On this episode of The What Podcast, Barry and Lord Taco sit down on The Farm with Maddie Bouton and Becca Castle of Angel Saint Queen to talk about their relationship with Bonnaroo, their music, and more.
Bouton and Castle are long-time Roovians, boasting experience as both attendees and event staff. Now, in 2023, they can add "performer" to that list of titles, as this year saw the Bonnaroo debut of their indie rock project Angel Saint Queen. Barry and Lord Taco dive into their journey to the stage and all the crazy feelings that came along with it.
Listen to Barry and Lord Taco of The What Podcast with Angel Saint Queen or watch it via YouTube. While you're at it, go ahead and like, review, and subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Photo by: David Bruce
Topics: Angel Saint Queen, Bonnaroo
Guests: Becca Castle, Maddie Bouton
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Putting the final touches on Bonnaroo 2023.
One last chat with one of our favorite finds of the festival season.
Barry Cordell or Taco talked to Angel St. Queen, making their Bonnaroo debut in 2023.
They talked to the What Podcast first.
Before Superstardom.
The What Podcast final recap of Bonnaroo starts right now.
Ah, Barry Courter.
Nice to see you again buddy.
How are you?
I'm great.
How are you?
I am doing fine Porcupine.
I am gonna go ahead and say very clearly I'm very jealous of this episode.
I'm very jealous that not only do I have to relive yet again a festival that I could not
make it to, but you get to talk to one of my favorite people on the planet today.
I love everything about this.
There's so much that I want to get into.
Okay.
But this when it happened, let's just rewind.
Before the festival you said, I think I want you to talk to Becca.
And I was like, oh yeah, definitely want to talk to Becca.
The day of was amazing.
She and Maddie were so great and that was awesome.
And the week after I thought that was a lot of fun.
This is why I really enjoy Bonnaroo and the whole business.
Basically you get to see somebody go from start to finish.
Not start to finish, but grow.
But you would feel that even if there wasn't like a connection.
100%.
This is my favorite thing in my entire career is to be able to see somebody, interview,
meet, whatever, start from the beginning and then follow a career.
That is my favorite thing.
The fact that you have this connection makes it even better.
But this last few days, and I'll be honest with you, and I really want to get into this
and I'm probably going to surprise you because I'm feeling a little nostalgic or whatever,
old, call it whatever.
It's the back pain.
No, no.
It's the recapping this whole Bonnaroo thing.
Listening to the RooHamm guys and even the real Ruhbuss guys and just kind of thinking about
how important this festival has become to us.
And this episode just sort of, for whatever reason this week hit me.
This is a big part of my life.
Oh Barry, that's so cute.
I know, right?
I knew you were going to make fun.
That's so sweet.
I'm not making fun.
I promise I'm not making fun.
It's sweet.
It is.
Because it is a very big part of our lives.
It's unbelievable, right?
I mean, we do this stupid podcast.
We talk about this more than we talk about anything else.
At least I do.
Anything else in our lives.
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
And if I'm not talking about it with you, I'm talking about with Evan Bonnaroo every time
that we hang out.
It's part of our weekly wardrobe choices.
Nothing else is this.
I mean, other than maybe the Mets for me and the Washington football team, formerly the
Redskins.
Those are the three things I probably talk about the most.
Notre Dame football for me used to be, but I don't even talk about that because I don't
have anybody to talk about it with.
Yeah, no kidding.
So I have you.
And this is the first time.
That's a great point because this is the first time in my life.
I've ever been living here that I've been able to actually talk about the Mets on a regular
basis.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I mean, it really is that impactful and listening to those other podcasts and our
podcast and realizing that this is what we talk about all the time is nuts.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Trying to be nice.
It'd be nice if we get paid for it, to be honest with you.
I know, right?
But you know, figure something out, man.
There are other things I'm sure people, gamers would say, you know, that's what they do all
day long.
And I get that.
And I was trying not to overstate, overstated, but this community, I mean, it's across the
nation.
We are now friends with people from all over the country because of this festival.
And you know, I'm trying not to overstate it, but I'm also trying not to understate it.
I think, you know, I think it's a good point.
Like I bring up Evan a lot because I love the man, but the fact that I moved to a city
in which I only really knew industry people and the fact that the person that I hang out
with the most is exclusively because of Bonnaroo.
You know, that's pretty weird, isn't it?
Yes.
That's Andy's.
His last name is now Evan Bonnaroo because that's how you put him in the phone.
Yes.
Well, that is his last name.
Because you can't remember.
But then that funny.
That's how his last name is.
