Ken Weinstein, co-founder of Big Hassle Media, has been handling publicity for Bonnaroo since the very beginning of the festival in 2001. But he's not just a part of the team - he's a super fan of the event.
Weinstein joined Brad, Barry, and Lord Taco from The What Podcast on The Farm back in 2019, and again called in to the show in 2020. In this High Five Clip, the longtime publicist explains why being on the Bonnaroo Farm is never not great.
If you agree, you can grab your Never Not Great T-shirt here, or snag the "Radiate Positivity" T-shirt on the Consequence Shop. You can also revisit the full episodes featuring Weinstein here.
Don't forget to like, review, and subscribe to The What wherever you get your podcasts, and follow the Consequence Podcast Network for updates on all our shows.
Hey everybody. Welcome back to another high five clip. I'm Barry Courter. That's Lord Taco.
As you'll see, Brad is again not with us. These Hi5 clips are things that we've started
doing sort of in the off season, I guess, if you will. While we talk about Bonnaroo year
round, there's not always a full podcast worth of information to do every week, but we want
to make sure we're sort of out there because we talk about it every week. That's the whole
reason we started doing this. Definitely talk about it and think about it every week. And
yeah, we're basically killing time until the lineup comes out next month. Yeah, that's
right. Until then, there's a few things we can touch on. Yeah, there's always news and
a little bit of news and we just sort of figure they're maybe not worth an entire 60 minute
episode but, you know, worth talking about. And we have these, you know, vast interview,
this vault here at the World Headquarters. And the more we thought about it, we thought
some of this is really good information and this is another one of those. I went back
and pulled a clip from our interview. We did two interviews with Ken Weinstein. The first
was in 2019. He actually came by Camp Nut Butter on a Sunday morning and Russ introduced
him to some southern hospitality and a mason jar. Yes, some liquid courage. Some liquid
courage and he's become a fan and as have we. But he sat with us for an hour or so and
told us about how he got involved. I mean, there he was in 2001, you know, minding his
own business, doing his job with the big hassle media that he owns in New York and a couple
of guys from Superflac took him to lunch and said, hey, we think we're going to do this
festival. You want to be involved? He said, I've never done anything like that. And they
said, neither have we. And a year later, there's Bonnaroo. Yeah. And I love that story because
he talks about still to this day in his folder of proposals, he's still got the original
proposal they sent that just said summer music festival because they didn't even have a name
yet. Didn't even have a name. That's how early this was. So that's pretty neat that he can
recall all the way back to, you know, it's very beginnings. Yeah. That's in the first
interview that we did in 2019. And then in March of 2020, that, you know, the great lineup
that we all talk about had come out and they sold not the quickest, they sold out not the
quickest but they sold out the earliest they sold out before March, which had never happened
before. Yeah. And so we had Ken, he was driving around in New York and joined us by phone.
I think it was like a Sunday morning, wasn't it? It might've been a Saturday morning, but
yeah, it was a real off time. It was a real last minute thing. I mean, just thanks to
him to make it happen that quickly. And that, that it was, yeah, it was an oddball thing,
but it was very oddball. Of course, little did we know because I think that was days
before that we really view the full impact of exactly right. What was coming for us.
I mean, March, 2020, that's exactly right. And, and so what we talk about is the inside
baseball stuff and Ken has been there from the beginning. Um, and has some great inside
baseball stuff, um, that we talk about. And he also dropped, I don't think it was this
particular interview when he dropped the never not great, uh, comment about Bonnaroo, even
when it's, uh, I think we were talking about the 2016 lineup, which at that time was the
lowest attended, uh, in, um, what was it? 15 years, 16 years. Yeah. And, uh, he made
the great comment. Yeah, but it was still great. It's never not great, uh, which you'll
find on our t-shirt, which by the way, you can find in our merchandise portion on the
what podcast.com. You sure can. You can buy that t-shirt and, uh, yeah, we attribute that
phrase to Ken and, uh, we think it sums up Bonnaroo. Yeah. Yeah. And he talks a little
bit in this clip about, uh, why. And it's interesting to me because as I, as you said,
it leads into the whole pandemic and then some of the things that they've gone through
and the fact, you know, the conversations that we had with, uh, um, Corey and Brad about,
you know, making things back the way they were and taking care of the fan and figuring
out what went right, what went wrong. And, uh, that's one of the things that Ken, that
we talked about at great links and both of those interviews with him about how the fact
that when it's all said and done and it's over, they all get together and say, what
do we do? Right? What do we do wrong? And what can we do better? And, uh, yeah, that's
what he, that's what he gets into a little bit here. So, um, Russ, you want to talk about
some of the news that's happened since we were last together now, or you want to do
it after we hear from Ken? Let's do it after the clip. Let's hear this clip and then we'll,
we'll come back and we'll finish it out. All right. So here we are. This is 2020 Ken Weinstein,
um, like I said, he gave us a phone call while he was driving around in his, at his home
in New York. So here we go with Ken Weinstein.
