This week on The What Brad & Barry explore the artists playing The Farm for the first time. Along the way they give some advice to first time attendees and get to chat with Roo First Timer, Bazzi!
Topic: Bonnaroo
Guest: Bazzi
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You know, I feel like each and every year
the Bonnaroo lineup comes out and
I give at least one artist a major eye roll.
And I say, ah, give me a break.
Really, do we have to go there?
And then I realize, about halfway through that same show that I had previously eye rolled,
I say to myself, oh yeah, that's why they got booked.
That's why they got booked.
That's why they got booked.
Exactly.
Is the What Podcast with Barry Courter from the Chattanooga Times Free Press
and myself, Brad Steiner from WDOD Radio, Hits 96 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Killers are that band for me this year
and they kick off a first ever theme week for the What Podcast, which is First Timers.
First Timers, and I can say this without any hesitation,
they are the biggest band to ever come out of Nevada.
That is absolutely true.
What about Captain and Tenille, are they from Nevada?
I don't know where they're from actually.
That's a crazy thing. Love Captain, hate Tenille.
It's very strange.
Wow, I'm kind of, Darryl Dragon, yeah he was good.
He was the talent there.
Not only are they the biggest band to come out of Nevada,
but when you look back and go through their catalog,
it's hit after hit after hit.
I forgot that I saw them, it must have been Hangout a few years ago,
maybe it was even last year.
I remember standing in the middle of this show saying,
Jesus, I know every one of these songs.
I did the same this morning.
When we start talking about this, we pick our bands,
and then we start listening,
and I was about halfway through the album,
and I said, I didn't know I knew this album as well as I know this album.
They really, really were one of the biggest bands of the mid-aughts.
And we think that 14 years ago, they put out the first album,
and it was as commercially successful as critically acclaimed,
both equally as much.
And what never really made sense to me,
why they weren't as respected as, say, like The Strokes.
Yeah, and reading up again today, they're huge in the UK.
NME award after award after award,
and all kinds of Grammy nominations,
and Rolling Stone, biggest band of the year,
and what, 04, I think.
Yeah, 04 was hot for us.
I can't believe they haven't been to Bonnaroo.
That's the other thing I couldn't believe.
When I started thinking about how is one of the biggest bands of the mid-aughts
go 14 years and didn't even get a side stage?
How is that possible?
Fun got there before they did.
Yeah, I saw that show.
I bet they were in Europe probably this summer, every summer,
would be my guess.
I haven't looked at their schedule, but that would be the guess.
And now we get them at Bonnaroo, going to be the what stage headliner.
I really like The Killers, and I feel almost dirty saying that,
because they're an easy band to sort of roll your eyes at.
They get a little poppy, they get a little silly,
but that first album, it was good.
And at the time, it sounded like exactly the moment that it came out.
I totally agree with that.
And I'm less harsh on bands just because they were popular.
I understand that feeling, and I did all through my high school and college.
If everybody liked them, I hated them.
Yeah, that's sort of my entire life.
I don't quite feel that way anymore.
Maybe it's because I don't, you know, no disrespect,
but I don't listen to a lot of top radio, top 40 radio,
so I don't hear it every hour. Some people probably do.
I think what I like about The Killers is that even though their songs
might tend to be really poppy,
and they might be a little bit too bubble gum and a little on the nose,
I feel like Brandon Flowers has an incredible love for the art.
And I think that he is as good of a bastion of the art form as you can find.
He really loves New Order.
He really loves the guys that came before him.
I think Oasis was a big influence on him even getting into rock and roll or pop.
And then when you go to see the live show, it comes through with stuff like this.
You're going to get me every time with a Kenny Rogers cover.
I don't lie about it. I'm not going to fool you.
You're going to get me every time with a Kenny Rogers cover.
I'm OK except for The Gambler.
See, that's the thing. What's wrong with a really good pop song?
I mean, I go back to The Monkees all the way back. Sugar, Sugar.
I like a good pop song.
Yeah, I think Jimmy Buffett ruined it all for me.
