Hey, hey, hey, hey. How y'all feeling? Journey through the stories that define the artists playing Bungaroo. Who are they? What are they? What will you see? The what? Which bands? This year's show is about the What are they? So if anything got me hype, as the kids would say, they got me lit AF for Bungaroo anticipation. That national album that came out has me exploding with excitement. I am in love with this new national album. Absolutely obsessed with it, Barry Courter. It's pretty doggone good. I was just reading the latest Relics issue from our friends up there at Relics. How are our pals at Relics? They're doing very well. That's a great magazine. What did they say about it? Loved it. Did they? Absolutely. So I have a theory about, especially when it comes to albums that I really, really love, I try not to read anything about them because it will totally take me in a different direction if I really like it. And then I'll even with albums I really don't like, I'll read reviews about stuff I don't really care about, but like the Anderson Paak album that came, that's two before this, the one before this last one, Oxnard, I specifically didn't read anything about it because I did not like it. And I was afraid that I was going to read a review that was going to pull me in one direction or the other and change my mind about it. But then this latest one I was over the moon excited about and it was so good. And then I read the reviews and everybody's just like, meh, whatever. Well what I loved about this review is it said that these guys have been so good and pushed the limits for so long that it's almost hard for them to surprise you with a good record and yet they did. Well their last album was just so sort of like hook driven. And it was outside of the Nationals, what I know of the Nationals, what I fell in love with, it was so hook driven and it was so almost pop friendly that this album is to me a little bit more true to form of what I remember the National ten years ago. Anyway, off on a tangent, welcome to the podcast. It's your special day, Brad. We can do whatever you want to do. I'll keep saying that over and over. This is your special day. The What Podcasts are podcasts for you Bonnaruvians by us Bonnaruvians. Barry Courter from the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. I'm Brad Steiner from the dumb radio station Chattanooga Doesn't Matter. So this is a day where I would go through some of my picks. Last week we did Barry's picks and today we'll do my picks. One of my picks today is shared by you and turns out that person will be calling us a little bit later on this show. Just because that's how big we are. Oh yeah. You throw it. You make a pick and all of a sudden they want to be on the show. Let me just say I have picked Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, Dolly Parton, are any of them calling? Exactly. I don't think so. Not yet. So you just jump into it because we've got a lot to cover and I want to make some time for her here in a second because I'm really excited to talk to Deva Mahal. Deva Mahal was one of your picks last week, one of my picks this week for Bonnaroo 2019 and I don't know if her songs weren't infectious enough and if her music and voice wasn't infectious enough. Boy that laugh. She's got a giggle like grandma. She's got my grandma giggle that just reels me in man. She's very cool and she had some news or just coincidentally some big news. Yeah, let's get to that in a second. So yeah, lots to talk about. I want to start somewhere you didn't start last week when you went through your picks for Bonnaroo 2019. I'm going to start on Wednesday. I started too because there's what four events on the calendar. There's one in particular. It repeats. Yeah. One is a big one and that's the Roobust party. Yes. I want to start at the Roobust party. Now last year we wanted to do this too, but it turns out where we camp, they won't let us back into camp if we leave through Centauru. So last year we had trouble trying to figure out a way to get back into camp because on Wednesday night if we leave out of Centauru, because we have to go through Centauru to get to GA, if we had gone out, we would not have been able to come back in. So that's the only reason why we missed the repeat repeat party with Roobust last year. This year we've got to figure out a way to get to GA and get to the Roobust party and get back in so that we can say hello to everybody. Absolutely. Yeah, we got to figure that out. We'll start working on that. But you're correct. It starts. It'll actually start Wednesday afternoon, I assume, if we're going to go up for the media. Yeah, we'll get there for the media stuff. Now what time is that usually? Usually noon there central. Oh, okay. Yeah, it makes for a long day. Oh, that's a long day. It's a long week. I'll tell you, this is not your problem. And I understand this sounds like way too inside base, but when we get there, we go through the media thing and then we have to just sit there for five hours. Sit there like total losers in the convention center waiting for credentials to open. And we're just like sitting there watching people do paperwork. It is so obnoxious. Yeah, it's a little weird. But on the other hand, for me, it feels like we're there. Nothing else to do. Drink a beer. Let's just start drinking. Yeah, just start drinking. But I like going to the media thing because we get to see the place when it's empty. Well, you get to see what is empty. And then Thursday morning, Wednesday night's a fun night because we get to walk around the festival grounds and see like the panic that's ensuing and like them trying to build everything and fix it. Like while it's happening, it's amazing how quickly they can put something together. And then by Thursday morning, when we get out there, everything's perfect. It's pristine. But I'm going to start at the same place that you started last week with Peach Pit, a very, very, very sweet, very ethereal sound that I think will fit very nicely as a Thursday evening start to our festivities. And then we're going to go Grand Ole Opry because that lineup got released this week. And I think that as good as it is, I think all of us look at it and say, boy, the possibilities are endless with this. Yeah. I mean, you got some Old Crow, Ricky Skaggs, right? Yeah. Which by the way, this is like underground. Ricky Skaggs has been here a few times. Oh yeah. He's been here a bunch, hasn't he? Well, he's just a great performer. He's one of those guys, Vince Gill, that could play with anybody. I mean, he's world class talent and can play anything, do anything. And you stumbled upon a name just now that I just, Vince Gill would be great at Bonnaroo. Yes, he would. He would be really good. And as a like my, like I don't want to say it too much, but man, there was a part of me when I was a kid that listened to a lot of country music and Vince Gill was on all the time, all the time. Yeah. He had a moment for sure, but he's like Ricky Skaggs. He's just very, very good and can play anything. And I think to your point, I think a lot of the people on that lineup can cross genres and will cross genres and just love to play with other folks. That's what makes it so interesting. And I don't pretend to be any sort of Bonnaroo historian, but I think he's been here several, several, several times. Almost like, yeah, he's sort of like the Nashville country stalwart that keeps coming back to Bonnaroo every year. He seems like that guy that if you called him right now and said, Hey, some people are coming over to sit on the porch, you want to come pick a