I mean, no, it is impactful.
It is.
It is the connective tissue that keeps us, you know, aligned with so many people in our
lives.
And yeah, I mean, you're right.
When you, when you step back and you take accounting of really the things that matter,
it's the things that you spend the most time with, you know, the people you spend the most
time with.
That's right.
And not just that, the detail.
Again, I go back to, I was listening to the Ruhem guys.
I mean, I don't know if you've heard there, they did like a two and a half hour recap.
And I want to let you go ahead and go ahead and answer that question for yourself.
I know you haven't.
I love Parker and I love Reed.
I really, Parker and Reed are two of the greatest guys ever.
They are fantastic.
I have not gotten around to the two hour Ruhem podcast yet.
Michael and Jake, you know, the other two halves of the trio.
Yeah.
Ruhem three and Ruhem four.
Ruhem three and four.
But if you haven't already listened to their show, it's just so interesting.
And we do the same thing, the detail.
I mean, we, all of us pick apart, we can almost name, you know, when we say things like, you
know, I went and sat under the tree in front of the witch stage.
We know.
We know exactly what tree that is.
We know exactly which tree and the ditch, you know, that separates the road from this
and that.
We all know that kind of thing.
It's just fascinating to me that, I mean, like it becomes so ingrained in our lives.
Do you remember the moment there was a moment in the last, say, eight years, one of the
most excited, one of the most excited that we have been in eight years.
Do you remember just what I'm talking about in a very broad, generic way, something that
made us so excited that was so stupid?
Do you remember the lights in the trees?
Okay, well, that's one of them.
Yeah, but do you remember the day where right after it was a torrential downpour on a Wednesday
and then we started watching, maybe on a Tuesday, and we started watching them build that bridge
across on Wednesday and they were done by Thursday just to save you from walking through
a giant canyon of water.
That's cyber.
A big giant river of water.
On Thursday, you came back and like, guys, guys, guys, they built a bridge.
They built a bridge.
We were so thrilled.
That's a great point and that's part of what I'm talking about.
It's not just the fact that you and I noticed.
It's the fact that you and I noticed and have an expectation that we would say something
and they would fix it.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, that's right.
We expect they will hear it and they will fix it.
But to be fair, that's how you get from the what stage area to literally everywhere else.
If they didn't fix it, it was going to be an absolute disaster.
Yeah, but you know what I'm saying?
It's that give and take of we noticed, but we expect them to hear us.
That's another part that I've been thinking about this week is as fans, we expect them
to hear our demands or requests or whatever.
And they do.
Well, we expect it because they already have, right?
Like they're the one they're really one of the very few brands that that listens so,
so well.
That's my point.
That's exactly my point.
It's a give and take.
Everybody feels like they have some ownership of this event.
Yeah.
And the other thing, too, that I how many other things do you know that that you can
say that about?
It's true.
The other thing I like about it is that we oftentimes we think that because we've said
something they've done it because, you know, the community has said it.
I don't mean honestly.
Well, well, I think that some of us some of us think that way.
But but I but the best part is that they don't really need so much to listen because they're
fans already.
You know, they're part of the community, too.
And so they know exactly the problems before we probably even do.
Great point.
I think that's the best part about it.
And that's you make the better point.
That's what I'm trying to say is, yeah, when we think of something, they probably already
thought it, too.
Like, we probably should have put a bridge right there because nobody wants to walk through
mud, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, those years of plywood was just not it was not working or the sawdust or whatever.
Yeah.
They did.
They did cat litter one year that didn't work.
I just think it's it's just an amazing community.
Well, I like I like how you started it with the community aspect of it, because, you know,
the reason why I think that this our final recap episode of twenty twenty three will
be with Angel St. Queen is because, you know, Becca is part of that community.
You know, I met Becca on a random must have been Tuesday.
She came into the radio station.
She's like, I guess I'm an intern because I got to I have to.
I'm like, all right, that's cool.
And, you know, we get something like this, you know, three, four times a year.
Most of the interns that show up hate it.
So they especially when they hang out with us, when they were hanging out with me and
Alex, believe me, Barry, they were not happy.
Nobody wanted to do this.
We were awful.
And, you know, they lasted a week and they bailed.
Becca shows up and, you know, she starts talking and come to find out she she's a singer and
she's, you know, writing songs and, you know, Mr. Radio Guy, Mr. Radio Guy.
We talk about that moment when she says, oh, yeah, I'm a singer.
And you're like, oh, sure, you are.
That's exactly what I did.
I didn't know that.
That is.
Oh, my God.