I don't like Buffett either.
But just as an aside, this is a Bonnaroo podcast by Bonnarooians for Bonnarooians.
I think that wouldn't it be great for Kenny Rogers to make his way back to the farm
and do Ruby Don't Take Her Love to Town with...
I mean, he's from Athens. He's from right down the road.
Yeah, he's down the road.
A funny quick quick funny story.
I interviewed him several years ago and he had built a golf course on his farm property.
And I said, what do you know about golf course design?
He said, nothing. I hit it and wherever it landed, I told him that's where the flag goes.
This week's The What podcast featuring nothing but first timers, bands that have never played Bonnaroo before.
Plus a bit later on the podcast, we're talking to Bonnaroo first timer, Bozzy.
Blowing up on the top 40 charts, Bozzy is going to be at Bonnaroo for the first time.
His first ever festival experience, we're going to talk to him as well and see exactly where his head is.
Yeah, first festival, first time in Tennessee.
That's right.
Remember? Yeah, he's that was interesting.
He corrected me as you'll hear on the number of streams.
Oh, he knows.
He knows and it's probably up since we talked to him.
So not only got Bozzy today, but also future.
He'll be playing Bonnaroo for the first time and we've got a special future giveaway to share with you.
Plus Bonnaroo tickets all coming up on this week's The What podcast.
But we start with the Killers mainly because they're one of the headliners.
And I don't know if we're going to get too deep into the headliners through the course of this podcast.
But if I could find one band that that is sort of like the Killers, it's a band that I've known in the back of my head because they get a lot.
They get a reputation for having as good of a live show as you can ever find for a club band.
But it's a band called Low Cut Connie.
I don't know if you've ever heard of them, but if you recall, Obama had a Spotify playlist in 2008, right, where he came up with his own playlist and Spotify promoted it.
This band was on it.
And there is close to Jerry Lee Lewis as you're ever going to find with also a really cool cover to their credit.
What cover did they do? Controversy.
Really? No kidding.
Great video. Yeah.
So it's a piano based band.
And I can't tell you if I know where they're from.
Philadelphia.
They're from Philadelphia. OK, the lead singer, who is as Jerry Lee Lewis as they come, has a piano that he's named Chandra.
Chandra after a dancer in Atlanta.
Yeah. At the Claremont Lounge. Have you been to the Claremont Lounge?
No, I have not.
I've got a story with the Claremont Lounge. There's a girl that dances there.
She's quite large. And if you give her a 20, she won't do it anymore because she doesn't like to be typecast.
But for the last 25 years, you could give her a beer can and she would crush it with one of her breasts.
Gotcha.
That was the big moment at the Claremont Lounge.
She won't do it anymore because of typecasting.
Because of typecasting, yeah. But you drop her a 20, things might change.
Low-cut Connie, he plays a piano named Chandra, named after the Claremont Lounge dancer.
This might be one of the most fun shows you will see at Bonnaroo.
And I'm going to bet there might be 35 people.
You're going to see each other in our Speedos and in the nude this year, Barry? Camp Nut Butter?
Not, unless there's a lot of something going on.
It's just a really interesting band. I mean, they're playful. I think they got that killer sound.
It would be a very nice support. I don't know if they're on the same day as the killers, but what a nice supporting act that is if they schedule it correctly.
Songs named Scoliosis and Secaucus, No More Wet T-Shirt Contest, Who in the Hell is Tina? This band is going to be a lot of fun.
Yeah, Rolling Stone, I thought, nailed it. They described them as a perfect indie band if they were discovered in the 50s in Alabama.
Wow. That makes perfect sense. It's Bonnaroo First Timers this week on the What Podcast.
Maybe some Bonnaroo First Timer tips coming up in a second.
One such Bonnaroo First Timer, Bozzy. Now, Bozzy is a confident young man, a very confident young man, and it has helped him become what's turning out to be a budding pop superstar.
He's got a song that is heading straight towards the top 10 on Top 40 Radio. We got a chance to talk to him about his Bonnaroo set.