little? He would be there. I keep going through the rest of Thursday. And by the way, before I get too deep into these picks, I noticed that for the first time and I, you know me, I like to go pretty deep and I like to show off a little bit, you know, trying to keep my credibility. And I say that very openly. I try to be a little bit left fielded at some of the stuff like this, but I went through my picks this year, Barry. First off, I went all chalk. I mean, I went all number one and number two seeds mostly. And I realized that I could very easily see none of these people. I think I mentioned something similar last week. I avoided the headliners probably out of that same sort of snobbery type of thing, but also because I think people already know them. And also just like you, I could miss every single one. There's only two artists that I absolutely will not miss. I won't miss the rest of them. I'm just like, yeah, take it or leave it. Yeah, because there's so many other options. Number one. Number two, it's just, you know, do you want to fight that crowd? Do you want to get into all that? I don't know. I keep saying every week, this is going to be the most unusual Bonnaroo for me ever. But that's the kind of thing that I, I was actually, you know, six months ago, I'm dying for a certain lineup. I'm dying for certain artists to be there. I actually prefer it this way. I prefer it this way of like being totally open and able to go anywhere and do anything and not necessarily being tied to anything that I have to have to be at. I mean, I look at, you know, half of my list, I probably won't even see because I'd rather just do something else. I'm not complaining. I don't care about that either. No, I think that's and that's my point is I can have a plan, but I'm going to get there and it's going to be whatever happens happens and I'm fine with that. Yeah. So I definitely want to see Peach Pit. I definitely want to see Grand Ole Opry. I would like to play with Saba. I think Saba is really interesting and we sort of played him a little bit during the Bonnaroo Let Show, but I'm, I'm interested to see how this kid goes from really interesting, dynamic album cuts to putting it together on stage because normally stuff like this doesn't doesn't translate. So I also like to think about when I'm trying to plan out my day, where the moments are going to be. Like last year, I knew for a fact Knox Fortune was going to be a moment because Knox is such a good friend with Chance the Rapper. I knew once his hit hit, Chance the Rapper was coming. So if I had to guess the first place of the schedule that we're going to see a Chance the Rapper sighting, it's going to be with his own fine Saba from Chicago. Chance the Rapper is sort of darling and if there's a moment that's going to happen on Thursday, it's probably going to be right there at Saba because I wonder how across the board this kid is known. I really for hip hop artists, I like him a lot. What stage? Great question. I was hoping that you had this information. This is how, Barry, by the way, this is how I organize my schedule. It's on the back of my waste resources bill. I was as organized as you. Yeah, which by the way, I have way too much money to the city of Chattanooga. All right. So Saba is sort of my absolute go to on Thursday. But the problem then becomes how I organize the rest of my night on Thursday because I'd like to play with Bulo. I'd like to see that because I think that she's going to be the darling of the industry. I've said this a couple of weeks back. There's some heat on her, but unfortunately at the same time as the show that I will not miss for the life of me at the festival, it's Rolling Blackout's Coastal Field. So this was as soon as Hope Downs came out, it became quickly my favorite album of last year. I loved it so much. It was on repeat, repeat, repeat. And what I don't know is how it's going to translate as a live show because I've never seen them. I don't know anyone that has seen them. All I know is I love this album so much and I hope it's as good as I think it is. They tow the line sometimes between being like a garage punk band and a jam band all at the same time. And so how they marry those two things live, I'm exceptionally excited to see. I think it's going to be great. We keep saying Thursday is such a big day. It's going to be a great day. Yeah. And then after Rolling Blackout, I'm sort of at the mercy of the farm. Whatever you bring to me, I'll do. I agree. All I know is I'm going to keep it under control on Thursday. It's going to stay under control. Pacing, pacing, pacing. Because Friday begins pretty early. I would like to start Friday with item A and mainly because we talk about this a lot with feeling and sound and space when it comes to Bonnaroo. Item A seems like the perfect way. I'll put it this way. Their sound seems perfect for the moment in which they were chosen for, which is Saturday at something like one o'clock in the afternoon. Item A, my first pick for Friday at Bonnaroo. Now this is, you know me, Americana singer songwriter is not necessarily my lane. Right? I'm not blown away by this kind of stuff. But again, I am obsessed with this idea of time and space on the farm. And I will go see an artist just because it fits that sort of sound and feel that I'm going for. I agree. And we didn't say it a minute ago about Peach Pit, but I think they're the same. That's exactly right. And both of them are going to start the day's forest Thursday. And you said earlier Saturday, but just now you said Friday. They are Friday. Oh yeah, my bad. Yeah, my bad. Yeah. But I completely agree. It just what a great way to start. Yeah. And it just feels like it's a nice ease into the festival, especially if you roll in on a Thursday night. If you roll in Thursday night or maybe even Friday morning, that's a perfect way to acclimate yourself to the surroundings that you have. I keep going back to the Bahamas show several years ago. I bring that up all the time. That was a brand new artist to me. But it was just the perfect place, the perfect time. Yeah, that's right. That's what you're talking about. Yeah. And like the other one that I had that was at a perfect time and a perfect place was Yeah, Yeah, Yes. And this was 2000 and who knows? And it was like dead in the middle of the day. It was so hot. But it was a blowout. A blowout when Heads of a Roll came on. Avett Brothers on the witch stage that one year was that way for me. Just felt like a perfect Bonnaroo moment. Yeah. Stevie Wonder at eight o'clock at night, somewhere around there. Perfect moment. Sun was going down. It was getting cool. And he started playing that thing that he always plays, whatever that thing is. The accordion, piano, what does he call it? I don't know what it's called. Like a guitar. I think that's what it is. K-E-Y. Yeah. I love those moments and I will search them out every time, even if it's an artist that I'm not necessarily the most fond of or a style in which I necessarily love. Goya won better last year. Weren't treating. As great as that show was, I think it worked so well because of exactly where it was at the exact time that it was at. Well, the ultimate and you're a convert is my morning jacket. I just think they're the perfect Bonnaroo band. Yes. Anytime, any day, whatever. True. But there's something different about that. When his hair gets that wind at night. That's so much fun. It starts getting into the wee hours and it just feels like Bonnaroo. And I say this to not the Bonnaroo who have no exactly the smell, the feel, the taste that we're talking about. I say this to the