Journey through the stories that define the artists playing Bonnaroo. Who are they? What are they? What will you see? The What. Which bands? This year, That Matter with Brad Steiner and Barry Courter. Well there seems to be some changes on the horizon for Bonnaroo 2019 and that's why we're here. Welcome to the What Podcast, a very special off-season edition of the What Podcast. That's Barry Courter from the Chattanooga Times 3 Press. I'm Brad Steiner from WDOD Radio in Chattanooga, a Top 40 station playing Beyonce and fart jokes. Why are we talking about Bonnaroo? Because it is our passion. Had you not been with us for the last, I say eight months, let us reintroduce ourselves again. That's Barry. I'm Brad. We like Bonnaroo. We're back. So welcome back Barry. How are you? I'm good. I've been good. You know, it took a few months off. I feel like I've been in like Bonnaroo rehab. You know, you have to go away for a while, turn your brain off from it and then as soon as you're back, you jump, you jump right back in. Yeah. I used to take all this time to sort of forget the smell of porta potties and forget all that. But honestly, I think we had such a good time this last year that I think about it a lot. I think, yeah, because we had a good group and I see a lot of those people for whatever reason a little bit more this year, not just you, but some of the other campmates. We all say the same thing. It was a good, fun, fun year. It was a great year and we, you know, it's become one of those things where Bonnaroo has it's so stuck in our world and so stuck in our minds that it becomes a year long thing. If we're not talking about Bonnaroo, we're talking about what happened last year or we're talking about what happened two years ago, we're talking what's going to happen this year, we're pontificating on the lineup. You know, we're trying to figure out what's going on in the changes in the farm Manchester, maybe Coffee County in general, maybe it's who's operating the festival. And there seems to be all kinds of stuff to talk about when it comes to Bonnaroo because I don't want to call it drama, but there's definitely some movement. Something's happened. It's a big deal. And I think another part of it is, especially you do more so than I do, but there are other festivals. We had one in Chattanooga for the first time this year with Moon River, which just so happens to be have been produced by AC Entertainment, which does Bonnaroo. So there's that, and it was just a little while ago. So there's that comparison factor. Well, yeah, it is remarkable. We'll talk about some of the changes that are going on around the farm inside Bonnaroo, how the operation is working here in a minute. We're going to talk to Daniel from Roo Bus. If you follow at Roo Bus on Twitter, he's been breaking a lot of news about what's been going on and to watch it. So this is what's interesting. You get to watch somebody break news that you already know and they get to do all the heavy lifting and he's got it. He's got some sort of inside source and we're going to talk to him about some of that information. But back to your point about the other festivals, it is almost impossible to see what Bonnaroo does, see what they do well, and then go to another festival and not look around and be like, meh. Yeah, I know. I know. And what's strange, and to give Daniel a lot of credit, I think part of the reason we're back here talking about this is because he's so active. I mean, he's every day on Twitter. Much like a lot of the other constant Bonnaroo. Bonnaroovian, Bonnaroo-ster, those guys. And it's not just, I mean, there are some amount of, gosh, I wish Bonnaroo was tomorrow, but it's news. They have actual news because they're obsessed with it like we are. What's interesting about the comparisons is, in my mind anyway, going to the other ones, visiting them, hearing about them reaffirms to me how important that whole camping experience is. That's right. The thing that we piss and moan about is really the thing that we like about it. If you're not preparing your campsite now, you're probably going to be in trouble. You might as well start doing it now. When we go through what's going to happen today on the latest edition of the What Podcast, I would love to hear your thoughts on changes that should be or could be coming to Bonnaroo. Maybe you want to pontificate on the year that had just passed. Drop us a line at the What Podcast on Twitter or the whatpodcast.com. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Also a little bit later on the show, we're going to give you our wish list. Maybe bands that we want to see at Bonnaroo. I see this on Infaru a lot. I see it on the Reddit threads and the subreddits, but everybody's got their Bonnaroo wish list of bands that they want to see. It always starts with like back in the day Prince. Daft Punk is always up there. Foo Fighters are a constant because you look around and you wonder. There are certain artists that you don't understand have never been there. Coldplay, God almighty, Coldplay is terrible, but why have they not been there is shocking. Foo Fighters is bizarre why they've never been there. Always on the list. Justin Timberlake is always on somebody's short list of acts they want to see. We're going to go through Rebus's wish list. He's got some rumors about who's going to be appearing at Bonnaroo this year and then we'll go through ours. So if you want to drop us a line about who you want to be at Bonnaroo this year, send it to us the whatpodcast.com. I'm hoping that because we know that the Bonnaroo people listen, hopefully this moves the needle a little bit. Absolutely. If somebody puts somebody on their radar that they weren't thinking of or confirms somebody they were on the fence about. Yeah, that'd be awesome. You know one way or another. Sure. I'd also like to hear from people because we really didn't do it afterwards what they liked about the changes or what they thought about the changes, in particular the pods all that. We've talked about it quite a bit, but for those people that actually lived it, I'd love to hear what that was like. Sure. Because we kind of dropped in on it. We weren't there 24 hours. No, we dropped in a couple of times and not only what you liked about it, I'd love to hear some stories. That's what I mean. I'd love to hear some stories because we have a million of hours. We'd love to hear yours. Communicate with us. Maybe we'll do another podcast in the meantime just of your experiences and your stories. I'd love to do that. That'd be great fun. Yep. All right, let's talk to Daniel from RooBus. Now, tell me how you found RooBus. I found him mainly because I follow all the guys on Twitter, the Rooster, Festival Owl, all those guys. Those are the guys who keep the conversation going and RooBus has been one. That's how I found him. How did you find him? I think I first became aware of the bus. I remember seeing and we talk about it a little bit when he bought