Now, I like talking to Bonnaroo First Timers, especially when they're way down on the lineup, because they all think that they're going to be playing the main stage.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he's one of them, as we'll hear. What I found interesting is he's a guy, as we've seen with some others, who made his name online.
He totally internet sensation big time. As he says, he is a live performer, as I alluded to last week with the phone call from Dennis Askin's Mr.
Belding, who called. He had seen him the night before, said it's a great live show.
Wow. So we talk about that a little bit.
You think Bozzy knew who Mr. Belding was in the crowd?
Oh, yeah. You think so?
He'd be of the age. You know, everybody knows who Mr. Belding is.
Even 20 year olds?
It's close.
All right, Bozzy, welcome to the What Podcast.
What's up, man? How you doing?
I'm doing great. How are you?
I'm great, man. I can't complain.
I bet you can't. Things going pretty well for you, huh?
Yes, sir, man. It's been fun.
I saw you pop up on the Bonnaroo lineup. I'll be honest with you. My first inclination was to scratch my head.
You have an interesting story that I don't know. I can't really figure out how Bonnaroo got to you.
Before you had a radio song, before you had maybe even a record label contract, when did you officially get booked for Bonnaroo?
I got booked about two months ago. And yeah, I have a great booking agent, Karen Lou. She's incredible. So supportive.
She's been a believer from the start. So when Bonnaroo was interested and excited, it was great.
When you got that call that you were going to be on Bonnaroo, what was that reaction like?
Oh, man, it was so exciting. You know, being that it's my first festival, you know,
I'm ever playing the first festival. It was really special, man.
You have made your name online. What is it like for you, the idea of now doing this in front of thousands of people live?
How's that going to be different for you?
Oh, man, it's so exciting, man. I mean, naturally for me, my first inclination to music was performing.
I've loved entertaining people, you know, my whole entire life. It's just like kind of in my blood to entertain.
So to finally be able to go, you know, perform these songs that I've put my all into in front of people is going to be, you know, really special.
I'm curious. I think a lot of times people hear someone's an Internet sensation.
You know, they recorded a song and then put it on the Internet. Tell us a little bit about your background.
There is some live performing, right? This isn't you didn't just wake up one day and record something on your laptop and became a star, right?
No, absolutely not. Yeah, I've been doing this my whole life and I actually got my first guitar at the age of six.
This has always been, you know, exactly what I've wanted to do. I've kind of been building at it my entire life.
Seeing it come into tuition, man, seeing it happening is an incredible thing.
And I'm really excited to finally, you know, show people with the live aspect, you know, what Bozzy Live looks like.
The Bozzy Live thing. I'm sure you're doing show after show after show, trying to figure out that live experience.
We all know it's going to be a bigger deal when it comes to Bonnaroo.
But does that in the back of your mind as you go through shows right now?
Are you saying to yourself, I got a really big stage and it could be a life changing moment for me come first weekend of June?
Yeah, of course, man. I mean, any time you put yourself in front of that many people, it's an opportunity to really win them over, to make them believers.
I'm looking forward, though, you know, more than looking at it as a kind of a pressure thing.
I'm really looking forward to being in front of people because I love performing and I love, you know,
people reciprocating the energy that I'm putting out right back to the stage.
Getting to do that in front of that many people is going to be great.
This is your first festival.
That's part of the reason that we wanted to talk to you is we're talking to bands who have done it more than once.
We're talking to bands that it's their first time.
This is not only your first time at Bonnaroo, but you said your first festival, right?
What sort of research? Yeah. I mean, how do you prepare for that? Who do you talk to?
You know, I think it's a lot of inward, you know, signing up for this, you know, like doing this,
like, you know, being out of my whole life. I'm ready for this moment.
You know, I've waited for this moment. I've prepared myself mentally and, you know, in my craft for the last, you know, 13 years of my life.
Yeah, man. I think a lot of the studying I do is watching the Grand Prix into, you know,
my favorite performance is studying Mercury at Wembley Stadium. Oh, wow.
