The What Podcast - Bonnaroo, Festival Culture & Live Music

Latest Episode

IBMA Red Carpet 2026: Is Bluegrass Getting Younger?

Season 9, Episode 42 October 28, 2026 36m Video Chattanooga, TN

Is Bluegrass getting younger? We walked the IBMA red carpet in Chattanooga and asked the players who would know: James Kee of East Nash Grass, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull. The same theme kept coming up: a new generation is stepping in, and the people who came up before them are passing the torch.

Barry Courter, Bryan Stone and Russ also look back at last week's Billy Strings reopening of the Tivoli and what it says about where the music is headed.

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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Billy Strings Reopens Chattanooga's Restored Tivoli Theatre

S09E41 Oct 20, 2026 55m Video

Billy Strings is reopening the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, a 105-year-old landmark that just finished a $75 million restoration. We sat down with Nick Wilkinson of the Tivoli Foundation to find out how it happened, why a city spends that kind of money on a theater, and how the live music business really works. Read More

CaveFest 2026 Recap: Live From The Caverns

S09E40 Oct 14, 2026 29m Video Pelham, TN

Live from The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, we recap CaveFest 2026 with our ticket winner, plus the venue, the music, and the camping. Barry and Russ are joined by Bryan, back on the show after a couple of months, our bicoastal correspondent Elizabeth Thorpe, who flew in from Washington State for her third CaveFest, and Abby, the fan who won our ticket giveaway and is at her very first CaveFest! Listen to this week's episode here or watch it on YouTube. Read More

Bourbon & Beyond 2026 Recap From Two Festival Veterans

S09E39 Oct 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. Read More

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

Reviews for The What Podcast

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"Long time Roo Fam first time reviewer! Introduced these guys to my sisters (first Bonnaroo) in order to get them prepped/hyped for Roo, thank you for what you do!"

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"These folks do a great job discussing matters on the farm and generally keeping the vibes great, can’t wait to be back this year"

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"Great insight for a first time visitor. Wish other festivals had shows like this!"

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"You guys get me so excited for Bonnaroo. Thank you for this!"

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