it. He and his three other people. I do remember that. I remember thinking, wow, there's a bus that's been around for a while. And rather than get rid of it, they more or less passed it on to somebody else and we'll hear him talk about it. It blows me away that he's only been going since 2013. That is pretty crazy. He is passionate about it. Yeah. You know what's great is what Bonnaroo does. It creates regular everyday people to be characters in this show called Bonnaroo. That's a great point. It is fascinating to me. We have a guy that lives here in Chattanooga that's Bonnaroo Santa. He was called, he literally was called from the Bonnaroo people as Bonnaroo Santa. And he walks around the big, big white beard at Bonnaroo every single year. His name is Packer Pete. Dan Peterson. I know him well. You've got the Bonnaroo-ster. You've got the Roo-bus. There are so many characters in this play called Bonnaroo that is so much fun. And that's what's been so fun for me about doing this show is that we've gotten to meet some of them. We've gotten to experience them and I didn't even know that they were around for a while. But you said something a second ago that I hadn't really thought about. And it's to the credit. Credit should go to the people who put on Bonnaroo. They're good about seeing somebody like Bonnaroo Santa and embracing it rather than, hey, it's our party. You didn't ask permission kind of, you know what I mean? They take it all in, like with us. I mean, they've been very helpful and receptive to us for this podcast and the bus. You know, Daniel says they go a little bit early and get a spot. So it's a welcoming kind of festival and you feel that from top to bottom. And I think that's really important. And the earlier question, other than hearing about the bus, I found him on Twitter just like you did. I kept thinking after Bonnaroo, I was like, wow, it's June and he's still talking about it. It's August. Welcome to Labor Day. Here's some Bonnaroo news. Let's break some Bonnaroo news now with Roo Bus. Here we go. What's happening, Daniel? I'm Brad. That's Barry. How are things? Not too bad. Just had lunch over here in Huntsville. Where are you guys up to? Is that where you live? Is that where the Roo Bus is actually stationed is Huntsville? Yeah, we're in just outside of Huntsville, Alabama. We're about an hour and a half drive away from Manchester. How did you first get into Bonnaroo? What was the thing that hooked you? Well, my wife and I started going back in 2013. I had wanted to go for years and I had some friends at my university tried to give me to go with them, but it was Paul McCartney being on the line up back then that really finally got us to go. We've been hooked ever since. And then was that the first year you brought the bus? When did the bus actually start? When did that actually get going? So, the bus has been going to the farm for close to 10 years now. Oh, yeah? It was previously owned by a couple that used to live just a few miles away from the farm. They bought it, I think, Coffee County. It used to be a prison bus and then they converted it. Nice. No, I kid you not. Yeah, yeah. And they converted it probably around, I want to say like 2009, 2010. I don't know exactly. And they recently moved down to the Gulf Coast near Pensacola. And we had known them for a little while. We parked next to them when we used to have a small RV. We had seen the bus then. And yeah, we ended up buying it from them and continuing the tradition. That's pretty cool. I thought I remembered seeing something about it selling and changing hands. There was like a big ceremony and stuff, wasn't there? That's ridiculous. Well, I don't know about a ceremony, but we came to their place and picked it up before they moved. I thought it was a big party or something. Sure, always. Well, that's a party all the time. If it's a prison bus, I don't know what kind of party you're wanting to throw there, Barry. Well, I've heard tell that there was once a party in there with like 100 people on board inside the bus. That's pretty cool. We've had maybe 20, but nothing like that. That's pretty cool. So, do you take the bus to other music festivals or are you just a regular commuter with regular cars and such? Yeah, we've been to a number of other ones. We're trying to cover a bit more in the Southeast as part of the media stuff that we're doing with the bus. No, it just goes to Bonnaroo and we take it to a lot of places, kind of around here in Huntsville and throughout North Alabama. I'm just making sure because you have the Roo bus and maybe like the Hangout Camry. No, Hangout actually does have a bus. I haven't seen it, but I had some friends send me some pictures. Oh, stop it. Stuff all over it. Well, see, that's interesting that you do a lot of different festivals because we normally focus on nothing but Bonnaroo here on this podcast. But festival life is sort of in our blood. And I've been having this conversation with Barry and others for the better part of eight months now. And going from festival to festival is quite almost musical culture shock in that you can find something so completely different. Even with the same lineup. We had a music festival here in town called Moon River. And I was there. You were. I thought you came up. Yeah, I wish we'd have reached out prior. We'd have hooked up. Yeah. So Chattanooga throws their own music festival. Atlanta, of course, you music midtown and Shakenese. But the difference between those two music festivals is so unbelievably big and so unbelievably large. One has a culture and has created a culture and identity and a brand set of brand values. And then music midtown is just some stages and some vendors and enjoy. What do you see when you go from from festival to festival? What do you see is the main difference between them all? Well, you're right. I've been to a number. We're talking about Hangout. I went to that. I guess it was three years ago or so. And it's you would think it's Montero on the beach, but it's not. It's got more of like a frat party vibe to it. It's put on by the same company that does Coachella out in California. So it's got a little bit of that vibe to it as well. And the lineup is similar. If you look at it, they've got a little EDM heavy like everybody has in the past couple of years. But once you get there and get around, it's like, yeah, it's fun, but it has a different vibe. Like if you are really dead set on Montero, you're going to be always just a little bit disappointed when you go to another festival. Another example, Sloss Fest in our home state here in Alabama. They had some trouble this year. I hope they're going to return. But it's great. It's like a miniature barnaroo that kind of has the good indie band lineup that they have, but also some stuff that's for the local taste in Birmingham. They usually like a little bit more folk or country over there a little bit. If there's any festival inside this country that is more tied to the