It's still very important to tell about a story. There's a lot of news, new narratives
for 2020 and we're going to keep on telling those stories and getting people excited.
I think, um, a lot of what, the sellout is all the stories we told last year. So, you
know, there's a lot of information that's going to come out in the next several months.
That'd be pretty exciting. Yeah. Let's talk about that sellout. That's
the reason we're talking. I mean, the fact that this thing sold out so quickly and it's
gotten so much energy, right? I mean, people are so excited about this. It's amazing. Yeah.
Yeah. I think, um, people always say to me, and I might've said this in the last interview,
you know, how was Bonnaroo? And I'm like, it's never not great. So, um, I think there's
the word of mouth on the festival. It couldn't be any stronger than it is right now because,
you know, it's the gateway to the song. It's the rite of passage. It's the state of mind
that people want to tap into. And we're incredibly inclusive. We're a bunch of nice people. We're
a bunch of loving people. We're a bunch of music loving people. And we just like having
a good fun, safe time together. And everyone's welcome. Everyone's invited. All types of
kind, sizes, creeds, everything. And it's the land of acceptance. And Bonnaroo is the
best. And that's, and people love that. Who wouldn't want to be there?
Yeah, it is, it is quite amazing. And it's got to be a source of pride when you get to,
you know, look at the calendar and say, oh my goodness, uh, we sold out quicker than
we ever have. Um, I mean, this is, this is not something that major festivals can send
you that they do on a regular basis with this type of, you know, uh, quickness. It just
doesn't happen very often. All right. The testament to everything that you were saying,
the story that's been told, the feeling that has been created by Bonnaroo and in over the
year after year after year and what you guys are continually to build. And, you know, at
some point, uh, you got to look around and be like, what more is there that we can do?
Uh, but you guys are continually find new ways to, to super serve the audience.
Huh? Well, that's for sure. You know, we never
sit on our laurels. We are always looking for ways to improve. And even though we sold
out last year, we still want this year to be better. And there's a lot of focus on
that. And we, we want to make sure everyone's happy. We want to stay current. We want to
do new stuff. Um, and there's a lot of, and people know that and that's why they keep
coming back because they know we're creative and that, um, you know, we're going to keep,
we're going to keep on injecting new, cool, interesting things into the fabric of the
festival. I would like to say the warning is important here because it's not the fastest
we sold out, but it is the earliest we sold out. 2002 sold out in 19 days. Can't beat
that too easily. Um, the second one, 2003 sold out nearly as fast-ish, but this one is
the earliest. So we have never sold out, we've never sold out before March 1st before. That's
unheard of. And I think it's, you know, it's because of, you know, people want to tap in
and be, and come hang out. And, um, they know we do things right down there and they know
it's a lot of fun. Uh, and it's, and the lineup is insane.
Well, yeah. And I think, I think the way you said earlier is exactly right. And I think
that that, that is part and parcel of why we love Bonnaroo so much. It's never not great.
I mean, if there's, if there's anything that is more of a Bonnaroo, it could be a Bonnaroo
catchphrase. Never not great. Never not great. Never not great. I like it. Bonnaroo never
not great. Pouring down rain, pouring down rain. Maybe a lineup that maybe doesn't hit
a hundred percent for you. Maybe, you know, you had a bathroom emergency that really screwed
up a day or two for you. It's never not great. 100%. You know, I just came back from, uh,
Phish in Mexico and that was an incredible experience. Not just because everyone was
in Mexico, but because of these like-minded people getting together, gathering. It's where
they see each other. That's where they come to catch up, hang out, dance, see great music,
but really to connect. And when I was in a band in the nineties, a tiny band, you know,
we would draw like 30 or 40 friends every time we played. When we broke up, our friends were like,
we're never going to see each other again. You know, like this is what brings people out.
