RaveBeetle Festival and Hydration Packs! Save 10% with code THEWHATPODCAST

Bonnaroo Podcast

Make the most out of Bonnaroo with The What Podcast!

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is a music and arts festival on a farm in Manchester, Tennessee, and The What Podcast has been the weekly show about it since 2018.

We bring you artist interviews, insider info from organizers, tips and tricks, and community features.

Guests who joined us for Bonnaroo

All Bonnaroo episodes

1h 15m

S09E33Aug 26, 2026 Video

Bonnaroo's Cancellation: A City Official on the Long-Term Vision for The Farm

Bonnaroo is taking 2027 off, and we wanted to dig into what's next. This week we're joined by David Bruce (I Am Bonnaroo) and Ryan French, a Manchester city councilman and tourism official with a front-row seat to what a fallow year actually means for the town Bonnaroo calls home. We get into the economic ripple through Manchester, why Bonnaroo is the "bell cow" for festivals far beyond itself, what a year off does to the local businesses and community that depend on it, and why our guests are hopeful about 2028 and beyond.

1h 9m

S09E32Aug 19, 2026 Video

Is Hulaween Everything Bonnaroo Used to Be?

Is Hulaween everything Bonnaroo used to be? We put the question to John, our EDM and jam-scene correspondent, and his answer says a lot about how both festivals have changed. John makes the case for Hulaween, String Cheese Incident's own festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, where the daily lineups just dropped.

1h 9m

S09E31Aug 12, 2026 Video

How Has Bonnaroo Changed? A Festival Photographer's View

How has Bonnaroo changed over the years? We asked someone with a rare vantage point - Elizabeth Thorpe, festival photographer and our West Coast correspondent, who's been going to Bonnaroo since 2004 and now shoots it from inside the photo pit. Beth walks us through what the festival experience is really like from behind the lens: the "first three songs only" rule, why the pit is her happy place, and how Bonnaroo has evolved from a freewheeling field party into something bigger, busier, and more produced.

56m

S09E30Aug 5, 2026 Video

What Bonnaroo Fans Actually Want From a Podcast

What do Bonnaroo fans actually want from a podcast? We surveyed our listeners - and 89% agreed on the answer. In this episode of The What Podcast, Barry, Bryan, and Russ break down the results of our listener survey: where you're really listening (YouTube is running away with it), how you found the show, and what content you want more of.

52m

S09E29Jul 22, 2026 Video

Bonnaroo's Lineup Secrets, From a Booking Agent Named Keith Richards

We had the chance to sit down with Keith Richards this week. Not that Keith Richards - let's get that out of the way early. Our actual guest is the newly-named Head of Festivals at Ground Control Touring, an independent booking agency representing artists from Waxahatchee to Japanese Breakfast to Manchester Orchestra.

1h 10m

S09E28Jul 15, 2026 Video

We Filled Out Bonnaroo's 2027 Music Census

Bonnaroo puts out an official music census every year asking fans what they want to see next - so this year, we sat down together to answer every single question. We walk through it all: genres, headliners, comedy acts, late-night programming, the future of That Tent's new location, Bonnaroo Radio, and more.

56m

S09E27Jul 8, 2026 Video

The Bonnaroo Yearbook Guy Is Now Bonnaroo Famous

Meet the man who's become a Bonnaroo legend, one signature at a time. Caleb Arias, creator of the Bonnaroo Yearbook, joins us for the third time to break down how his passion project exploded this year. What started as pitching strangers to sign a notebook is now three-hour lines, sold-out printed editions, and fans hand-crafting custom trinkets just for him.

1h 30m

S09E26Jul 1, 2026 Video

How Bonnaroo 2026 Survived the Storm (And Became Unforgettable)

Bonnaroo 2026 might have been the best one yet, and we are here to break down the entire weekend for you! We recap a festival full of serendipity: a surprise wedding in The Grove, an unforgettable run-in with singer-songwriter Jesse Welles on Shakedown Street, Bryan's first-ever Roo Run, and the Noah Kahan set and fireworks that closed it all out.

1h 8m

S09E25Jun 24, 2026 Video

How Bonnaroo Gives Back: Live from Planet Roo 2026

We're back from The Farm! First, Barry and Russ give a quick recap of an unforgettable Bonnaroo 2026 (our full deep-dive recap is coming soon!). Then we bring you our live panel from the Planet Roo stage, where we sat down with the nonprofits behind Bonnaroo's charitable mission: Kelsey Dewald (Planet Roo / Bonnaroo Works Fund), David Conover (Grundy County Food Bank), Emily Torgrimson (Eat for Equity), Anna Sampson (We Are Neutral), and Nancy Tarr & Deborah Dunn (Well Dunn Foundation).

50m

S09E24Jun 8, 2026 Video Chattanooga, TN

It's Bonnaroo Week! Hype, Stories & Last-Minute Tips

It's Bonnaroo Week! We all got together at Lo Main in Chattanooga to get hyped, swap stories, and run through our last-minute tips before we all head to the farm. Joining us: Austin (aka Squeegee Guy), Tara, and Cassie. We get into going VIP, counting up our Bonnaroos (the math is harder than you'd think), taking family to the farm, staying safe out there, the shows we can't wait to see, and our final tips before we leave.

47m

S09E23Jun 3, 2026 Video

What Everyone Forgets to Pack at Bonnaroo - and Where to Get It

You packed for weeks. You made a list. And you're still going to forget something - everyone does. This week we sat down with Brendan from Mr. B's Festival Needs General Store, who's spent nearly 20 years watching festival-goers realize they left the most important thing at home. Toothbrush, pillow, tent poles, stakes, a power bank - Brendan's seen it all, and he tells us what people forget the most and how to make sure a missing item doesn't wreck your weekend.

49m

S09E22May 27, 2026 Video

The Bonnaroo Squeegee Guy Has a Story You Haven't Heard

The Bonnaroo Squeegee Guy is one of the biggest viral moments to come out of Bonnaroo 2025's cancellation and letdown, and this week we finally got the full story. Austin, the man behind the pool noodle who went viral squeegeeing mud during the Bonnaroo 2025 cancellation, joins The What Podcast to tell us how the video blew up across TikTok, and the unexpected twists that came from it - including how it's sending his mom and aunt to their first-ever Bonnaroo.