It is that one of the more paralyzing things that happens in my life.
Whenever somebody hears, you know, you happen to have something to do with music industry,
they're like, oh, let me show you my band.
Oh, God.
It's the worst to my least favorite was I'm a poet.
No, it's good.
Really good.
You're not either.
So she so I rolled the dice and I said, I rarely do this.
I rolled the dice and I said, OK, well, let's hear it.
Show me what you got.
And she showed us a video of me and Alex kind of looked at each other like.
Oh, my God, you're really good.
And then out of nowhere, you know, years later, she gets a job with with Live Nation and C3,
et cetera, I guess.
And then, you know, she is part of the infrastructure of this community.
So when you talk about the people that are crafting this festival, she's one of them,
right?
Especially on the AC side.
And when, you know, you get the opportunity, you get a band and Bonnaroo has been such
a big deal to you.
You want to play Bonnaroo.
And the fact that they, you know, had the.
You know, they had they had it.
They had it enough.
They they had the thing that was good enough to get them into the festival.
I mean, imagine the amount of people that work for Live Nation, C3 or even AC who have
had a band in the past.
And they're like, well, I'd like to play Bonnaroo and how many of them actually did.
So I'm just so proud of her.
I told you the first day that she was working, I told you, I said, this is the best kid that's
ever come through.
I don't know how you introduce you said this kid is a star.
This kid is a star.
Now I think that was before you even knew she was a singer.
I mean, it was.
I knew she was, but I had no idea.
Yeah, I didn't.
You just said this kid is she can do anything she wants.
Literally anything she wants.
You were you were way, way high, high on her future.
And that's why that's I think that's why it made me think about this this week is this
just represents everything that's been so great about the Bonnaroo experience for me.
And I think for you, I mean, to be able to be able to meet her and do an interview, you
know, in the area where we've interviewed so many famous people.
Do you remember she was there the first year of Dua Lipa?
She was just hanging around with us when Dua came over and just said hi for a while.
Do you remember that when Dua came over to hang out?
She was just milling around, milling around, you know, working the security.
Bring so many things around and in all in all kinds of ways, there's just so many cool
things about this festival and this for some reason, it won't mean anything.
I mean, if people don't know who they played on the who stage, you know, probably not many
people saw it.
It's not like this is the biggest star we've ever interviewed or anything.
But this represents so much that is great about this festival.
Well, yeah, I mean, look, guess guess who else played that stage?
The Black Keys.
Everybody.
That's the point.
Portugal the Man.
That's my point.
Everybody.
Everybody has a first show.
Every I mean, nobody started out on them, you know, doing arenas.
Everybody had to start somewhere.
And this just represents everything that I love about this festival.
Good.
For so many reasons.
Well, I have yet to hear it.
I have purposely not listened to it because I want to listen to it right now.
And then I guess we'll come back and we'll tell you the plan for the next few months.
So here we go.
Angel St. Queen on the What Podcast.
Enjoy.
All right.
We're back on the What Podcast.
Lord Taco and Barry Courter.
We're here with Angel St. Queen, Becca and Maddie.
Welcome.
Thanks so much.
All right.
True confessions.
I made him do that because I knew I was going to mess up the name.
So it's OK.
Sometimes people call us Engel Street corn.
It sounds a lot like Engel.
I can't even say it now.
Angel St. Queen.
We've got you doing it.
All right.
So the obvious first question is, how's your Ruben?
How's Bonnaroo been for you guys?
It's been awesome.
Incredible.
This is my sixth through my seventh.
So you performed on Thursday.
Show was good.
I didn't get here till this morning.
So that was way up on my list.
Right.
Catch us next time.
Right.
How'd it go?
It went really well.
Like immediately getting on stage, the crowd was so kind.
That's what I felt.
I'm like, everybody here is like with me right now and they're down.
Yes.
They're very kind and engaged.
And we just had a blast on stage.
I mean, our band, we're all friends.
So we just went up there with the intention to have fun.
So we did.
We had a whole lot of fun.
Exceeded expectations.
So because you're veterans, what was the expectation?
You've been here, you know what it's like, and now you're here as an artist.
I tried to not have expectations, but the Who stage is different this year.
It's under a tent.
It's bigger.
It has more production.
So that alone exceeded my expectations.
That felt really cool.
And I think also there was a fear that people wouldn't come to our set because we're pretty
new.
So that was something that I felt a little bit nervous about.
But also it wasn't something I cared too much about because I just wanted to.
I think we try to approach this thing of like if we're having fun on stage with each other,
we're performing for each other.