And it's where it's a gathering that's created, you know, that's created by the band. That's,
and it becomes something bigger than the band. And I think Bonnaroo has achieved over its 19
years, something very similar. All right. So yeah, there you go again, uh, just one five minute clip,
part of our conversation with Ken who owns big hassle media. Uh, he's a guy that 99% of people
will never see at Bonnaroo, but he's the one who coordinates all the back, back area media stuff
for people like us, uh, works with a lot of the artists, does all the promotion stuff throughout
the year and, um, is a big, big part of the festival and why it is what it is. So, yeah,
yeah. And, and really helps us out a lot too. Oh, he's, yeah, he's great. Easy to work with.
But thanks to him, but, uh, yeah, let's get into there. There've been a couple of things happen.
So they did the presale, which we alluded to a little bit, seemed to go well there.
Presale. Yeah. The, uh, black Friday, uh, kicked it off. It seemed to have been pretty successful.
Uh, they've already moved up to tier two on ticket pricing. Um, of course, like we said,
the area nine three one, the, uh, former flea and butter. Yeah. Yeah. Flea and tick area. Yeah.
Yeah. Sold out right away. Yeah. As we hope knew it would. Um, yeah. I listened to some of the
stuff and read a lot of the online stuff. Again, the whole point is if you have the money and can
afford it, you know, go for it. Uh, if not, there's, there's certainly other options. Um,
I'm not in that universe where, you know, I could do it, but I certainly would. It's worth. Oh yeah.
It's definitely worth it. Yeah. What's your sense of reaction? You feel like this is going to be a
good year crowd wise? I think so. Yeah. Um, you know, uh, just from the overall, uh, you know,
internet, um, you know, commentary and, you know, it seems to be, uh, you know, of course this is
still before the lineup and that's really what's going to make it or break it for a lot of people.
But you know, at least the people that are diehard Bonnaroo fans are back in for sure. Yeah. I got
the same. What, what's else? What else? Uh, what other news? I know we had a Rue clue. We had a Rue
clue and, uh, it was Grizz. Yeah. Nice. Nice. And, uh, we had a leak, right. Or a presumed leak.
We have a presumed leaked. I don't think it's confirmed, but, uh, Odessa is going to be one
of the top three. Yep. Yep. I, I, um, like I said last week, I think this lineup is important.
I don't think it's near the maker break that we, you know, I, some others probably said back in
June and July. Um, but I think they, it sounds like they're happy with it. They, they know what
they got to do. Yeah. And we trust them. Yeah. Yeah. They've gotten it right more times than not.
You know, you never going to get everybody all, you know, on the same page about a lineup.
It's like, except in 2020, except in 2020. Right. There've been some, but, um, all right. And, uh,
what else? Anything else? Well, speaking of lineups, we got a shaky knees lineup last week.
Yes, we did. Very good lineup. I would be happy if that was a Bonnaroo lineup.
My thought, the same thing. And you know, it is kind of, there's typically, there's a little bit
of bleed over, you know, you, you'll definitely see maybe at least four or five of these on the
Bonnaroo lineup. So, uh, you know, I'm thrilled with it. It gives me very, uh, Bonnaroo 2019 vibes
too, because you've got the killers and Muse, which were two of their headliners in 2019.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a very good lineup. And I think we're seeing some of that, um,
survival of the fittest, you know, type of stuff. Yeah. Some are, some are going away and falling
off or taking a year off. And, uh, that means, you know, the, the art, the, uh, festivals can be a
little choosier. Um, it's a good point. We didn't, yeah, we didn't really get to touch on that, but
there's been several festivals this year that have either canceled outright or just pausing for a year.
Uh, what was it? There was, um, is it Railbird? Yeah. Railbird, one in Louisville. Um, what was
the other one? Firefly? Firefly. Yeah, that's the one. Yeah. I already had a couple of, uh,
friends who have been on this show who are, uh, they've become festival goers and said, well,
you know, that one's put on hold. So it looks like we'll be at Bonnaroo this year. So yeah,
that kind of automatically makes the decision for some people. If you've only got the time or money
for one festival in a year, uh, suddenly your options are cut down quite a bit. And it's
interesting. We might need to have them back on David and Trevin because, uh, like I said, they've
become pretty not prototypical. They're not 20 year olds, but they're, you know, I don't know how
they are. I don't, I don't mean to, I'm not going to guess and insult them, but they're, they're
more middle-aged than they are teenagers, but they've become big festival, uh, regular attendees.