I see and I study how you stay poised and you stay relaxed on the stage in front of that many people to, you know, give them what they came for.
I mean, this is where you're starting. I mean, imagine the people that came before you.
I mean, you're going to be probably in the same slot as Alt J was 10 years ago, seven years ago.
They're on the same day as you and doing the what stage, you know?
You can see the path that Bonnaroo lays out for people. And when they believe in somebody and when they get behind them
and they go and book them like they did you so many months ago before really knowing what you had in store,
that's got to be a testament to what you have.
100 percent, man. Thank you so much, man. I appreciate that.
You're from Michigan living in Los Angeles now, right?
Have you even been to this part of the country before? Bonnaroo, you may not know. We're in Chattanooga, Manchester, where the farm is,
where Bonnaroo is, is 56 miles from here. Have you been to this part of the country?
Actually, I have not, man. It will be my first time.
First time in the Tennessee heat. Welcome, Bozzy.
Yes.
Be sure to wear all black in a jacket. You're going to do well.
Yeah. OK, sounds good. Your best.
I'm scarfing some mittens too. Show them in.
Your best, coolest leather coat, man. Don't forget it.
All right. Sounds good, boss. I'm on it.
So, yeah, I mean, so not only your first festival, your first Bonnaroo, but your first time really this part of the country, right?
So, I mean, this is it's a big show. Bozzy. Yeah, man.
Let me ask you about the single. The single actually I think is so intriguing because it's really well written.
It's incredibly well produced. But here's what I said to Andrea Gannis when she played it for me in her office Grammy weekend.
I literally said to her, OK, why did you play me half the song? Because it's so good. I wanted more of it.
I understand that the world is wrapped around. Let's get it quick. Let's get it over with.
But, boy, you know, you got something good when you leave somebody saying, I really wish this song kept going.
Yeah, man. That's incredible. Thank you for that. Yeah, I'm very big on feeling and personal preference.
And I know that I don't usually listen to, you know, full songs. So I like to make music like how I would want to hear.
And I'm very based off of feeling. And I didn't feel a bridge was a necessity.
And I'm not out here trying to follow any structure to, you know, hope a song will work.
You know, I'm just making the music that I want to hear.
I don't think I hear that very often. Hey, I didn't need a bridge. So I didn't put one in.
So be it. Because you could have followed you could have followed a formula and said, you know, this is the way it's supposed to be.
But no, I like it the way that it is. That's pretty brave of you. Thank you so much. You so fucking precious when you smile.
I just had to let you know your.
Song 67 million streams for people who are not not aware of what we're talking about.
Sixty seven million. How has your life changed?
It's actually it's actually it's actually at one hundred and six million. OK. Forgive me.
Forgive me that not to flex, not to play. No, I think it every day.
No, flex, my friend. Flex it. That's awesome. I see you.
Hundred and six. That's awesome. How how has your life changed? Personally, what I do stay the same. I'm still just making music.
I'm still surrounding myself with good people and trying to be a good person.
But it's definitely changed an aspect of how many people care.
People are just involved now. They want to see what I'm up to. They want to see what I'm doing.
And it's been cool because my fans have been so friendly and so warm and welcoming.
So it's exciting times. Part of the reason Brad and I do this is because we we enjoy going to Bonnaroo, obviously.
But we wanted to maybe when we saw the lineup, to be honest, there were a lot of names that, you know, were not the huge, huge names maybe.
Or and or they were names that were maybe not familiar to us.
So we thought, well, let's do something that sort of introduces people to different artists.
What are people going to do? What are people going to see?
Why? You know, they've got a choice of four or five different acts the same time you'll be playing.
Why should they come and see you? What are they going to see?
I think that they're going to see very high energy.
They're going to see me performing some of their favorite songs, you know, just how they liked it in the song.
It's going to sound just like it will live. Yeah, man. I'm going to shut it down.
It's like you lack confidence, Bozzie. It's like I know, man. I'm a nervous kid.