local community, it's probably Sloss Fest. They do a very good job of incorporating local artists, local art, local vendors. Sloss Fest is very much Birmingham. It's very Birmingham. It is. I really hope they return. They had some problems like a lot of other festivals did with weather and PR this year. And I'd really like to see them come back. They've been a great asset to the state and Birmingham. Yeah. I haven't been, but the one in New Orleans, I can't even think of the name of it. Which one? The big one. Jazz Fest? Jazz Fest does what you're talking about and there's one in Milwaukee that does a good job of that. We went to the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans last year. That was last October, right? Beck was headlining. Yeah, it was a pretty good vibe. Once you get to the grounds, it was a lot like Bonnaroo. Of course everything is Halloween themed, so there's people with skeletons and different costumes and stuff. But it was a pain in the butt because you have to go from your hotel on the other side of town down to the city park and traffic is a nightmare and it's just like, yeah, our crew has learned that city fest aren't necessarily for us. Camping Fest is where it's at. Right. So you definitely see that. You see that as a big driver as to which festivals you tend to enjoy more than others. Yeah, exactly. I wish we had more options around here for that, but can't complain when Bonnaroo is just an hour and a half away. So you said something that's pretty interesting. If your first salvo, if your opening salvo is Bonnaroo, it's sort of like never flying before and getting first class. You don't really, you really can't go back because there's not another experience like it. You can find things that are similar. I think that Hangout to me is one B. I think Hangout is an amazing festival, especially if you like pop music. It's exceptionally well done. There's really not a place that you can't find a good spot to see a show. It's intimate enough. It's not the grounds are big. I think Four Castle is tremendously well done in Louisville. And I think of the Atlanta Festival, Shaky Knees has it over Music Midtown, which I think Music Midtown is a complete and utter disaster. And frankly, not to beat up on Sloss Fest a bit, Sloss Fest is tough for me. I love a festival that has a strong brand integrity and values that they set forth. But first, Sloss Fest is incredibly hot. I've never been to a hotter experience in my life. There is literally one stage that is nothing but an oven. You stand inside microwaves, it feels like. Oh, inside the shed. I know exactly what you're talking about. And then the other problem with it a little bit is I tend to not like festivals where it feels like you bought the stage, you got the lineup, and then you set up some vendors. Now let's go have a festival. There's really no other sort of culture tying me together that I need. Music Midtown is the biggest problem for me with that. You know, on that point, I think that's where Bonnaroo has been the strongest in the past two or three years. I think they've slowly realized they have to really lean into the community engagement part of Bonnaroo, which is why they've done a lot more in the campgrounds. They've really built up the infrastructure out there with a couple of new barns, new activities there sprinkled throughout the pods, or plazas as they're calling it now. And I think, to me at least, that's half the value of going to Bonnaroo. Of course I'm there for the headliners to know that. But it's also the crazy, stupid stuff that I get into with new buddies out there. That was us this year. I spent some time with one of our campmates who has run music venues here for 30 years, knows the business, loves the music as much as anybody, but he said this was his favorite Bonnaroo. I think this was my favorite Bonnaroo. And it was that community thing. The lineup was good. We found some great stuff to see. Warren Treaty has become one of my favorites, for example. Mavis, Nile Rodgers, all of those were highlights, but it was the community thing. And for me, it's the fact that you don't have to drive across town. It's the fact that you're already there. You're in town. You're there. There's nothing to do but that festival. That's why you're there. And I think that just makes such a huge difference. Yeah, and they did a superb job with the pods. I thought the plazas were terrifically done. Which one are you in? Which one did you have the bus parked in? Well, the bus is in kind of like the general admission RV area. It's kind of in the corner, like right when you come in from the highway entrance, when you're kind of close to the tower. Do they hold a spot for you? Well, we were very gracious that the Bonnaroo folks let us come in a little earlier this past year because we had to set up for the Wednesday night party that we held with Camp Redaroo. That's cool. That's real cool. That is awesome. But usually they're very accommodating with folks like that. Alright, now go ahead, Barry. I want to go back. It's still rolling around in my head that you've only been going since 13. And the reason we wanted to talk to you partly is because I see so much activity on Twitter. I mean, it's become a year-round kind of part of life for you, hasn't it? I do not try to hide the fact at all that I am obsessed with Bonnaroo. Yeah, I think that's cool. And I think that's why we decided, you know, we started that podcast thinking it would end June 14th or 15th and that would be it for, you know, until next slide. Well, honestly, we ran out of material the 1st of May. Oh, God. I never run out of material with Bonnaroo. Well, and that's I kept telling Brad, I'm like, there's a lot of activity going on on Twitter from Bonnaroovian, who we were fortunate enough to meet. The rooster. The rooster and you. And I thought, I think we can do this more often. Yeah. So it's almost like what the NFL does. The NFL has created 12 months a year. You're talking about the NFL. Bonnaroo has sort of become that. And a lot of it has to do with the news that happens and sprinkles out throughout the year, which, crazily enough, you seem to stumble upon. Yeah. How do you get these tips? Well, I drive the bus and it's a big friendly blue bus. So people tend to tell me things. Awesome. Well, all right. So, so fill us in. What do you know that we don't know that's been going on the last few months since the festival has been going on? I have to be careful what I say because a lot of that is up to the AC office in Nashville to dictate how they want to get information out. I don't want to step on their toes. But I can tell you that I think this is fairly widely known now. For the past two or three years after Live Nation bought out AC Entertainment, and obviously Bonnaroo is part of that, they had been doing solely the book through one of their agencies. This year will change because AC will be coming back and kind of supporting their booking. So