Our job when we get on is to have the best time we can and then across it up.
Was this a priority on your wish list?
Play Bonnaroo?
I mean, this has been a dream since I went to Bonnaroo the first time.
That's what I am.
Yeah, definitely.
So the expectation and then you've talked about it a little bit, but now that it's over
and you had some real time to process and you're walking around, it's Saturday now and
you said it met, it exceeded everything.
That crowd thing is, I mean, we've talked about that a lot.
It is a little different crowd here, isn't it?
Yeah.
And I mean, we play in Nashville, which is a notoriously extremely quiet crowd.
They're all respectful, very respectful, but it's quiet.
Sometimes you're saying something and they're like,
No, no, no, no, no, like it's totally fine.
I just like ripped a guitar solo and like you're literally not responding, but it's
fine.
Bonnaroo was like, I like played a note and they're like, yeah, it was awesome.
Just loving, just loving.
Bonnaroo is just a special place.
Like it is different.
It's a whole different community.
I don't even know how to describe it.
My parents came to see our set.
So we're from Nashville and grew up in Franklin.
So we're just right down the road and my parents had never been before.
They actually wouldn't let me go in high school and I begged and begged to please let me
see Paul McCartney, but they never did.
But look at us now.
But my dad after our set just said how nice everyone is.
Like everyone came up to my parents because I gave him a shout out and they were just
like, Oh, we love that you're here.
This is awesome.
And just started talking to my parents.
And so I think that kind of in a nutshell explains the Bonnaroo community and just the
culture and atmosphere here.
I don't think we've ever asked this question, but how now is being an artist and attending
different, especially since you've been here for several days, how is that different?
Is it different?
Not just the performing, but just the whole scene?
It's interesting because I actually have a really, really special relationship with Bonnaroo.
I went as a festival goer a couple of times in college and had a blast.
But then I actually ended up going into the music industry to work in the business.
I kind of didn't believe in myself enough as an artist and just shoved that to the side
until the pandemic is when we really got things going.
But I've been to Bonnaroo as an attendee, I've been to Bonnaroo as an intern, and I've
been to Bonnaroo as an employee.
And now I'm at Bonnaroo as an artist.
And that's really, really, really cool.
I think yeah, the coolest part for me is like, you know, I have a friend he's playing with,
two friends are playing with Devin today, and we just got to hang out with him in catering
and talk to them, two people who we hang out in Nashville.
Yes, we released a freeze.
Freeze.
And so seeing all your friends here that you see on our small stages and our local scene
all playing together is really lovely.
And everybody seems to have these tender moments where they just have a nice shared experience.
It's cool that we're here.
Yeah, it's very cool.
Russ, I'm hogging the microphone.
I know you have a question.
How long are you staying?
You staying the whole weekend through Sunday?
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
All right.
So you're not just going to fly in and then fly out after you're set?
Right, right.
Well, we'll drive an hour home.
Yeah, not like it's that far.
Well, who's on your list today and tomorrow?
Remy.
Remy Wolf.
Yep.
Cheryl, of course.
Of course we're going to Cheryl.
Super Jam.
Super Jam.
Tomorrow, honestly, Pixies.
They're one of my favorite bands of all time.
I've always wanted to see them.
Yes.
I'm also super stoked to see Jacob Collier because he has such a cool way of getting the
crowd to participate and be involved.
And he orchestrates like this beautiful choir with the audience.
And so I'm really excited to see that at not just a festival setting, but at Bonnaroo.
It's going to be magical.
Nice.
All right.
So let's get down to it now.
Brad Steiner.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
I know him.
Brad, Brad, Brad.
Brad, Brad, Brad.
That's his name in my phone still.
Brad, Brad, Brad Steiner.
We got to hear Brad.
We got to hear Steiner.
I don't know if you know.
I don't know Brad, Brad, Brad.
She interned with our co-host.
I did.
We have to rag on Brad sometime before this is over.
Absolutely.
He's not here by the way.
No, like I'm willing to rag on Brad.
I don't know him, but I will do it.
I have to give him a little bit of credit of just supporting me.
And he met me at a time in my life where I was very unsure.
And he just made me feel supported.
And he made me feel like the decisions I was making were validated.
And he's not just when I interned with him, but beyond that when I was working for AC
Entertainment or interning with Lock and Key Productions, he would always make sure to
shoot me a text and congratulate me or see what's going on and catch up with me.
So yeah, Brad has a special place in my heart for sure.
Yeah, that's my bar when I want it.
But.
But.
He's a little full of it.
A little.
A little.
No, you and I met through him years ago and he spoke very, very highly.