Yeah, you're so neurotic. Bozzie, thanks so much for stopping by.
And we really do wish you all the success in the world.
And we'll see you on the farm. Stop by the camp. You can come camp.
Are you going to be there all weekend or are you just staying for the one day?
I'm not sure. Let's see when the time comes. Maybe I'll stay for the whole day.
All right. We'll save you a camping spot at Camp Nut Butter.
Camp Nut Butter.
Camp Nut Butter.
Sounds good. Yeah. Great meeting you.
From one 20 year old Bonnaroo first timer to the next 20 year old Bonnaroo first timer,
Khalid will be, I'm guessing, one of the biggest shows of the weekend,
along with Future, who we'll focus on here in a second.
You don't know much about Khalid. No.
It's a very similar story like Bozzie.
20 years old, maybe even 18, writes an album that is nothing but heartbreaking.
It is nothing but breaking up songs, songs about heartbreak
and how he has such perspective on romance whenever he wrote this album at age 18
to have the perspective that he has is shocking, absolutely shocking.
And I have a feeling it's going to be much, remember the year when Macklemore first broke
and it was the biggest show of the weekend, it felt like,
it felt like there was no possible way that you could breathe in that crowd.
That was a total, total shock to me.
I'm glad you brought that one up because I wandered over because like everyone else,
I saw the video and fell in love with it and thought I want to see this.
And, you know, admitting my ignorance, that's all I thought he had.
I had no idea he could bring what he did.
It was what, a three o'clock show in the giant field, the what stage.
It was so hot. And it was packed.
It was so hot and he, I'm sure it was staged,
but he borrowed that giant fur coat and put that thing on.
I can't imagine. I was having a heat stroke watching it.
Me too. I couldn't believe it.
I think I took some crowd photos of that one too
because there were some pretty interesting costumes out in the audience.
It was the one time that I had felt a little bit overcooked at Bonnaroo.
Too many people, too much panic.
It was the first time I felt like, wow, this is much bigger than I anticipated.
And I think Khalid might be there as well.
This kid is a superstar.
Yeah. This is an interesting one for me.
As you know, I have a certain prejudice against a certain musical instrument.
And so I tend to hit the off button pretty quickly.
Yeah. Whenever you hear the auto tune, you're not a big fan.
As soon as I hear auto tune, I'm done.
Right.
So diving a little bit deeper thought out, you know, and to be honest,
I probably would have hit the off button pretty quickly on Anderson Pock.
Really?
In the past. But because we're doing this, I listened a little bit longer and it's good stuff.
It's really good. I love, love, love Khalid.
It's going to be huge. And it's one of those again that, you know, not my everyday sort of taste.
That's surprising.
I'm very interested to see how it plays just straight, but also in that setting.
Yeah. So I mean, you like Frank Ocean.
Yeah.
You like heartbreaking soul music, a little R&B.
Very much. Very much.
And you love Khalid.
I like a guy who sings. I like a guy who puts his heart into what he's doing.
And he obviously does.
Yeah. Plus you're very jealous of Khalid's hair.
I tell you another guy, another Bonnaroo first timer is Future.
Future from right down the road in Atlanta. Future is our hip hop star this year.
He is the guy that's going to be the Chance the Rapper.
He's your Kendrick Lamar.
Now he may not seem to have the name that a Kendrick Lamar has or a Chance the Rapper has,
but the guy had two number one albums in consecutive weeks.
Yeah.
How is that possible?
Yeah. I'm busy. Just very busy.
Another one of those that's going to be big and another one of those that I think when you and I,
when the lineup came out today, this isn't necessarily for me anyway, my lineup,
but they saw what they needed to get and they got it and it just further reflects what is.
I tell you, outside of the Kanye argument and having to go back down that road for the 12,000th time,
it does feel like when Bonnaroo chooses a hip hop headliner, they're very, very careful
with the kind of artists that they find. They want somebody that provides more than just a hip hop show
and loud explosions. I mean, they could have Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Boat all they want to, but they don't.
They try to choose, at least in my mind, artistry when it comes to hip hop.