And they would be, I would think exactly the target market that Bonnaroo has gone after with
some of these changes where they can tailor-make, you know, um, they, they like their comfort.
They like their comfort. And that seems to be what Bonnaroo has, uh, put more emphasis on this year.
You know, they did say we're not messing with GA. That's going to be the same experience, but, uh,
if you are a little more seasoned and have a little bit more money, maybe you want to upgrade
and get a little bit nicer accommodations. You want the festival experience, but do you like
a hot shower or air conditioning or whatever? So yeah, it'd be, we may, may need to have them back
on, especially kind of update and see what other festivals they've been to and what they like and
don't like, uh, that sort of thing. So, all right. Anything else? Um, do we have any previews or for
what's coming up? We're going to, of course our next big show is going to be when the lineup comes
out, right? That will be, yeah, the big, big show. But before that, I think we need to, the three of
us, we want to do our own predictions. Uh, it was at predictions or wish list or a combination of
both. I think a little of both. Yeah. I've got, I've got a little both. So yeah, that'd be a,
it'd be a good one to get out right before the lineup officially comes out. We can see how we
do with our predictions. Yeah. I think we'll probably do that next. As soon as we can get Brad,
get him out of bed or whatever it is. It's yeah. Yeah. And so busy probably by then we'll have some
more recluse come out, maybe a few more leaks. Yeah. You never know. But until then, uh, you know,
there's a, here's a high five clip. And like I said, it's another two episodes. I really didn't
remember that we did. We've had so many multiple episodes, uh, or guests that have been on more
than once. I knew, you know, we've had a couple, but, uh, I, I'd forgotten about having Ken on
twice. Yeah. Yeah. And hopefully we'll have them back on again at some point. For sure. And like
I said, if you like the inside baseball stuff, uh, this is, this is it. Yeah. There's nobody more
inside than Ken has been there. Like I said, the, just hearing, hearing the story about how he got
involved is pretty amazing. Can I can't imagine, you know, Hey, we're going to do this, uh,
this event. You want to be involved. And, and he also pointed out and I'll just give that kind of
give this away. Cause I think, uh, I think Bryan Stone ask, um, because I had always heard the same
thing too, that at one point they had like 90,000 people was a sellout and he says, no, it was never
that high. Uh, I think they started at 50 and then sold that out that first year and what, 13 days?
Yeah. Something like that. First couple of years sold out crazy fast. Yeah. With zero,
zero money spent, zero traditional marketing. Um, so anyway, I hope you'll go back and listen to,
to both episodes, uh, gives you, gives you really kind of a clue where they were in, uh, 2020,
2019 and 2020. And then where we are, if you want to go back and listen to Corey and Brad in that
interview, it gives interesting to see evolution. Yeah, for sure. And, and this one, this one in
March, 2020 was kind of a roller coaster because, you know, the lineup came out and we all loved it.
The next thing you know, they're, they've sold out, which was a huge deal and just seemed like
everything was going great. It's right at the top of the roller coaster. And then we just, yeah,
came all the way back down. Exactly. All right. Well, there you go. Uh, we will be back next week
with something. It'll be either another high five clip or hopefully we'll have Brad. Maybe we'll do
a full episode. We're about due. So, uh, subscribe, ring the bell, share. Uh, thank you so much. Uh,
send comments. You know, we've asked for those, uh, before and I, I don't know, Russ, I'm putting
you on the spot. Um, we haven't talked about the phone. We have a phone line. If people want to
call and leave a message or if we do, we have, it still exists. Uh, I think I'll, I'll check on that,
but we'll make sure it's working. But yeah, yeah, that'd be fun. That'd be something else we can do
on these clips is maybe have somebody call and ask a question and we can try to answer it. And if we
can't answer it, then we'll do our very best to go find the person who can. Yeah. Uh, that would be
four two three six six seven seven eight seven seven. Awesome. All right. Thank you guys so much
and, uh, see you next week.
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