Thank you.
Of you then.
I don't even think he knew you sang at that time, if I remember right.
I didn't really publicize that.
I was full focused on the industry and I wasn't sure then I was like, I interned with him
at the radio station and then like I said, I did the Hits 96 and then the video production
crew that's here.
That was my next internship.
And so it was cool that I just had these different just like different little facets of the industry
that I got to experience.
And then I worked at AC Entertainment after that in marketing.
And then I actually moved to LA for a little bit, worked in management for a second, came
back to Nashville, worked in booking for a minute, and then recently resigned from my
corporate job in March to full time pursue.
Wow, good for you.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
You probably figured out all that music industry stuff gets you the occasional ticket to a
good show, but it doesn't pay very well, does it?
Yeah, you said it.
What was great is that she always got a plus one.
That's true.
I also got to go to the free shows.
There's perks.
For you.
For me.
For me, there were perks.
I think because it's kind of funny.
I think Brad said when at one point when you finally did say, well, you know, I sing a
little and his immediate reaction was, I know, not that again.
Everybody's a singer, right?
That's kind of why I didn't for a while.
I grew up in Nashville, everyone and their father is a songwriter.
I want to say something on that is that I play a little bit just garage band style for
years.
I've been radio forever and I did the same thing.
I didn't want to bring that to the people.
Like, oh, I play with the guys.
Of course you do.
Who doesn't?
It's like everybody's a poet.
Right, right.
It's also funny.
I'll bring friends to Nashville and we'll be sitting in a circle and people just go,
so what do you play?
And they're like, oh, I'm not a musician.
And everyone's like, oh, OK, what do you do?
What do you do then?
So how did you guys get together?
We've been friends since high school.
We've been friends since high school since we were 15.
14.
14.
And always liked to sing music and then never played together.
And then the pandemic, we started writing.
Yeah.
Just for fun.
Yeah.
Yeah, we became best friends in high school and went our separate ways for college and
the pandemic brought us back to Nashville at the same time.
So all right.
You got anything else?
Because we're here and because we love Bonnaroo so much, we're going to assume that this is
now the high water mark on your career.
Yes, I'd say so.
What's the next goal?
The next goal?
Tour.
Touring.
Opening for a very sick band.
Yeah.
Nice.
She's like, or headlining.
Or headlining.
Yeah, getting on a cool tour.
Why not?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that's the next goal is a good support tour.
Well congratulations.
You survived, Brad.
So far.
I know.
So far.
We can't thank you guys enough for doing this.
Thank you for having us.
Our favorite thing, mine anyway, our favorite thing is to meet a band and watch it.
Oh, absolutely.
I can't wait for the next one.
Thanks Barry.
Thank you so much.
All right.
Thanks.
Oh man.
What a lovely chat with the girls from Angel St. Queen, Maddie and Becca.
Barry, Taco, you guys did a great job.
I would like to-
I couldn't get her to dish.
She wouldn't give up any secrets.
We tried.
Yeah.
Well, she got paid a lot of money.
So now that we've sort of really circled the wagons on Bonnaroo at this point, I think it's
a good time Barry to sort of take a break.
I think it's time for summer break.
What do you think?
I think we probably should.
Okay.
I'm excited about what we have lined up, but you're probably right.
Let's take a little bit of a break.
I don't know how long that will be.
What do you say?
Three, four, five months?
I don't know.
I don't know if we can go that long.
Okay.
We have too much lined up.
I've got some summer trips I've got to take.
I've got some summer trips to Greece and Italy.
Yeah.
We have a lot of people we want to talk to.
So we'll see.
We'll figure it out.
But we might take a couple of weeks off and regroup.
And I'm very excited about who we're lining up to talk to.
Okay.
All right.
So I'm so happy that you guys got to meet the girls.
And I'm so happy that Bonnaroo was a raging success on everybody's...
Basically I haven't seen or heard a single person say something negative about this year.
And this goes to tell you, the second that you think Bonnaroo might be in a down spot,
it comes right back with a fury no matter what.
It always comes back around.
Never not great.
It's never not great.
It's always got a load of gun, man.
It's always ready to fire.
All right.
Well, there you go.
Anything else before we go?
No.
People are wondering.
Taco is fine.
He's well.
He's in the bus somewhere.
He got that bus back, man.
You can't get him out of it.
He is.
He's probably camping in his backyard by himself, but he's in the bus.
I can promise.
He's in the bus.
At least he's in the bus.
Yeah.
All right.
Good.
Well, then until then, we'll talk to you very soon.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye.