Artistry. That's what I was going to say. They choose a performer who can entertain for 90 minutes
without having everybody throwing their hands in the air and somebody screaming.
A rap show can be a hard show to watch.
We've seen some really bad ones.
Some horrible ones. One guy with a microphone just walking back and forth is not highly entertaining
if he doesn't have anything to say. I think you hit it right on the head with the artistry. That's the key.
One of those albums that went number one in 2017 for Future, you could win on vinyl.
I'll explain how to do that in seconds.
Let's not be alone
Making all the wrong turns
Saying all the wrong words
Dodging angels
Oh, let's not be alone
Let's not be alone
Let's be one
Oh, let's not be alone
I don't anticipate Rihanna showing up with Future, but Future is going to put on one huge show.
And just for being a WhatPodcast listener, let's give away a little Future prize pack.
Not only you get Future on vinyl, 180 gram vinyl of Hendrix, but also some Future gear,
which includes a hat and a very special towel that you can bring along to Bonnaroo.
How cool is that?
So all you gotta do is interact with us at thewhatpodcast.com.
Drop us a line, mention that you want the Future album, and we'll draw a winner this time next week during the What Podcast.
Also, when you do that, you'll be in for Bonnaroo tickets and camping passes.
Now, if you're a Bonnaroo first-timer, Barry Cord or from the Chattanooga Times Free Press,
what would be your first tip that you give to somebody who is apprehensive about Bonnaroo,
maybe has always wanted to go to Bonnaroo, but this is their first year?
This is their first year.
I always joke when parents call me and say, should my high schooler go to Bonnaroo?
I always say, first of all, tell them, don't bring drugs. They'll find plenty there.
And that always takes them up short. I'm kidding, of course.
The other thing, and this is the truth, if you're the type of person that trouble finds you or you find trouble, you'll find it there.
If you're not, it's about the safest place. Can be.
Like I said before, I've never, you know, the vibe is just so positive. Everybody takes care of themselves.
The other tip, the camping tip that I got the first year was don't fill your cooler full of ice.
Go buy a case of water and freeze it and let that be your ice to keep all your food cool and then drink it as you go.
Man, that's a very that's a very utilitarian tip. I mean, from you, that's classic dad of you.
That is classic dad. That's me.
I mean, and I don't know, really. I know years ago when we first were going, everyone was concerned about what to pack.
I think a lot of people overpacked. You can find a lot of what you need there because they've not made.
Not me, not you. Yeah, but I never leave the site because it seems like cheating to me.
Brad, on the other hand, leaves the site. I've got I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Yeah.
There's plenty of food. There's plenty of water. There's groceries, you know, not groceries, but supply stores.
Now, if you forget. Yeah. Back in the day, you did need to bring a grill. Yeah. You need to bring everything.
You need to bring food that you could make on a way to hunt and kill that food. Not anymore.
Luckily, the food option is amazing. Here's my one tip. And it took me probably a good five years before I realized it.
Six years because I do not like camping. I do not like the outdoors. I do not like bugs. I do not like heat.
I don't like elements. And yet you go to Bonnaroo. And yet I go to Bonnaroo year after year after year
because at some point I had to look around and say, figure out a way to let go, figure out a way to let go of all of the things that you are you're holding on to.
And if you can do that and, you know, game the system a little bit, figure out the best possible camping situation for you,
maybe bring some stuff from home. We have where we camp 600 square feet of carpeting.
Now, I can't. We had a Bissell one year. Yeah. We brought a vacuum cleaner one year.
A floor to the ceiling mirror. We have a tent that's just for Bloody Marys.
We have a tent that's just our kitchen. We have a 10 by 20 wedding tent. Now, I'm not saying do all of this.
We bring a couch. I'm not saying do all this for you. But for me, that's the way that it was easiest for me to let go. Yeah.
Once I was able to figure that part out and give me some sort of creature comforts, the whole experience changed.
I got immersed in the experience for the first time once I just finally let go of everything.