essentially what a lot of people are believing that to mean will be that we're going to see a lineup next year that will kind of return to Bonnaroo's roots. As for who that will be as far as the booking goes, we don't know that for sure yet. But we do know that it's probably likely that we can expect another jam band or two than we've seen the past couple of years, maybe another classic headliner that we haven't seen for about two years now, and maybe some other stuff that kind of goes back to the lineups of like let's say prior to 2014. Well, I can corroborate what you're saying. Me too. Because we have heard exactly the same things, almost more precisely in that C3 won't be a part of it in the way that they have been part of it in the past. And that AC, the AC will. All right. So, Nessie, this is, we could probably do an entire show just on this topic. I don't necessarily know, and I'm going to reserve judgment, but I don't necessarily know if that's a good thing. I personally think it is. I think that the lineups the past two years, while they have been good, they've been very similar to many of the other lineups that you would see at something like Firefly. That's right. And like if you want that lineup, you can go to those places. Bonnaroo to me is a place where there's an insane diversity of music. I want that. I want to be introduced to stuff that I've never heard of. I don't want to see a lineup that I'm going to see at every other place. So I think if Mr. Capps is getting back into that and having a hand in getting acts that he wants to see, I think that's great for everybody. I think so. But tag on to what Brad was asking, because he and I talked about this the other day. By the way, I'm not making a statement about it. I'm just asking, is it a good thing? No, it's legit. And I think part B of the question is, is what segment of the market was not appealed to the last couple of years? I know, you know, they went heavy with EDM, which I think worked. They brought in. They didn't have the, you know, a McCartney type classic rocker to bring in. Yeah, yeah, I know you've hinted at and I would love it. That was such a huge moment for so many people and I'd love to see him again. And he's obviously actively out there promoting his new record, which is so terrible. But OK, it's not it's not it's very bad. But the promotion that he's been doing has been pretty great. Oh, sure. He's everywhere. But so to the question, what I mean, what what is missing? The jam band, obviously, and you mentioned that that for sure. But what's the segment of that audience? You know, it went from 80,000 and plus to high 40s, low 50s the last couple of years. So that's 30,000 people that weren't there. Yeah, I was there in 2016 when it took a, you know, a nose dive, which coincidentally, that was my favorite year. Me too. I loved it. It was such a good community aspect here because there was less of a crowd to buy it, you know. Absolutely. Personally, what I think has caused that change is something that was going to happen anyways. The market has just become so saturated. I agree. We've seen so many festivals this year get canceled and, you know, you know, in some cases called out for good because there's so many options. You know, it's no longer the case where Coachella is where you go if you're on the West Coast or Bonnery is where you go on the East Coast. There's one basically in every region that always has a good lineup. Right. And I think that's why Bonnery has been smart to really focus more on community as opposed to solely the lineup. I think their numbers the past two years show that they're doing a very good market reach to kind of like the college age crowd. Well, then again, it lends the question as to why the change is needed anyway, because I think that we start asking the wrong question. If you start with the idea that you first off ask the question, what is the goal? What's the ideal number? What are you trying to go after? And and if you no longer are needing 80,000 people and you would rather super serve 45 to 60, then the whole game changes. The whole the whole platform and the whole foundation of the operation is totally different. And you can do things that are a lot crazier and a lot more bizarre, a lot more fun. Ashley Caps was here for Moon River, Roo Bus. And he said something. I love how you refer to as Roo Bus. It's a Daniel. Roo Bus. Roo Bus. That's the what podcast across from. Well, there's actually four of us. Just to back up a step. There's myself, my wife, Sharla, our friends, Chelsea and Brooklyn. So it's collectively all of us. No kidding. Most of the time when you see stuff on social, it's me or Sharla. Oh, I got you. All right. He said to me, we were talking about Moon River selling out so fast. And he said, the good news there is once we sold those tickets, we could focus on doing the small things really well. Ah, yeah, that's really good. Yeah. That's a really great point. And that sort of gets to your point. If the number is 45 or 50 or 55, that's your target and you're getting there. Then they can focus on the pods and the extras and all that, which I think they have. But will the conversation ever change until they come out and say, look, we're not shooting for 80,000 people anymore. We're not trying to be 90,000 McCartney year anymore. We put we put that on me because I didn't ask that question. OK. I will next time I talk to them. I know Mr. Caps doesn't probably want to talk about this yet, but I think if that's a fair question, something they're looking at about having being OK with the smaller crowd at Bonnaroo. Part of the reason for that may be is because there's the potentiality of additional events happening on the farm in the next couple of years. That's right. Like what? Well, they've been talking forever. That's the whole reason. Yeah, the whole reason they've done all this infrastructure work is so they can have multiple events throughout the year. They just haven't. The rumor that we've heard is that, you know, they've been cooperating a lot with the CMA Fest in order to, you know, the Bonnaroo weekend will be moved back a week next year because they don't want to compete with that in a year. We've also heard that they're continuing to have talks with the Grand Ole Opry after having that on the farm last year. So what we've heard, not from anybody official, but from some other folks in the know, is that the next event that will happen on the farm is some type of country Americano Fest. Yeah, yeah. That's always been the plan. And it won't be a camping type of thing. Or if it probably not, because what they've told me is that country fans don't camp. Fans don't camp. You're in simple. Yeah. But that makes sense. Yeah. I mean, they opened an office in Nashville, you know, the headquartered in Knoxville. They opened an office in Nashville. They've opened up the day events. They've got the buses, the shuttle buses. So the relationship with Nashville definitely has grown