new person. You'll know it when you feel it. There's going to be a moment where you look around like this is a, I don't know what I'm listening to, but this is exactly the soundtrack for what I needed in my soul at this moment. Yeah, it's, I don't know. I mean, sometimes it can be that you're dancing like crazy, but for me, normally it's just is dancing like crazy because you're such a dancer. Yeah. Well, I mean, I have my moment, but you know, it's, you know, there's, there's parties where you're in the middle of the mosh pit or whatever you want to call it. Having a good time. I have that feeling, but this is a different sort of thing. Right. You and I are talking about. That's exactly right. I'm glad you differentiated that because it's not about losing your mind at Macklemore a few years ago. Right. This is not when you're going to be in the pit for Childish Gambino or Post Malone. This will be when the farm hits your soul in a moment of clear headedness. Well, maybe not so clear headedness, but. That's a great, Macklemore is a great example because that was a terrific show and it was a complete surprise, but I wouldn't say it's what we're talking about. It's not at all what I'm talking about. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Completely different. It was a moment. Yeah, absolutely. And it was like, wow, I couldn't believe this was this big. Right. Exactly. But it's not this just cut straight to your heart and cut straight through the noise and get you into that's when the, that's when the farm hits you and that's when Boneroo hits you. And that's when you start realizing that this is so much more special than any other place that you're going to find. It's going to sound really corny and I mean it to be, but it's the truth. It just feels like a big hug. Oh, that is nice. That is very warming. And to me, every time I keep coming through the lineup and I keep listening back to artists, that's why I keep coming back to item A. Like I, and I'm trying to, maybe I'm predicting a little bit too much and putting it out in the universe and I might jinx it at this point, but it just feels like Friday afternoon, if I can get my ass out off of the chair and out of camp into the, into the grounds, that's going to be probably the moment that, that sinks it in for me. Warren treaty was that way. Davey last year was that way for a different reason. That was a lot more pop, but they were just so happy to be there. So happy. It was fun to be part of it. The other thing that's happening on Friday, as soon as the day gets started on the what stage and this is what I'm baffled by. And I may be talking again, a little bit too inside baseball here, but there's a band named rival sons on the what stage. I know rival son just because I talked to Atlantic records on occasion and you know, the guy that I talked to is on the road with them. Sometimes I had no idea this rival sons was this big. I have no, I know nothing, you know, nothing about, and they're just, they're just a rock band. They're like an active rock band and it's a lot of guitars and it's a lot of like guys wearing black and you know, it's not for me and I'm sure it's for somebody else, but I'm like the, the artists they chose to put on the main stages during the day spots are really strange to me. Now Casey Musgraves, right? Is one that's on the what? No, she's on the what? Casey makes a little sense, a little like, but, but AJR and the witch. Yeah, I know that one just has you flummoxed. No sense. I mean, I, I can't wrap my head around that. I cannot wrap my head about rival sons on the what. They must know something that I don't. I can understand catfish in the bottom and these guys travel with a massive following, but rival sons, I didn't realize was, I mean, are they big? I feel like I do this for a living. Are they that big? I don't know. I really don't know. I've given you my absolute can't miss for Thursday, my absolute can't miss for Friday, and it's the second of maybe only three or four artists that I am going to absolutely not miss is Terry Glaze. All right, so it may not be for everyone, but it sure as hell it for me. I love her and I know that she's a, she's a prickly one. I know she's going to ruffle some feathers. She's going to say some stuff that's going to probably be pretty controversial on stage. Look, she's 21 and she has got some shit to say and she doesn't like the world. She doesn't like what's happening in it and she says it in every one of her songs. She says it in every one of her performances. In the moments, there are people that I really dislike doing that, but from her, it feels genuine and it feels like it is just who she is. Most of the time I feel like, especially now where artists feel as though they have a, they have to say something, right? Because it's what the moment calls for. They're almost doing an impression of something that they're supposed to be saying or an impression of someone that they like. This girl has something specific to say and it is all anti the patriarchy. She doesn't want to be held down by men anymore and she hates the fact that her, her entire gender has been held down for as long as they have. I think she's great. She was on my list. By the way, did you make a Spotify playlist? I did not. Should I do that? Yeah, I think so. Okay. If I have to. Just because it based on the comments. We've had some comments. Okay. People have enjoyed listening. All right. So they don't want to follow along on the back of my waist bill. My city picture of it. Instagram. Yes. Good luck. Try to read my handwriting. Good luck. So yeah, cherry glazers, my absolute will not miss artist of Friday. And then of course, then it all becomes a mess. Friday becomes a total mess. And I am, I'm not going to miss parquet courts. I've, I've seen them now half a dozen times. Honestly one of the great memories I have, one of the greatest shows I've ever seen in my life was the first time I ever saw parquet courts. And it was at a place called the empty bottle, which is this tiny, tiny little club in Chicago, Illinois. And it's a legendary music venue, but if it held 150 people in there, I'd be stunned. And it was like a house party. It was like, I was like standing right next to them while they're like just slamming into me. Well, like I don't even know how he was playing the bass guitar because he was basically hitting me with it every, every time he turned around since then. And then seeing them on major festival stages, the show just keeps getting better and better and better. You know, I know they're going to, they get a little bit of grief because they've become a little bit of a commercial darling. And some of their songs have turned into be a little bit, Oh God forbid, catchy and have something called a hook. But to me, parquet courts is as fun of a listen translated to a live show as you're going to find on the entire line. Hey, Barry Courter, can you count how many times you've been outdone by nihilism? That is a great line. It's a great line. They've got so many good gems, man. They've got so many good lines. Is it fair to compare them at all to moon taxi? No, no, not sound wise. I mean career art. No, no, no. I mean, moon taxi has blown up and they wanted to blow up and they allowed for commercial success. Okay. Parquet course doesn't want any of that. I mean, they've had a sliver of it, but these guys just, they don't want any sort of, of attention when it comes to that, that level of success. I mean, if they could play the empty bottle every night, I think that they would be totally fine for the rest of their career. Okay. So parquet