube. As always, subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get podcasts for weekly updates on Bonnaroo and festival news!

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Previous Episodes

Why You Should Attend a Mexican Music Festival

S08E42 Oct 22, 2025 54m Video

What makes a music festival in Mexico feel so different from one in the United States? This week on The What Podcast, Barry and Bryan talk with Ricardo Gómez from OCESA, the promoter behind Mexico City's massive Corona Capital Festival. Ricardo shares how Mexican festival culture compares to the U. Read More

CaveFest 2025: Exploring the Underground Magic of The Caverns

S08E41 Oct 15, 2025 53m Video Pelham, TN

The What Podcast is on location at The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee for CaveFest 2025, just down the road from Bonnaroo! Barry couldn't make it this week, so our friend Beth Thorpe steps in to co-host. We talk about our experience at the festival, why CaveFest is more than just bluegrass, and how an independent venue like The Caverns runs differently from Live Nation's Bonnaroo. Read More

Moon River Festival Sets Sail: Why Chattanooga's Beloved Fest Is Moving to a Cruise Ship

S08E40 Oct 8, 2025 1h 11m Video

The beloved Moon River Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee is setting sail - literally! In this episode of The What Podcast, hosts Barry Courter and Bryan Stone sit down with Drew Holcomb, founder of Moon River, and Jeff Cuellar, CEO of Sixthman, to talk about the bold decision to move the festival from the banks of the Tennessee River to a cruise ship at sea. Read More

Inside Bonnaroo's Planet Roo: Shower The People's Mission Radiates Positivity

S08E39 Oct 1, 2025 1h 2m Video

Why does a shower matter? This week on The What Podcast, Meredith MacLeod Jaulin from Shower the People joins us. Learn how a Nashville mobile shower and laundry nonprofit restores dignity, health, and trust - then channels festival energy into year-round impact through Planet Roo partnerships and tie-dye towel activations at Bonnaroo. Read More

Shaky Knees 2025 vs. IBMA Chattanooga: Live from the Red Carpet + Bilmuri Interview

S08E38 Sep 24, 2025 1h 5m Video

Shaky Knees 2025 and IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Chattanooga couldn't be more different, but this week on The What Podcast we were at both. From Atlanta's Piedmont Park with Devo, Johnny Marr, 4 Non Blondes, Weird Al, and more, to the Red Carpet in Chattanooga with Steve Martin, Alison Brown, and the bluegrass world's biggest stars. Read More

From Bonnaroo to Seattle: A 90s Grunge Pilgrimage

S08E37 Sep 10, 2025 1h Video

A Bonnaroo love story, fresh Farm updates from Manchester, and a Seattle grunge pilgrimage: all this week in The What Podcast! We preview Shaky Knees Festival 2025 in Atlanta and IBMA bluegrass events in Chattanooga, then detour into PBR beer-cheese soup before diving into the 90s revival with Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Oasis all doing big tours. Read More

Red Rocks, My Morning Jacket, and Bonnaroo Stories: RooHamm & Roo Bus Catch-Up

S08E36 Sep 3, 2025 1h 7m Video

Parker Reed from the RooHamm Podcast joins us to catch up and explain why there's been a lull since Bonnaroo, and how their group handled the festival's rainout before becoming optimistic about 2026. We also dive into My Morning Jacket's Red Rocks set and what makes the venue so magical, making it a bucket list stop for MMJ and Bonnaroo fans alike. Read More

What's Next After Bonnaroo? Devo at Shaky Knees and More 2025 Festivals

S08E35 Aug 27, 2025 36m Video Chattanooga, TN

Bonnaroo 2025 is behind us, so what's next? On this week's The What Podcast, we do some porch sittin' and look ahead to more festivals still to come in 2025, including Shaky Knees, World of Bluegrass, and CaveFest. We dive deep into the legacy of Devo, one of our most-anticipated acts of Shaky Knees this year, and explore the surprising event that sparked the band's creation. Read More

Bonnaroo Shake-Up: Brad Parker Departs, & Kyle Hollingsworth on New Album, String Cheese, and Beer

S08E34 Aug 15, 2025 1h 18m Video

Bonnaroo is facing a big change: Festival Director Brad Parker is leaving C3 Presents and saying goodbye to the Bonnaroo family. In this episode, we talk about what Brad's departure could mean for the future of The Farm, and look ahead to what's next for Bonnaroo. It's a special "breaking news" edition of The What Podcast. Read More

Why Bonnaroo Feels Like Home: Fans Share Their Stories & Memories

S08E33 Aug 13, 2025 1h 16m Video

Despite Bonnaroo's cancellation this year, fans persevere and call in to share what makes the festival so special: freedom, life-changing connections, and more. But first, The What Podcast crew celebrates a big milestone. Thank you for 2,000 YouTube subscribers! Fresh off last week's in-depth interview with Brad Parker and Cory Smith about Bonnaroo 2026 plans, we dive into the heartfelt listener voicemails, reflect on the 2025 shutdown aftermath, talk transparency, programming changes, and more. Read More

Bonnaroo 2026: Brad & Cory from C3 Answer Your Questions

S08E32 Aug 6, 2025 1h 4m Video

After the unprecedented cancellation of Bonnaroo 2025, fans have had big questions about the future of the festival and in this episode, we get real answers straight from C3 Presents, the team that puts on the festival. Brad Parker, Festival Director and Cory Smith, Marketing Manager join us today for an in-depth look at the changes to Thursday programming, the removal of Tuesday entry, campground changes, stage updates, and more. Read More

Is Rock Dead? The Bonnaroo Music Census and Remembering Ozzy Osbourne

S08E31 Jul 30, 2025 1h 6m Video

Bonnaroo released their annual Music Census last week, and Barry and Bryan dive into it and what it means for the changing festival landscape. Is rock music being pushed to the sidelines, or is it adapting with the times? We look at how fan preferences have changed and continue to shape what Bonnaroo looks and sounds like. Read More

Reviews for The What Podcast

Rate and Review on Apple Podcasts

"Love listening to Barry and Brad's take on the festival and lineup, especially this year when the undercard is so strong! Fantastic way to discover some new artists to see at the farm!"

s3an93

"Getting me excited to return to the farm for my 10th Bonnaroo!"

Sgtppr67

"Been going to Roo the last 5 years and recently started listening to The What last year and couldn't wait to catch season 2 episode 1! Lineup day for me is the equivalent to how a 5 year old feels on Christmas Day! Love this podcast and Roo so much."

Emi Jemii

"theres a piece of me every single week that needs a little bit of bonnaroo in my life, and these folks keep that spirit burning until we are back on the farm"

NickCaskey

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