in the last three or four years. So that makes sense. What are some other news that you've heard throughout the ensuing months from Bonnaroo? Their bus? Mr. Bus? Mr. Bus. Come on, guys. I like re-bus. Re-bus, whatever. Well, we've heard a little bit about who may be playing. Of course, we know who we want to see playing, but we kind of went up a bit a moment ago about McCartney. It kind of makes a lot of sense that he might be coming back next year. His tour skips Atlanta and Nashville. And he coincidentally has a break in his tour dates right around, you know, that weekend in June. Really? You've actually - hang on a second. I don't mean to interrupt, but you've actually heard McCartney as a name again? Yeah. I'm seeing his name going around a lot. I mean, I know that they want to bring in another classic headliner next year. And he sold a hell of a lot of tickets in 2013. Yeah, he did. So it only makes sense. Alright, so I haven't gone onto the Infaroos and the message boards in a while. I've sort of taken some time off. But give me some other rumored names that they're talking about. A lot of people are talking about My Morning Jacket. They're probably going to have a new album out early next year. They sell a lot of tickets to Veterans. They've had a long history at Bon Roos. And the management in Bon Roos are almost one and the same. Oh yeah, yeah. So I mean, they're clearly always welcome there. I mean, just give them the witch stave and give them until sunrise. Seriously. That's a great point. Yeah, they could play for four hours. And that would be so heart and soul Bon Roos, wouldn't it? I wish. I would love to see that. Yeah, that'd be great. We've also heard there's a possibility of Phish next year. I personally kind of doubt that, but I'd be happy with it. It'd be cool. Oh Dezza, I would be willing to put a bet on being our EDM headliner next year. Let's see, what else? Red Event Fleet. They're very popular. Those kids are going to be a big deal. Bon Roos tends to always look the hot at a year late. So I wouldn't be surprised to see that. Yeah, and then put them on the smallest stage, Frank Ocean. Thank you so much. All right. So here's the thing. And I don't mean to, I feel like such a sourpuss today, but if, if... It's who you are. That McCartney show meant so much to me in 2013. I'm going to say something crazy. I'm not going to go see it again. I may not go see it again. That I don't, like that show, it had everything. And it was such a moment. It was such a seminal moment in so many people's lives. I don't know if I want to jump back in that pool. I hear you. I hear you. It's an interesting thought. You did. I don't know if you know this, Daniel. Brad, I mean, Brad literally watched a guy propose to a woman, what, during the, Literally Let Die. No, it's just, so he does, he does, Maybe I'm Amazed, right? And he drops down to one knee right in front of us and proposes during Maybe I'm Amazed. And I'm crying. I'm hugging these strangers. I'm high fiving the dude. It was just the most amazing, like, like chilling moment. And then literally the next song, Live and Let Die, fireworks everywhere. It's like the guy knew the set list before he got it. It's hard to top. It's hard to top. Yes. I felt like I got married, you know? But it was just, it was just such an amazing moment. I don't know if I can repeat that. I wanted to keep that special. I'll put it this way. One of my favorite mid-card bands, in fact one of my favorite bands, period, is Portugal the Man. Me too. I've seen them four times now. Yeah. Each show, I'm just as hyped about. Just gets better and better, that show. I have no problem seeing him again. Yeah, you got to get him while you can get him too. Because, you know, it didn't gonna last forever. But I understand what you're saying, Brad. That was, that's an interesting thing about that. Because when you were talking about some of those bands, Fish, you know, they've been there. It feels, when you say it that way, not you, I don't mean to put it on you. It feels familiar. It feels a little like trying to re-catch, you know, lightning in the bottle a little bit. See, I take it as it feels like home. People would love those kind of acts because it makes them feel familiar again. It gets mom's spaghetti sort of feeling, right? I think maybe you and I. Well, it's not out of the question for Bonnery to book headliners to a trip. No, absolutely not. Radiohead has been there multiple times. Pearl Jam has been there multiple times. Red Hot Chili Peppers. I tell you what we should do. Yeah, Warren Haynes was, you know, pretty much irregular. And I forget sometimes in the music world that they all come around about every three or four years and there's a whole new crowd of, you know, people hitting. It's going to be their first time. So what I'm doing at the Nashville A.C. office told me a very interesting stat about a year ago. Around 70%, I want to say, of the attendees at any given Bonnery are attending their first Bonnery. So there's going to be a huge crowd that hadn't seen Paul in 2013. Wow. That's a big number. I would have not guessed that. That's interesting. Yeah, that's something to put on the list to go back and ask them. Yeah. In fact, you know, you said something else, too, that's interesting. And we're flying by the seat of our pants on this certain episode. But what if we made our wanted wish list? What if we made our wanted Bonnery list? Me and Barry can make ours. But Daniel, who would be your who would be your wants? Not people that you think are going to be there. What are your what are your top five wants? So as far as like acts that we've never seen on Bonnery, it is way past time to get Dolly Parton down to me. I have been saying this for a decade, Daniel, a decade. Dolly Parton would be the most amazing Friday night headliner that you can find. Don't put her in the heat because she'll she might melt. But at night, could you imagine how fun that would be? You know, Kenny's going to come. He's already been on the farm once. Kenny will swing by in a moment's notice for Dolly. Lionel Richie will show up. She anybody she invites would come. I would adore that. Lionel Richie, though, back in 2014 was one of my favorites. He played before Jack White that night, right? And he was loving every minute of it. You could tell that he was having the time of his life, kind of playing to a younger crowd. Yeah. He was like joking around with the crowd and, you know, like trolling us and everything. That was such a great slot. I know, like you said, it might be too hot for Miss Dolly to play at that time, but I can really see her being like an opener for somebody like that. That was my that is my number one swing and miss. Yeah, you're right about that. I thought that was a disaster and it was huge. I got to put in a plug for my wife's big one. She is dying to see Peter Frampton on the farm. Interesting. So I think he would be a good fit to maybe in that kind of free headliner