courts gets me into Courtney Barnett and I hate to say this, but I am probably going to miss Courtney Barnett and it really bums me out because I cannot tell you all about it. Well, look, I think that, I think that my same argument to you about certain moments last week, especially John Prine is the same argument I'm going to make about Childish Gambino. I don't know how many more of these opportunities I'll ever be able to see Childish Gambino. Now I will readily admit, I am not totally, you know, familiar with Childish Gambino's catalog and I know that I'm not going to know every song and I don't care. All I know is that's going to be a moment. Something is going to, I can't tell you how many times I've watched this Coachella performance. It was damn near the best performance I've ever watched from that Coachella festival. This thing is going to be a moment. This thing is going to be massive. I feel like I've missed it too many times now already at Bonnaroo and I'm not going to miss it this time. That makes perfect sense. And I know Courtney will be back. I know I'll see Courtney a hundred more times and frankly, let's be totally honest with each other. There's no bigger Courtney Barnett fan than me. I brought her to all of you at camp, right? I told all of you what she was four years ago, but I've seen the show. The show is going to be the same show at Shaky Knees next year. This is going to be the same show at insert festival here. I love her. You make a good argument. I love her. I really do. But I'm not going to get the same show from Childish Gambino and I may not ever get another show from Childish Gambino. So I will not, will not, will not miss an opportunity to be as close or in the pit for Childish Gambino as I can. And that unfortunately means I've got to leave very early to get there. Right, right. And that's what's weird about it. There's not a lot of crossover, is there? 15 minutes, half hour maybe. There's enough. There's enough. And even if it's 15 minutes, I mean, even if I left 15 minutes early, I'm going to be, you know how far back I'll be for Childish Gambino? You've got to be there at least half an hour early to get into the pit. And the way that I get in is I sort of have to, I go behind the stage and they sort of lock that down after a certain point. Yeah, I'm just not going to screw with it. I'm not screwing with it. I got you. I might be able to pull me out of like seeing Post Malone in the pit, although I really want to. I'm not screwing around with getting in to see Childish in this moment because I feel like that's going to be the thing that we all talk about come June 16th, 17th. Yeah. Okay. It's a good argument. And then the rest of the night, I'm pretty much wide open. I mean, I'm not, it's going to be tough to pick between Solange and Beach House. When is the Super Jam? Super Jam is shortly thereafter Solange and Beach House. I know that I'm going to be pulled in two different directions. I know there's going to be certain people at my camp that want to go to Beach House and certain people that want to go to Solange. And I have a feeling that the Beach House side is going to win because as my old buddy Nick would say, I just want to get high and sway to some shits. And look, I love Beach House. I think Beach House does, I saw the show here in Chattanooga and I do love it. And it is an odd space in time for that specific show to be at so what 11 o'clock at night. That is a little strange. So I'm betting that the light show has gotten massive. I'm betting that it's gotten crazy ethereal. I don't know. I'm probably going to see that mainly because I've seen Solange before. Maybe I don't know. I really don't know. It's a coin flip. It really is a coin flip. That's what I'm saying. Just see how it goes. Flow with it. You know what, Barry, I will flow with it. I'll flow with it. Good advice. And then I'm going to get to the Super Jam because we got news about the Super Jam as we got on the phone with our next guest, Deva Mahal. The Super Jam was announced the moment we hit talk on the phone. And this was our conversation with both Barry's pick and my pick for Saturday, basically morning at Bonnaroo. Deva Mahal, welcome to the What Podcast. And welcome to, I guess, South Broad Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. What's up, Chattanooga? How you doing? What's up, Deva? That voice, that voice, that voice. My God, that voice. That's why we're talking. Yeah. I don't even want to talk to you. I just want to hear you sing to me. Just sing whatever you want to me. Tell me sweet things about myself. That's OK. Hey, we've got a lot to talk about because this is a big, big week for you. I think I have a surprise for even Brad. OK, please tell me. First of all, you're going to be on- She's outside the door right now. Right, I know. First of all, you get to be on the What Podcast, which is always huge, right? You're sure. Yes. But you've had a couple of singles out and then they just announced the Super Jam. And guess who's on it? Barry Courter. Deva Mahal. No kidding. That's big news. Isn't that great? Yes, I'm so excited. Yes. Now, tell me who the Super Jam is. I haven't seen the- oh, geez, Louise. By the time this is going to be actually out, this is long gone news. Yeah, it'll be a couple of days old, but nonetheless, as we're speaking, I just got it. So Deva, tell us about it. Well, I'm really excited. It's my first time doing Bonnie Rue ever. And to be invited to do the Super Jam is pretty rad. A bunch of my friends are playing in it too, which I just noticed. Nikki Glassby is playing, Big Yuki playing in it, James Casey, just like some really awesome folks. And we're doing a tribute to artists of the past. So it's going to be really, really exciting. So how long ago did they reach out to ask you about doing this? And when they asked you to do this, did you have ideas that you wanted to bring or did they come to you with sort of like the overall gist of the Super Jam? So we were hoping to get asked to do the Super Jam, you know, since we got asked to be part of Bonnie Rue. And when they sent the email, we were like, oh my God. And they had the idea to do This Land is Your Land. I'm just excited to participate, really. That's awesome. And so you already knew about the Super Jam. I guess you already know Bonnaroo's history and it was something that you wanted to be a part of specifically. Why? What was it about it that pulled you into the Super Jam world? Well, I mean, it's like a great place to get together with incredible musicians and like vibe out with folks that you may never have gotten a chance to play with before and kind of just let loose as musicians. And you know, I don't know, it's all really exciting. Yeah, that sounds a bit overwhelming, that's for sure. This is your first plan. Have you ever been to- It's a crazy week, you guys. Yeah, I'm telling you. The big three. Have you ever been to Bonnaroo? How did you know about the Super Jam and all that? So I've never been to Bonnaroo, but I have a ton of musician friends that have played it and everybody talks about the Super Jam. Oh, nice. Really? My friend Nicky plays it a lot and he's always talking about how it's like the sickest spot where a lot of incredible music happens and you know, that's where I want to be. When they wrote you and said they want to do This Land Is Your Land and all that kind of stuff, did they tell you who you'd be playing with? Did you want to bring some of your people along? Did you get any sort of like creative sort of like back and forth? Were you able to add any sort of ideas? I have not added any ideas, but