The What Podcast - Bonnaroo, Festival Culture & Live Music

Latest Episode

Bourbon & Beyond 2026 Recap From Two Festival Veterans

Season 9, Episode 39 October 7, 2026 46m Video

Two festival veterans break down Bourbon & Beyond 2026 in Louisville: the crowd, the hotels, the VIP setup, the beer prices, and the weather.

Barry and Russ are joined by our senior and junior correspondents, Trevin Bernarding and David Champion, who go to several festivals every year. They review the festival from the gate to the stage, then compare it with the rest of the circuit and look ahead to 2027.

In this episode:

- What Bourbon & Beyond is like: an older crowd, lots of guitars, no DJ sets

- The hotel rule that surprised them, plus VIP and general admission

- The amusement park, festival beer prices, and "And Beyond" branding

- How cancellations, evacuations, and weather shape their festival plans

- Their best tips for first-timers and how they find new bands

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!

Listen Via:

Previous Episodes

The Musician Who Plays Mushrooms

S09E38 Sep 30, 2026 40m Video

How do you play a mushroom? This week we're joined by Tarun Nayar of Modern Biology, a Vancouver-based musician who uses bioelectric signals from mushrooms, plants, and other living organisms to create music. Using custom-built devices and synthesizers, Tarun translates biological activity into musical information, creating performances that blend science, technology, improvisation, and art. Read More

We Got Evacuated at Shaky Knees 2026

S09E37 Sep 23, 2026 44m Video

The rain and heat at Shaky Knees 2026 did not stop Russ from having a good time in Atlanta! We catch up live from the hotel on Saturday morning and then the full recap in this episode: the heat, the lineup, and the Saturday storm and evacuation. Hear about notable performances from Turnstile, Fontaines D. Read More

Inside Bumbershoot: Where Music Meets DIY Art (and Wrestling)

S09E36 Sep 16, 2026 48m Video

Our bicoastal correspondent Elizabeth Thorpe is back, and this time she's breaking down Bumbershoot, the Seattle festival where music meets DIY art, animation, a fashion district, roller derby, and yes, actual wrestling. Beth walks us through all of Bumbershoot: the lineup (Death Cab for Cutie, Turnstile, De La Soul, Bikini Kill, Orville Peck), what makes a city festival different from a camping one, and the outsider-arts culture that Bumbershoot still preserves, the same DIY spirit that gave rise to grunge. Read More

Two Festivals We're Hitting This Fall: Shaky Knees & CaveFest

S09E35 Sep 9, 2026 34m Video

Bonnaroo may be taking 2027 off, but festival season isn't over. This week Barry and Russ break down the two festivals they're hitting this fall, Shaky Knees in Atlanta and CaveFest at The Caverns, and share their tips for doing each one right. One's a city festival, one's a camping festival, and they're very different experiences. Read More

After Bonnaroo: How to Choose Your Next Festival

S09E34 Sep 2, 2026 46m Video

No Bonnaroo in 2027? Here's how to figure out where to go instead. With Bonnaroo taking a fallow year, a lot of us are asking the same question: what festival do we go to now? So we brought in long-time friend of the show Liesl (@rockstarsweat), a festival superfan who's been to Bonnaroo, Pickathon, Glastonbury, Solid Sound and just about everywhere in between, to talk through how she actually chooses which festivals to attend. Read More

Bonnaroo's Cancellation: A City Official on the Long-Term Vision for The Farm

S09E33 Aug 26, 2026 1h 15m Video

Bonnaroo is taking 2027 off, and we wanted to dig into what's next. This week we're joined by David Bruce (I Am Bonnaroo) and Ryan French, a Manchester city councilman and tourism official with a front-row seat to what a fallow year actually means for the town Bonnaroo calls home. We get into the economic ripple through Manchester, why Bonnaroo is the "bell cow" for festivals far beyond itself, what a year off does to the local businesses and community that depend on it, and why our guests are hopeful about 2028 and beyond. Read More

Bonnaroo Cancels 2027: Our Live Reaction

Aug 21, 2026 22m Video

We officially have confirmation on Bonnaroo's 2027 cancellation. We got together to share our initial reaction, and Barry literally pulled over on the side of the road to record this. As far as The What Podcast goes, we're still here every week and we'll have a deeper dive into this news next week. Listen to this week's episode here or watch it on YouTube. Read More

Is Hulaween Everything Bonnaroo Used to Be?

S09E32 Aug 19, 2026 1h 9m Video

Is Hulaween everything Bonnaroo used to be? We put the question to John, our EDM and jam-scene correspondent, and his answer says a lot about how both festivals have changed. John makes the case for Hulaween, String Cheese Incident's own festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, where the daily lineups just dropped. Read More

How Has Bonnaroo Changed? A Festival Photographer's View

S09E31 Aug 12, 2026 1h 9m Video

How has Bonnaroo changed over the years? We asked someone with a rare vantage point - Elizabeth Thorpe, festival photographer and our West Coast correspondent, who's been going to Bonnaroo since 2004 and now shoots it from inside the photo pit. Beth walks us through what the festival experience is really like from behind the lens: the "first three songs only" rule, why the pit is her happy place, and how Bonnaroo has evolved from a freewheeling field party into something bigger, busier, and more produced. Read More

What Bonnaroo Fans Actually Want From a Podcast

S09E30 Aug 5, 2026 56m Video

What do Bonnaroo fans actually want from a podcast? We surveyed our listeners - and 89% agreed on the answer. In this episode of The What Podcast, Barry, Bryan, and Russ break down the results of our listener survey: where you're really listening (YouTube is running away with it), how you found the show, and what content you want more of. Read More

Bonnaroo Radio Takeover ft. Noah Kahan, String Cheese Incident & More

Jul 29, 2026 2h Video

The What Podcast took over Bonnaroo Radio in 2026! We present a two-hour special that aired during the festival, bringing together Noah Kahan, RÜFÜS DU SOL, String Cheese Incident's Kyle Hollingsworth, and the people who built and shaped Bonnaroo. Produced and packaged by Bryan Stone, and now collected here in full. Read More

Bonnaroo's Lineup Secrets, From a Booking Agent Named Keith Richards

S09E29 Jul 22, 2026 52m Video

We had the chance to sit down with Keith Richards this week. Not that Keith Richards - let's get that out of the way early. Our actual guest is the newly-named Head of Festivals at Ground Control Touring, an independent booking agency representing artists from Waxahatchee to Japanese Breakfast to Manchester Orchestra. Read More

Reviews for The What Podcast

Rate and Review on Apple Podcasts

"Sparky Totem here to say we love the Pod and look forward to seeing you on the farm."

MoRoRadio

"I'm honestly surprised this kind of thing didn't exist before 2018. There's so much going on at Bonnaroo that it's so satisfying to have a weekly show about the developments there. Plus it gets us hyped."

pkreed1996

"Great content to keep me amped for upcoming Bonnaroo! Love that the topics have evolved to discuss more than Roo."

marianoballon

"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

× Link copied to clipboard

Latest Episode

The longest-running and highest-rated weekly show about Bonnaroo, festival culture, and live music

Previous Episodes

Reviews for The What Podcast

Join Our Email List