slot to bring along that thing that makes it a guitar go wah wah and talk all night. Right. Talk box. Would he have to do Frampton Comes Alive, the whole that would be that or just whatever he wanted? Oh, hell yeah. Play that thing in full. That's interesting that your wife goes Frampton over Paul Simon. I feel like they fit the same. They fit the same glove, don't you? I think Simon fits the line on Richie Glove. Really? You think so? All right. Who else you got there, Daniel? Who else is on your want list? I'm personally I'm hoping some of the AC people are listening to this. For the love of God, please bring Tain and Paula back. That was the best show I've ever seen. That show was interesting for me because I was such a massive LCD sound system fan. I have been for over a decade. I love him so much. That LCD sound system show was like the show I missed my entire I missed for a decade. I missed that show every time I finally got to see it at Bonnaroo. And then directly after that was Tain and Paula. I didn't go into the Tain and Paula show with the right mindset, if you want to know what I mean. I know what you mean. I was there at both of those shows. It was good. It was really good. I need to see it again. I need to see it again. They supposedly have a new album coming out at some point next year. So I'm hoping it's early in the year. So they'll be on tour. I want to see them back so bad. Their vibe just perfectly fits Bonnaroo. They're such a soulful, lifeful band. I think Kevin Parker is just an absolute genius. I want them back so bad. Right. And they can pull if they really wanted to. They can pull a ton of people, a ton of friends, a ton of friends that can join them. Almost Bonnevere style. Oh absolutely. He produces everybody. He seems like, gosh, I could keep going all day. I know that I should probably give the other two ladies at the bus a shout out. They would really love to see Lana Del Rey there next year. It is so baffling. Has she been there before? Have we had Lana yet? I don't know. No, we have not. No, because I'm thinking of Lorde. It is baffling to me that Lana Del Rey has not been on that festival stage. I think she could fit the Lorde slot that she had a couple of years ago very well. Yes, she could. And one more shout out I want to give. There is a really cool band here in Huntsville called the Wolves of Chernobyl. I think they fit the vibe very well. Say that again. Say that again. They're called the Wolves of Chernobyl. They're kind of like a progressive folk band if you mixed in tool with it. I'm kidding. Yeah, give them a Google search. I think they'd be a great Thursday band. Interesting. We really do appreciate you talking to us. We love talking shop with any Bonnaroo vet. Yeah, let's do it again. Let's do it again before festival time. Let's talk plenty. Well, we're going to have some fun stuff coming up over the next month with the kind of fun secret project we're working on. And then we will definitely be doing our Wednesday night party with the boys and girls from Camp Redaroo on the Wednesday night of Bonnaroo. And then there's Ichikku that's coming up right before Bonnaroo next year. Oh, that's right. Before we let you go to explain Ichiru. Ichiru is sort of like trying to bring back what the original Bonnaroo festival was. And they're trying to do the night before party, right? Yeah. So quick history. Ichikku was the first event that was ever held on the farm grounds in 1999. This was what two, three years before the actual Bonnaroo started. It was a great idea, but it was a bit of a mess. It kind of turned into a footnote and a joke, but still like a cherished one. They are bringing it back to an extent. So again, I have to be careful what I say. I don't want to step on anybody's toes. But it will happen the day before Bonnaroo starts on Tuesday at a location that is virtually walkable. And again, I'll let them announce that. They can put all the details out. Just what I need. Another day. No, knowing us will be there Monday. We'll be there Monday to Monday. We were there this year, I guess like you were, Dan. From Wednesday morning until Monday morning. That's right. It is mainly an event that's put on by some of the good folks that host us every year from the city of Manchester. And they have some cool things in store. I've been speaking with them a bit, helping out a bit. Yeah, definitely worth looking forward to. Well, Daniel, if you ever need anything from us, you give us a call. No questions asked. We'll be there for you. Absolutely, guys. I appreciate it. I really enjoy it. Do you have the Tennessee Homesick Blues there, Barry Courter? I like how she says, beesh. Yeah, beesh and ho. That's Barry Courter and Brad Steiner. This is the podcast. A podcast for Bonnaroovians, by Bonnaroovians. Really one of the top level, top line Bonnaroovians, RooBus. Thanks for joining us. Daniel from the RooBus, at RooBus. You can follow along. All the breaking news. And I loved his poll for artists that he wants to see at Bonnaroo. It's been my top line, my top want and desire for a decade is Dolly Parton. I know. I think it does. Nothing makes more sense than Dolly Parton. Like you, he said that to us and I've thought about it over and over and over and that's just perfect. How come I didn't think of that? So when I go to, I think that there is, if you don't live in Tennessee, I can understand why you would roll your eyes at Dolly Parton. But she is a god in this state. She is a god. And nobody, nobody is revered more in this state than Dolly Parton. Period. You can't find one other person that's got a higher level of love. Absolutely deservedly so. If you don't know, just for example, when the fires raged through Gatlinburg and burned things up, she paid people's mortgages. And then did a fundraiser, but she had, I think, her own pocket paid mortgages. But absolutely, you're right. Her philanthropy is absolutely through the roof. And that's why she's just beloved in the state. And there's no, there's nobody that, that to me wears Tennessee pride on her sleeve more than she does. And that's why she would just be absolutely perfect. And she's also very, very good. She's an unbelievable songwriter. And let's be honest, and I hate to bring this part up, but I don't know how many more shows we got out of her. Well, there's a couple on my list that are that way, especially with, you know, losing Prince and losing Bowie and Aretha Franklin. And Tom Petty and Aretha. It's been a bad year. Yeah. And, you know, those guys were not, those were surprises. All right. Let's go through your list of your wish list. Now, if you were to put together a list of bands that you want to see, now they could be bands that's been there before. But this is a common thread you see on Reddit and on the Twitter and on the the InfoRu. We want to hear yours. The WhatPodcast.com or at the What Podcast on Twitter. Let's hear your wish list there. Barry Courter. Let's go through it. My list is sort of