I didn't ask to do it. I was just really excited to play that song, you know. That's really cool. That's got to be such a thrill of like a career. We talk about a lot of times when we talk to artists, especially when they do Bonnaroo the first time or just after their first time of doing Bonnaroo. We've actually never, I think, ever talked to somebody who's been included in the Super Jam and to hear your just like natural giddiness for it is sort of making me excited for it. The closest I've come, I actually camped next to somebody who was going to be picked, but then got bumped for Brad's favorite person, Howard. What's her name? Brittany Howard. Wait, who did you camp? Who got bumped? Oh, well. I'll have to think of her name. She got bumped for Brittany Howard? Yeah. I can't even be mad at that. No, I know, right? She couldn't either. Yeah. Who could be mad? Are you serious? She couldn't either. I mean, she wanted it obviously, but it's like, yeah, that's Brittany Howard. Brittany Howard, him. Be still my beating heart, Brittany Howard. Come on. I'm kidding. I think you know, I hope you know that you are one of my picks from early, early on when we started going through the lineup. I don't think I knew you. Oh really? Yeah, no, we do a thing called Bonnaroo-lette. That wasn't it. It was just a random pick. No, it was a Bonnaroo-lette day. Yeah. So we have a wheel. We spin the wheel and whatever name it lands on, we sort of spend some time learning about the artist and playing the artist. And that was you. Yeah. You just happened to be one of those like, oh, look at that. Yeah. It was like first note or something. Oh yeah, that's one. And so last week we did my picks for the festival and you were definitely the pick for that day for me. So. Well, I think that goes to show you- Oh, thank you so much, you guys. It's what goes to show you what Bonnaroo is, why it's so special to so many of us because we are consumption junkies. I mean, we do this for a living and when Bonnaroo breaks an artist to us, that means something special to us. So what I'm wondering is when Bonnaroo breaks somebody like you to us, right? And brings you to us and puts you into our world. I wonder who found you from Bonnaroo and who reached out to you to say, hey, we want you at this festival. I believe it was the powers that be of the almighty Bonnaroo gods that reached out to me. I don't know how they found out about me though. I'm going to venture it's because you're good and they're good. Yeah. See, that's what I always wonder is like, sometimes I wonder if you guys know this on stage like you're just doing some sort of random show in Minneapolis or something and you're like, man, I wonder who's in this crowd tonight. I wonder who's out there because it could be somebody from Bonnaroo. It could be somebody from Lollapalooza or a tastemaker at Red Light Management who finds you and they say, we need her. We need to put her on there immediately. They write you down and six months later you get an email and you never knew where it eventually originated. That to me is fascinating. I mean, that does happen. I just got back from Australia playing at the Byron Mabluz Fest. Ben Harper was in the audience when I played the Montreal Jazz Fest and he spoke to the guy who runs Byron and was like, you have to book her. Next thing you know, I was there. So it happens. Yeah. See, that's the crazy thing. You don't know when or where it's going to happen. But man, you put on a good show and you give them that voice of yours every night. Good things are bound to happen, right? That's awesome. That's awesome. I love you guys. So tell us about the two singles because I mean, that's another thing. I don't know that we've done it maybe a couple of times where we've had an artist who had just released music. But that's the third part of this busy week for you, right? New music out. Yeah. Today, actually. So my first single that I've released since I dropped Run Deep comes out today. It's featuring my really good friend and incredible artist himself, Sun Little. And him and I got together from the day we met when we started making music. And so this is the result, the first result of that. It's called Goddamn. And that pretty much tells you everything you know about the song, doesn't it? I thought about changing it, but then I was like, you know what? It just has to be, it has to do that. What a good track. You guys have just been doing this together. What about this song specifically after all the things that you guys did together? So this is the first song we started working on together. We met, sat down and just shared stuff with each other. And then by the end of the day, we had started working on producing this track. Who was it that came up with the title? Who said it first? You were here. Me. All right. I have a feeling when something like this, hey, I think this is good. Goddamn, this is good. That's what I'm saying. It's kind of Brad's reaction when we first heard your voice. That's pretty great. Yeah. No, this track is actually, it seems like it's about terrestrial experience. But really I have an affinity for watching Blue Planet and I'm a big fan of David Attenborough. And there's this amazing segment about cuttlefish and how they procreate. I have to say this conversation did not go the way I thought. Well, okay. So like the record, the first record was so much about me. It was so much about my life. It was so much about my experience. And so I wanted to like sit and write things about stuff that wasn't about me and like kind of see the humanness or see the connection between other experiences that weren't of myself. So when I was watching this thing, I was like, damn, you know, and I'm pretty sure I said goddamn when I watched this, when I watched this segment, you know, because it, you know, like this, I don't know if I have time to explain it all, but like basically like the smaller like cuttlefish dresses in drag to create a little subterfuge to basically get past the bigger cuttlefish who's hoarding all the females so that he can mate. And I just thought that was so crazy. I thought it was a hell of funny. And I shared that idea with Aaron so little and he was like, oh my God, we have to write this song about this. So we did. And it's a badass like that. So let me get this straight. So the male cuttlefish, he, when he's trying to find his mate, he changes his look up a little bit, right? Trying to find, oh yeah, he touched his tentacles, he changes his colors to like represent his female. It's the story of every male on the planet trying to pretend somebody's not trying to get the woman that he wants. Okay. Exactly. I got it. Exactly. And it's not even just males for me. I think it's like anyone who's trying to get that dream person and then put on all your best, put on your Sunday best. And I guess that's what's driving you is authenticity because if you look around and see who's really cutting through right now in the industry, authenticity is sort of the name of the game. And look how big Lizzo is right now. And it's all because she's authentic, authentic, 100% her. Is that sort of like something that came from your upbringing? Is that inspired by your father or how you grew up? Where does that confidence come from? You know, like growing up in Hawaii, it was like a very different experience. I guess I didn't really fit in a lot when I was a kid. I had no choice just to be myself. You know what I mean? It didn't work to like try to be someone else ever for me. And so when I make my music, obviously it stands to reason that like it has to be the same there