I think part of that is realizing that you're not there by yourself. It's not necessarily a survival type of thing.
It's more you're there to interact with people around you. And once I sort of figured that out,
brought something to share maybe with somebody next to me or whatever, it becomes, as you said, figuring out the game.
It becomes fun. Yeah. You know, as soon as you get out of the car to start unpacking,
you're going to introduce yourself usually to the people around you and vice versa. And you become friends.
Maybe that whole idea that everybody is there for the same reason changes a lot of it for me.
And I hope that when we ask that about Bozzi, is he going to be staying for a couple of days?
If you're a young artist and if you're a young band and you have the opportunity to stay for a couple of days, do it.
Do it because you're not going to understand what this thing means.
We talked to Ashley Capps and he said the reason why MGMT loves Bonnaroo so much is because that's where they met each other.
The reason why St. Paul loves Bonnaroo so much is because he worked it.
He worked it the first year and thought, I can do this. I want to do this.
How many acts have you heard of or talked to who do that? Stay as long as they can.
David Byrne brought a bicycle, right? Spent a day going around the back way to see different acts.
Springsteen was there a day early.
Buffett was what, two days before? I thought he was going to be, you know, found out he was going to be in the area.
I don't know what that means. And called and said, can you guys fit me on the bill? And they did.
And he hung out for a day with the bus.
I think McCartney was there longer than probably Sir Paul normally stays in a place.
It really helps an artist fall in love with the experience if they give it a few days.
And I hope Bozzi does it.
The other thing that Bozzi came across as is a very confident kid.
You know, the kid has one song and it's two minutes and it is blowing up the charts.
And you know, Bonnaroo has got to know something about him if they're going to invest a pretty big time slot for a kid that basically just exists on Vine or on Snapchat filters.
Right.
He knew it. He knew exactly what he wanted to do and the way he wanted to be a superstar as a kid, as a baby.
Guy named Knox Fortune, not necessarily the same story. This kid just wanted to make some fun stuff.
And in Chicago, caught the eye of Chance the Rapper.
Right. Right. Who wanted him to do, I read, a British voice.
Wanted him to come on and make up some British accent.
Really?
Yeah. And Knox said, dude, that's not what I do.
Right.
Let me do what I do. And he did it. And Chance liked it a whole lot better than I think what he had in mind originally.
Right.
And so then it's gone from there.
Knox Fortune just-
Not to mention, what a great name, right?
No kid.
Is that not a-
Is that a real name?
I don't know, but that's a cartoon character if not.
I got to get a better name, man. I got to get one of these things.
Yeah, that's true.
We got to come up with a whole thing for us, bud.
Yeah, let's work on that. We came up with Camp Nut Butter.
Okay.
So now we're going to have to have an individual name.
Give us your submissions.
The What underscore podcast on Twitter, thewhatpodcast.com.
I want to focus on three artists as we wrap up this week's The What podcast featuring nothing but first time Bonnaroo artists on artists that I think are going to be the next big ones.
They described him in one thing that I read a long time ago, is Summertime Soul.
At first they wanted to classify him as hip hop.
And he said, I'm not a hip hop artist.
So I think that then somebody came up with Summertime Soul, which sounds so stupid, but makes so much sense.
Nox Fortune, another Bonnaroo first timer.
If you're a first timer for Bonnaroo, drop us a line.
Tell us what you're worried about, what you're scared of, maybe what you're excited about at thewhatpodcast.com or the what underscore podcast.com.
Could mean Bonnaroo tickets for you.
Another band that I think is going to be the next, maybe they're not the next big one because she's so weird.
But there's probably of all the shows, there's not one that I'm more excited about than Japanese Breakfast.
Yeah. Yeah. That's going to be a good one.
I didn't think you'd like her.
Yeah. Yeah. No, I like it. I like it quite a bit.
I just like the vibe of it. I keep using that word today, I guess.
She has just got a different sound.
You know, she tried to write an album that was nothing but space music.
She tried to write like spacey Mars tripping music, but it ended up being the most fun indie alternative song of the year.