all over the place because Daniel got me thinking about a lot of different things. Dolly is at the top. Sure. But after our conversation, it made me think, do I want to see people that I haven't seen? Do I want strictly bucket list items? Do I want bands that I think actually fit at Bonnaroo? Interesting. You actually took a took us. You're trying to find a theory and things. I'm trying to. I don't have a cohesive. I'll give you an example. On my bucket list. But he's somebody that I'm not sure works at Bonnaroo would be Van Morrison. Van Morrison. Also on my list. Barry Courter. Very good. Yes. I would absolutely love to see Van Morrison. Okay. Van Morrison at Bonnaroo brings up a conversation that I've had a lot with friends of mine. He's a lot like Morrissey in that as much as I would love to see him at Bonnaroo, you don't know what kind of show you're getting at. Absolutely. Stevie Wonder can be that way. If Stevie decides to go deep, deep, deep. Yeah. And you're wanting nothing but hits. Stevie Wonder is very similar to Van Morrison in that way. If he decides to go nothing but deep hits. I mean deep tracks and you wanted hits. You're maybe not. You're stuck. Van Morrison. Prince could have been that way. James Brown used to be that way. He did a show here at Riverbend that people didn't like because they thought they were going to get number one hits and he didn't want to do number one hits. So Van Morrison depends on where you put him. You know? I mean Van Morrison at 3 in the afternoon on the what stage? I'm not sure that works for me. And it probably wouldn't work for him either. Probably not going to work for him. He's going to be pretty cranky if that's the case. But he is definitely high on my list. He's high on my list too. Van Morrison on the which stage? 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock? I would be into that. I just never thought that he got the credit as a songwriter as he deserved. I guess it depends on which circles. He's got in my house and always has been. That's awesome. Bob Dylan of course great songwriter but I always thought that Van Morrison had something a little bit more interesting for me than Bob Dylan. Yeah. Well a beautiful singing voice. There's one. Alright. Who else are you putting on your list there Barry Gordon? And then so on my want to see list I would love to see Adele. Adele's been to the farm. I didn't see it. Yep. This was almost 10 years ago. It's right before she hit with Rolling in the Deep. And she was on if I'm not mistaken that tent. And I walked by it because I knew of her because I was in this industry and they were working her the song to us at the time. The record label was. I remember walking by and being like oh that's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Who would have thought that was going to be the superstar of the decade. Well you know we did the we did the do overs. Yeah. Or on the podcast. That would be one for sure. But I'd love to see Adele. I would love to see McCartney and that that's the reason this comes up because of Daniel saying that. And when he said it and it still rolls in my head I'm like I've seen it done it. But it is McCartney and I probably would want to see him every single chance. Right. When I said to him I don't know if I want to see that again. That's not negative. I'm not. I just don't. I don't know. I've had the moment. But let's be honest. I'm probably going to the show. You don't want to miss it. If that ends up being you know the thing that happens at Bonnaroo 2019 I'm probably going to go. Let's be honest. Dolly Van Morrison Adele McCartney for sure. And then sort of the in the line of these are acts that I would love to see. I'm not even sure they're touring type of thing. I would love to see Joe Jackson. Wow. Elvis. That's fascinating. I love Joe Jackson. If he were to that would be really really interesting. Yeah. If he were to come and do the I'm the man era stuff beat crazy that whole. Hang on a second. I know this boy talk about a generational divide. I know you and a couple of guys at our camp would be into that. But do you think anybody would be at a Joe Jackson show. That's what I'm saying. I didn't. I didn't make my list for anybody. I know. But that's but that's what's so fascinating about it. It would work. It would absolutely work. But I don't know if anybody would be there. I don't. I don't know. And along those lines and he was there before but he was there with Alan Toussaint was Elvis Costello. I would love to see Elvis doing a lot of Elvis. Or really anything. I want Elvis Costello. I know this world is killing you. So Elvis Costello makes a lot of sense and it would be an amazing get and it would be a lot of fun. It's going to be one of those shows that I think we look back on and be like that didn't work. He's like Van Morrison. Yeah. I mean he's he's did. He did the Nashville album. He did the stuff with Burt Bacharach. I love that Burt Bacharach. I can't believe I'm saying that but I love it. It's great. It's all standards. He's not going to a standards. Again this is not going to happen. It depends on what he does. And then I'd love to see Timberlake. Yeah it'd be a great show. And you're going to laugh. And I'm not sure it's one I would stay the entire time for but I just hear it's such an entertaining show. I'm not sure I wouldn't want to see Taylor Swift. Oh man. Taylor Swift is not. OK so she does nothing but stadiums now right because she wants to maximize her stage performance. There's just no possible way that's happened. No possible ways happening. Like I said. And I know why. I know why you would say that. I know why you would want that. But she has such a controlled environment in which she wants to perform and she wants every bit of stagecraft up to her and by her hands. If you thought that Kanye's first show was stagecraft to a point where it was belligerent and annoying. Watch out for Taylor Swift. It's not it's just it's just not something that could ever ever happen. It's a wish list. I understand. I understand. But you probably should just go. And the other thing too that about these wish lists that that are unfortunate is like you put. I'm getting a lot of text messages from friends of mine about Drake or Daft Punk. Drake would work. But again you're going to have to drop a million dollars. It's a million plus. Daft Punk's never going to happen. I believe and I may be eating crow one day. Daft Punk is never going to happen because they're going to drop a million plus. They're going to go after the Rolling Stones. They're not going to drop a million. But don't you think I mean isn't that part of the question we asked earlier. What does it take to get those other 30,000 people if in fact that's what they want. If they want to get it back up to the 80,000 number what's it going to take. It's going to take a Rolling Stones or a Daft Punk. So here's my thing. I know we all love Daft Punk but I have a feeling that deep down they don't move