because it's the most vulnerable, most intimate place that I can share really with people because it's something that I create in myself, you know, it comes from within me. And I definitely had a very strong influence in that with my mother. You ever met my mother, you will just know that she doesn't give, I don't know if I can, can I say? Yeah, you can. She doesn't give too. Yeah, you can. Okay, she don't give a fuck about what anybody thinks. She's an artist as well, right? So you had both parents who were very, very artistic. Yeah, both of my parents are definitely very like the devil may care. You know, they very definitely do their own thing. But my mother is very much so like she won't stand on ceremony for anybody. If she believes something to be wrong or right, you're going to know it. And she just is herself. And so she really instilled that in me. So I read something interesting about your dad. And I wonder if it has anything to do with maybe how you found Bonnaroo or maybe the reason why he wanted to play Bonnaroo. And if it doesn't, just go ahead and tell me I'm an idiot. But I saw him say one time that music was designed for people to move. And that's why he liked outdoor performances. He said, that's why I like to play outdoor festivals, because people will just dance. Theater audiences need to ask themselves, what the hell is going on? I wonder if you had the same feeling about outdoor festivals. It sounds like my dad. Yeah, OK. Did you have sort of the same feeling? I love playing festivals. I have the same sentiment. I don't know if it was directly came from an exchange that him and I had, but he took me to festivals when I was a kid and kind of like first instilled that in me. You know, I think when the first festival he took me to was like a strawberry fest. And I was mesmerized right away. But I also played a lot of outdoor festivals while I was living in New Zealand. Really? Yeah. And that was like a huge experience for me of like really getting into the outdoor festivals like WOMAD and Floor and Big Day Out and things like that. They're huge festivals. Yeah. It was pretty special. Yeah. So you're the second, you're the second almost New Zealand based artist essentially that we've talked to this season. Because we talked to, I can't remember who was the artist that was from New Zealand. The Drax? Drax Project. That's right. Oh, I know those boys. Yeah. They literally just came to my festival and played for me at the Running of the Chihuahuas a couple of weeks ago and they're going to be at Bonnaroo. So you guys, you guys have two New Zealand products on the Bonnaroo schedule. That's insane. And we've talked to both of them. And we've talked to both of them. You get, we always ask everybody, Divya, when they're going, do you plan to, are you going to be around for several days or is it a, I know you're doing the super jam. Yeah, I'll be there for a couple of days. That's awesome. Well, you'll have to come by Camp Nut Butter and visit with us for sure. Did you say nut butter? Yes, that's, it's ridiculous to say. You prefaced it with nothing and you just gave her Camp Nut Butter without any sort of explanation. That's what it's called, Camp Nut Butter. It's funny. But it's a great camp. You'll have to come visit. When is the super jam? Is that Friday night? I'm pretty sure it's Friday night because you play Friday or Saturday one o'clock at that tent. So if I'm not mistaken, the Grizz super jam is the Friday night or is that Saturday night, Barry? Because if you get to stay Friday night, you get, you get childish Gambino. What? Yeah. You get childish Gambino Friday night and then the super jam shortly after childish Gambino, you got a big night in store for you. Oh my God. Yeah, so I would- Oh my God, it's going to be so fun. You guys, I'm so pumped. Man, Friday is a packed day. I don't know if you've gone through the lineup, Divya, but I mean, you've got, you're sharing a couple of days with- I mean, it's such a big lineup. I haven't seen it all, but yeah. Today, Saturday is, we're literally starting our day with you, that tent, one o'clock. Bring the AC because it's going to be very, very hot Saturday at one o'clock. Is there anybody on the lineup you're looking forward to hanging out with and seeing Divya especially? It's all kind of overwhelming. I mean, obviously I'd love to hang out with childish Gambino. For me, I just want to check out, I just want to check out who surprises me. You know, I want to, I want to go see a show that I might not have never seen or never heard of. I'm almost exciting for free. How about, how about this on Friday night, Solange? I mean, I'm not going to lie. Seeing Solange might mess me up. I'm so excited. I love her so much. Seeing Solange might mess me up. Yes. You know, it just might. I'm just, you know, that's just the truth. Wait a second. Solange going to be there. The Super Jam has somebody that's played in Beyonce's band. What a weird kind of connection. Yeah, Nikki. Yeah, that's Nikki, right? Wow. Man, I'm starting to put the pieces together. I've got a conspiracy theory working in my head right now. It says special guest. Special guest. Uh oh. Diva Mahal, thank you so much for spending some time with us. And I can't wait to meet you on the farm here in a couple of weeks in June. Okay. Me too. You guys. Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Diva Mahal on the what podcast? A podcast for Bonnaruvians by Bonnaruvians. Again, thank you for joining us. If you haven't already rated, reviewed the podcast, that would be very nice of you. It helps us out to get the word out, to share more Bonnaruv stories, to bring some more people in. You guys have been pretty terrific. And the word's not pretty. Amazing. Amazing. Amazingly terrific in the last year and a half. Not only do we appreciate it, but we're actually really excited about meeting you on the farm. So I hope that you can find us in the sea of 60, 70,000 people. By the way, have we gotten a number from vendors at all? Have you seen any of the Reddit threads or the InfoRu's to see what numbers are like so far? I haven't checked anything. Just what I'm sort of hearing and it's not specific is that they're pretty good, like better than last year. But I don't know specific. We need to ask. You know, there's a part of me that thought last year was about where I want it to be. Selfishly, I think that that crowd was about exactly where I wanted it to be. I totally agree. It was still crowded, but it was not uncomfortably so. I don't remember a tent show where I felt like I wasn't part of it. And that's where I really feel like you blow it when I'm at a tent and it's so big and it's so huge. I can't even function. That and not being able to walk across this witch stage area. That's when you can't get from one side to the other. That's a good point. Well, Diva Mahal, we appreciate her coming by, stopping by, giving Diva Mahal, we appreciate her calling in and sharing her experience. By the way, that's nuts to hear you're part of the Super Jam the moment we get on the phone. That was a little strange. I don't know how that worked out. We're just good. And she broke a little news, by the way, telling us what song she's playing. Yeah. Uh oh. I don't think I like that. So that's going to be exciting. And I wonder if anybody gets bumped this year. I wonder how often that happens, by the way, somebody getting bumped for a bigger artist. I don't know. I need to figure out who that was. I know who that was. I can't think of the name right off. You can't? Oh, damn. I'd love to know. I wonder if I got bumped by Brittany Howard. I