Yeah. Didn't she do it thinking no one else would ever hear it?
Wasn't it sort of a total independent, just kind of a kill an afternoon kind of thing?
Right. Well, that's what this show is.
Oh, there you go. Yeah.
We have something in common.
Hit me through to tonight.
Michelle Zauner, I think that's how you say her last name, Japanese Breakfast.
I think we said the exact same thing at the exact same time when that song started playing.
Yeah. Just feels like a Bonnaroo.
It feels like a Bonnaroo song. It feels like a Bonnaroo band.
I mean, if that doesn't take you immediately to a sunshiny day at this tent, I don't know what does.
Yeah. I was talking about that last week.
There are just certain sounds that you hear and it just takes you there.
You can picture where you will be standing or where you have stood or what it's going to feel like.
And that's the great thing that Bonnaroo does.
They find the bands that fit that tone and fit that moment.
Boy, they just keep hitting home run after home run if you're willing to look for them.
Yeah. You know, when you were talking about Basie a little while ago,
I was thinking back to what I think it was the revivalists when we talked to them, Dave,
talking about how you have certain shows if you do a thousand, 800 of them are good shows.
But that Bonnaroo when they did the first year was one of those once in a lifetime.
And it works both ways.
You know, I mean, how many acts have you and I discovered that are now favorites for the artists?
It's, you know, they suddenly have new fans because of what they did there.
Now, what is your favorite?
Give me your favorite first time Bonnaroo band's show. Does that question make sense?
Yeah.
A band that's played Bonnaroo for the very first time, not a repeat. Your favorite one.
And give me something that's not like a headline or like the first time radio had played or something.
Yeah. Bahamas is the one that because it became.
That was actually not their first time at Bonnaroo when you saw that show.
Wow. Yeah.
For me, it was the first time seeing them and never heard of them.
And as they have become a part of my daily, that's like Sunday morning, clean the house,
you know, read the paper and then start cleaning.
That's the first album that gets turned on in the morning.
That's the same year that Jungle played. They made their debut at Bonnaroo that year.
Now Jungle comes back this year. You know what mine's going to be.
No.
You don't know what mine's going to be, really.
You say it, I will remember, but.
My favorite first ever Bonnaroo show.
When the band played Bonnaroo for the very first time, their debut to the farm.
Was it your favorite band? Oh, the Shakes.
Alabama Shakes.
That's your favorite band of whatever the category.
That's going to be the answer.
That show you could see changed their lives.
Yeah, Brad has a bit of a crush on Brittany.
Well, we will be married one day.
I think a lot of people will be saying exactly the same thing this year about Sir Sly.
We're wrapping up today's Bonnaroo podcast, The What Podcast,
focusing on first time Bonnaroo artists.
When we look back and we say, who's the one that breaks out this year?
Who's the one that becomes the next big one?
To me, it's Alt J 2.0 and Sir Sly.
Alt J, their lyrics don't make any sense,
but musically, they're really challenging norms.
Sir Sly, they take all of those bizarre musical arrangements
and put really delicate and vulnerable lyrics on top of it.
I bloviate a tad too much, but this might be when we look back on the show of the year.
A music heavy version of The What Podcast today.
Thank you to Basi, first time Bonnaroo artist.
It was really interesting talking to Basi and hearing his sort of excitement level
about playing Bonnaroo, knowing how much of a big look it is for him.
What are we down to? 80 something days?
Is it 80 something? No, no.
I think so, yeah.
Oh, we gotta start getting camp ready.
I know, right?
Uh oh.
We gotta get the lights charging.
Charge up the solar power, the light, and the blender.
At the What underscore podcast on Twitter, thewhatpodcast.com.
It's where you can not only win Bonnaroo tickets,
but also this week's giveaway futures.
Hendrix on vinyl, 180 gram, plus a whole future prize pack.
Could be yours for Barry Courter.
I'm Brad Steiner.
Keep your comments coming.
TheWhatPodcast.com.
We'll talk to you next week.