the needle. I wonder if they move the needle in people that actually buy tickets. Maybe I'm wrong. I just don't know. I tell you what it's such a fluid market anymore. I mean it's you know you used to get a two or three year cycle out of some stuff and then two or three months and then move on. I mean Daft Punk doesn't really do a lot of shows. But I sure as hell hope that if they did do a show of Banra everybody would come. Pharrell, all the buddies. The whole team shows up. Yeah. All right. Nile Rodgers. That's a pretty good list. I'm going to start my list with of course Dolly and Van Morrison. So you've already got two of my five. There is another old legacy female that I might be wrong about this has never been to the farm and if she has it was like year two. So you're going to have to apologize because I wasn't there that year. But when I think of like mid afternoon which stage Angel Olsen's nice. I love Angel Olsen. Julian Baker would be phenomenal. But imagine if Bonnie Raitt was in the Tennessee sunshine in the middle of Saturday afternoon. I would lose my mind. I love her so much. Another artist that just doesn't tour much doesn't do a lot of shows. But boy she would just sound right. It would just sound right as a legacy act sometime in mid afternoon. Bronte Raitt another one on my list. Now I know we're going a little old here. We've gone basically to places where we're going back to legacy. But there is so many artists that have never even been on the farm that have so much cultural impact. You can ask why Drake has never been. I mean I got to imagine because of money. You can ask why Coldplay has never been. Coldplay just doesn't fit probably the strategy in which they're going. Outkast is a strange one. Outkast I don't get it. When they were supposedly on the lineup a few years ago and didn't happen to shock everybody. But that same year was it that year or the year after. There was another band on that had just reunited that had just put out maybe the best album of the year. Why they didn't get on the farm makes no sense to me. And it makes no sense why they haven't been there ever. Now that they're back together or at least kind of back together. Why can't we get a tribe called Quest. And maybe they're not doing anything anymore. I mean maybe that run at Coachella and then the Saturday Night Live and then the album. Maybe that was it for them because they wanted to honor a dude's memory. But I don't know. It just seems like it would make so much sense. And then the other one that it's a long shot. It's a pull for me. And you may not know him but in my world I live and die by 60 soul. It's practically all I listen to at the house. And the guy for me that I feel never got the credit that he deserves. And by the way he'll tell you he never got the credit that he deserves. It's a Chicago soul artist named Syl Johnson. So if you look back and you see what Boner is done in years past they had when they had the king of soul Philadelphia soul and Solomon Burke on stage. Nobody was there. And then two years later he dies. They put all of these soul artists on right before right before they're about to go. And so Johnson he's written so many hits and you don't know any of them because they've been sampled time after time after time. Kanye sampled a bunch of Syl Johnson stuff. Jay Z is sampled a bunch of Syl Johnson stuff. So if you give me Syl Johnson on a lineup and all of a sudden maybe they find Jay Z and Beyonce as a headliner. You are going to get complete madness. You don't know it but this might be one of the most sampled songs of all time. Kanye Wu Tang Jay Z Public Enemy. They have just used this song time and time again. It's that opening. And the man's made millions just by sitting around and watching everybody samples art his work. That's a good one. It's got a little of that funky drummer beat to it. Yeah. Yeah. And then of course you go down the other list of stuff like Radiohead. I really want to come back. The National. I slept on the National for so long and then I saw them in Atlanta at a festival Shaky Knees. I was blown away with how good that live show was especially at night in the dark. I want Jungle to come back because that show last year was good but it's better at night. I think Daniel is exactly right. Tamenpala needs another spot and I really love the idea although they're not my favorite. We've talked about this before. My Morning Jacket doing a late night all night show is almost too good to be true. I was standing in the field watching them whatever five years ago six years ago and a young 20 year old daughter of some friends. She looked up and she said they are the perfect Bonnaroo act. They're damn near close. Yeah I totally agree. Everything about it. We've talked about it in past shows how you can just hear a certain song a certain part of a song and imagine standing in one of those tents whatever time of day and it just defines that whole festival feeling. So I agree. I'm a huge fan of theirs so I would see them in any occasion. They are the opposite of what I was saying earlier about the McCartney thing. I will see them anytime every time. No kidding. Yeah I just love them. I don't know what it is I love them. The McCartney like you maybe it's that you know this past year and it's funny our campmate Mike Dewar we revisited that whole Friday where we went from Davy to Mavis no to Warren Treaty to Mavis to Nile Rogers and so the evening ended about 930 and I don't even remember who was getting ready to Bonnivate. It wasn't that because that was later but the headliner was coming he said I don't want to see it because my day is already perfect. Yeah and no disrespect to whoever it was it can't get any better. So I'm going to go back to camp and decompress. I love I love a man who's just satisfied. He's satisfied with his day. He was right. And so that's kind of like you with the McCartney I mean you had a we all had amazing times but what you had was trans dental on trans dental. And then back to the McCartney thing that same guy Mike Dewar I'll never forget it after the McCartney he got there on Friday afternoon Mikey D he walks around the farm he sees everything for a little while then he goes to see Paul McCartney and the moment he steps back into camp he packs his bag up gets in the car and said I've seen all I need to see. It's never getting any better than this. See you guys next year. It was he might dropped out of the campsite. It was unreal. But that's what I'm saying. Those are the kind of wish list things that actually come true that make Bonnaroo so magical. Let's hear yours at the what podcast on Twitter or the what podcast dot com. Maybe we'll swing back in and do another show here in a couple of weeks. Let's do it and hopefully we'll talk to you on the What Podcast. We'll talk to you then. The stories that define the artist. Who are they. What are they. What will you see the what. Which bands this year that matter. Brad Steiner and Barry corner.