mean, I'm leaving my hall, which I absolutely want to check out now that I've fallen in love with her infectious giggle. I want to see her starting on Saturday morning and then it becomes a total disaster. I've got all at one time, Barry, Hippo Campus, Marin Morris, Bishop Briggs, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and DeLacy all at the same time. That's insane. I know. That's absolutely insane. I passed up the opportunity of going to see DeLacy in New York this week. And I think I'm going to regret it, A, because this girl is unbelievably hot. I mean, she is unbelievably hot, but she just got something, man. She's got this really great tone and she's almost like Amy Winehouse with her, not just with her look, but her sound. I really, really enjoy her. And if I didn't love Unknown Mortal Orchestra as much as I do, I would probably choose DeLacy. But again, I've got Marin Morris there and you know how much I love Marin Morris. Yeah, that's going to be a lot of walk-bys for me, I have a feeling. I mean, I can understand that. I would mind walking by Hippo, Marin, Bishop Briggs, DeLacy, and then settling in Unknown Mortal Orchestra because I really, really love that album a lot, even though it got sort of ripped apart in the reviews. It's also going to depend on how Wednesday, Thursday and Friday go. That's true because honestly, Saturday is very down tempo. This is a sit on a blanket kind of day for me on Saturday because from that sort of, I would almost say, train wreck of a Saturday and a logjam of Hippo Campus, Marin Morris, Bishop Briggs, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and DeLacy, I've got a guy that I've been sort of obsessed with underground for a few years. It's Quinn 92, which I absolutely, for my Saturday, he's my Saturday. I will, will, will not miss. So I could probably do an entire episode just on Quinn 92. And all I want to do is talk about him. All I want to do is talk to him. All I want to do is dissect every single line of his songs. He's got so many songs that are, I'm like, ah, damn it, that's about that girl. Ah, damn it, that's about her too. Ah, damn it, I remember that broken heart. It just crushes me too much. It hits way too close for me, way, way too close. See, I want to meet that girl now. Yeah, well, I don't think you do. They all, they all do not need to be spoken of. So Quinn 92 is my absolute can't miss. And if I were to suggest anything to anybody, and I don't have many of these this year, Quinn 92 is the guy that I would almost grab you and say, if you got some time, go see it because he's, he's just one song away. If the label can find the song for him, he's going to blow up. He's got, he's got the songwriting chops. He's got the sound. He's got the, the feel his live show. I'm really excited to see if he could just find the right song. I think that he might be one of those guys that we look back and like Quinn 92 was a Bonnaroo. Wow. Yeah, I think he's got a thing. He's got a thing. And he's part of a record label that is near and dear to the what podcasts heart. If you want to go back and listen to season one, when we talked to Jim Burris from Columbia Records to see the record label side of how all of this works, he's on that label. So hopefully when Jimmy B stops by Camp Nut Butter this year, he'll be bringing Quinn 92. Love Jim. Love Jim. And that was a great episode. If you guys haven't heard it, I almost forgot about that. That was, that was like what the second of our inside baseball looks. Yeah. How things work. And it was one of the most popular ones because we spoke the less. I was going to say when that was one of our one question interviews, how are you an hour and a half later? Thanks for calling. Yeah. Then the rest of the day, the rest of the day for Saturday, again, very simple. It's Casey Musgraves, John Prine, very down tempo. And then it becomes all about the national. Honestly, my entire Saturday and frankly, my entire post Friday night revolves around two things, getting to Quinn 92 and getting to the national mostly because I have lost my mind in the last year and a half over the national. Yeah. Absolutely lost my mind. I was a fan for a while. I was like, oh yeah, this is all nice. And then sometime last year or maybe a year and a half ago, maybe two years now, I watched that documentary about his brother going on tour with them. And this documentary changed my entire perception of the national. And then I went to see the lights. I've seen the live show before, but it was during the day of Bonnaroo. I'll never forget it was the year that Jimmy Buffett was there. Right. And I remember, I remember watching the national. It was in the middle of the day. And I'm like, what is this idiot doing crowd surfing to this droney, sad, depressing music? It was the most bizarre thing in the middle of the day. And from then I was never like, like, oh, the national is fine. But I couldn't get that image out of my head of him crowd surfing with that music in the middle of the day. I think I actually, now that you say it, remember seeing that wondering the same and just didn't realize what it was. I didn't. It didn't. What's that? It didn't connect with me. And then so the albums come out and they're fine. I like them. Then I watched that documentary and everything changed. And I went to see him at Music Midtown last year. Or maybe this is Shakenies. I don't remember, but it was a night show and I became all in. I mean, this show is totally different at night. And I implore you, even if you're not a national fan, it will make you a national fan. Their live show is unbelievable at night. You know, it's interesting to hear you say that because I wonder how many times any of us have developed an opinion of a band and then had it changed. I mean, you did that with My Morning Jacket. And I think you did that out of respect for me because you knew I was such a fan. I went because you were a tag along. Yeah. And ended up loving it. I expected nothing out of it because I had seen them during the day. I was just okay with it. I was like, oh yeah, I get it. After three notes, I'm like, I see what this is. But boy, at night, it's a totally different experience. Yeah. Of course, that was in Louisville at Forecastle, their home turf. So that was a good show. But I just wonder how many times we do that, you know, have an opinion and then have it changed. I bet it doesn't happen a lot. I hope that the national show is not reliant on the new album because I don't know if it's going to be baked in to the crowd as much as I had hoped. The new album's great. I just don't know if it's going to work on a festival where you got to keep that energy up. I mean, the new album doesn't really have it, but if they keep at Sleepwell Beast, watch out. You said we're not so tied together. What did you mean? Meet me in the stairwell in a second. For a glass of tea. Nobody else will be there. Nobody else will be there. Nobody else will be there. Nobody else will be there. Can you remind me the building you live in? I'm on my way. It's getting colder, kill what New York's gorgeous. It's a subway day. I hate to admit this, but I cried during the national show last year. I'm telling you, it's just one of these things that it doesn't sound like it would work at night and live, but my God does it. I can't wait for how it's going to sound on the big stage. I think they're on The What. Are they on The What? Are they on The Witch? It's kind of a Leonard Cohen type of thing. Really? I mean, sometimes he gets that way. I mean, he gets really down tempo, but even down tempo, there's such an intensity coming off from the stage that you're just engrossed in the entire experience for me. And even non-fans, I think, are going to enjoy it. Based on the light show alone is terrific. Which stage? Saturday night. And then it goes into Post Malone. And from here, I'm just a leaky civ. I don't care where I go. I don't care where I end up. If I end up at Post Malone, yeah, I think that's going to be a lot of fun. I think that Post Malone show is going to be a lot of fun. And I think that's another spot where you see Chance the Rapper pop out. If I miss it, I miss it. If I see it from the back, I see it from the back. I'm not going to beat myself up to try and absolutely be part of that moment. But if I'm there, I'm there. Yeah, I feel the same way. And then the rest of the night, I have nothing. So you tell me what to do on Saturday night. I mean, because after national, I am honestly, my festival's made. I'm wide open for the rest of the next 36 hours. See, do we try to wander over to GA and see what's going on? I would, because that's about when you're going to find one of those secret shows. Right. I know. I have a feeling. So then I get into Sunday, and then I've got another, you know, total traffic jam with Princess, which is the prince cover band with Maya Rudolph, Hobo Johnson, which I know everybody hates, but I'm sure it's going to be sort of fun, Brandy Carlisle, who, you know, I'm a sucker for these country girls, man, I'm a sucker for them. And then my dude, Patrick Dronie, I remember we found him during Bonnaroo Let. Patrick Dronie, he's got this sound. He's got this voice. You don't remember him, Barry? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it sounds crazy. And I know. Right, right. I remember who he is. Yeah. I know it's. It doesn't matter. The face doesn't match. The face doesn't match. The sound, his name doesn't make any sense. But yeah, Patrick Dronie is a guy that if if I can cut through the noise and cut through the mess, I might spend about 10 minutes. All right, maybe I'm a little sucker for this. I don't know. He's so good. And I'm just I'm worried that he's going to get lost in the shuffle. And that might be the reason why I go see him instead of the others. Because that's what I think of when I think of you looking out for the little guy. You're so worried about is anybody going to be there? Yeah, be all by himself. Yeah. Maybe he'll invite me on stage. You know, I got to do a couple of things. That is so not you. I want to swing by. I don't know how, but they found me just because I like the name. And they they really turned the volume up and they play really hard and they play a really active, fun show. So I'd like to give them a try. I don't know how, but they found me. And then the rest of the day is just we keep saying this, me and a couple of people at camp. You'll hear this later when we talk about our Bonner planning meeting, because, by the way, that's this afternoon. But we're going to get on Saturday afternoon. We're getting ratchet. We are going to get Sunday, Sunday, Sunday afternoon. We're getting Major League Ratchet because after that, I don't know how, but they found me. I got a little Dickie, Mac DeMarco and then Cardi B. So I'm going to be wearing booty shorts and glitter. I don't know why, but I will be ratchet as ratchet can be for a period of about eight hours of Bonner. I like it. I like when you plan something like that. Please, please, God, nobody in my industry find me. Please, because from Little Dickie to Mac DeMarco to Cardi B, there could not be a collection of more similar style people, artists, experiences, lifestyle than those three this weekend. That's a big finish. That's a bizarre way to end Little Dickie, Mac DeMarco, Cardi B. The only problem in this is that if I do choose Cardi B, which I'm choosing Cardi B, and I'm not going to miss Cardi B because it's too much of a cultural zeitgeist, man. It's too much of a zeitgeist for me to miss. It sucks to be missing King Princess. I love her. This girl is unbelievable. But, dude, after all of what we've gone through, after all the picks that I've given, King Princess is a little bit too serious for me for Sunday evening. Way too serious. I'm ready to blow it out on Sunday evening. Think you're going to be out of place with your glitter? Just a touch. Go walking in in your unicorn costume and your glitter? Just a touch. Just a touch. Nobody's judging. It's going to be Sunday night. The big finish, and honestly, I'm actually getting sort of excited about how I'm finishing the festival with Phish. I'm really excited about the idea of I know nothing about them. I don't really know any of the songs. I don't really know any of the - I know the culture. That's all I know. So what I'm really excited about is sitting on a blanket and experiencing the culture around me from the back. Absolutely. For some reason, that just feels like a good way for us to end it, which we've never done. Not as a full group. Not as a full group. But you never stay on Sunday night. Yeah, I just - last year was the first time. Because you want to get home and get to that pool, which is where you're going right now. And my wife. Who? I know, my wife. Oh, yeah. It's sad. I'm looking forward to saying - and I'm looking forward to that moment for some reason. I'm like you. Phish, I don't expect to hate them. I'm not a particular fan. I know what they do. I know the culture. I've told you one of my favorite early moments was that Sunday morning getting up to come home at six. And the guy came walking up towards our campsite and ran into a girl going the other way. And they decided to sit down and share some acid. I think he had a joint and she had acid or something and they started talking about Trey. Okay. And the guy kept saying, Trey this and Trey that. And Trey and I have this bond. Like I can be in the audience looking at him thinking of a song and Trey will start playing it. I just - I sat back - I quit packing. I sat back down and just listened because it was the craziest conversation ever. And no one else was awake. You know, that's really unfortunate as an example of the Phish community though. I think it's perfect. I've had the exact same feeling about Brittany Howard. So I can't get too mad about that. We've all done it. We've all felt that connection that this guy was so serious and it was the funniest thing. Where did they come from? Where was I? I don't know. This was early. It wasn't Camp Nut Butter. I mean it was like one of my favorite - Really? - Bonnarooz. When you were camping just by yourself? By myself. I was all by myself. No one else was awake but these two people. They were so nice they became instant friends. Really? They bonded over Trey. I wonder if they're listening right now. I'd be surprised if the dude's still alive. I hope he is. Oh no. It was that serious, huh? He was pretty harsh. Wow. Yeah, he was pretty harsh. Yeah, it was hilarious. It was like the perfect moment, especially for early Bonnarooz. Man. He was convinced that he and Trey were having mind melds. Hey, if you haven't already, it's Bonnarooz planning time. It is crunch time. We're going to our planning meeting with Camp Nut Butter. So I guess until next week we'll talk to you then I guess. Catch us on Twitter at the what podcast. At the what underscore podcast. I'm sorry. That's what it is. Thanks everybody for listening. Hey, hey, hey, hey. How y'all feeling? Journey through the stories that define the artist playing Bonnarooz. Who are they? What are they? What will you see? The what? Which bands? This year? That matter? With Brad Steiner and Barry Courter.