The What Podcast
Booking Bonnaroo with AC Entertainment
Published October 25, 2023
https://thewhatpodcast.com/high-five-clip/booking-bonnaroo-with-ac-entertainment

The music festival landscape is vast and wide.

Luckily you have the what podcasts by your side at all times.

Which bands this year that matter with Barry Courter, Brad Steiner, Lord Taco, diving into

the world, the music industry, music festivals and everything in between.

Another one starts right now.

Welcome into the what podcast, which bands this year that matter over the years, we have

talked to countless bands, artists and festival goers every now and then.

We like to take a look back at some of the best moments of the what podcasts five or

so minutes in what we call cleverly a high five.

Another great moment from the what podcast right now.

You're really good at this.

I have no idea what's happening.

You know, when you show you guys think you see a year.

I don't know.

I mean, it's what we do.

Five a week.

Are you a five?

Um, well with, with, with, with young children, yeah, not, not, we don't, we can't, you know,

we send the, uh, we send the young staff out for that kind of stuff, but we see a lot of

shows.

We still see a ton of shows.

Trust your staff because you can't see every person that you've booked.

You know, you've, you probably have not seen live.

But I think of somebody like Yola, who I think is like your, your, your secret weapon this

year who's going, I mean, she's got a Grammy nomination for crying out loud and how you

found her when you booked her.

I don't know, but I got, I have a feeling it's a Dan Arbot connection.

But I love that album and I love her so much, but I don't know what she's going to be live

and I don't know if anybody's seen her live.

And this is where, this is where Steve, you know, I don't know, not to toot new horns,

but Steve and I have been doing this for a long time.

Um, I was turned on to Yola.

Um, I was, let's call it a year and a half ago.

Um, it could have been a little less, but let's say it's about that and kind of knew

the connection with Massive Attack and her history.

And then I listened, I got, I got a couple of, um, songs before the record came out.

And again, this is where we have, you know, just being who we are in the professionals

and being in the business, we, we, we, we get turned on to things before they're really

out there.

And I just remember listening to the, to the first couple of tracks that are heard and

you just know that is going to be a thing.

You know, and so we jumped on it.

We, we had, we booked her.

I think I, you know, the first event we had her on was our, um, inaugural Railbird festival

in Lexington, Kentucky last year.

And she opened one of the stages.

And since then, you know, obviously her career has really taken off, but we knew, you know,

we really need to get her on Bonnarooo.

But so much about an artist like that is it's, it's, you know, timing really plays into

a huge part of it, right?

Because you, it's, it's important.

I don't know what kind of cycle we're on.

There's so many bands to book in any given year.

And really, if you think about it, like if you're an artist that's breaking, what's your,

what's the opportunity that you have at Bonnarooo?

It's really, you almost have like one shot at it, right?

Because if we book you and it isn't the right time in your career or we don't, you know,

or it's not the right slot or look or whatever it may be, then the opportunity to come back

is what are we, five year, four years, five years, three, it depends on the artist and

what happens in their career.

But we're not really repeating an artist very, very regularly.

It's hard that you do.

But the ones that you do, like you guys can go through and probably really take some pride

in the amount of artists that you think you probably broke.

Started small.

Sure.

I mean, I can go off the list here.

I mean, I think you broke the Alabama Shakes.

I mean, I think you broke the Black Keys.

Banks, Banks, put her on a look that she hasn't had since.

I don't know that we're breaking any.

Like I'm just like, I hear that and I just, I feel like, I don't know that that's the

right word.

We're giving the opportunity with a great look, with a great really music head audience.

But I don't know that we're breaking.

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, I think it's more, especially in the Southeastern region, it's like, it's very

valuable to help, you know, build awareness.

And we've definitely like, that's not lost on us or anyone else, but break is not the

right word.

But we've also been, I think a lot of that also speaks to just being like engaged and

being like, you know, I was actually, I did an interview with the LA Times last week about

Tame Impala because they're doing a Tame Impala.

And we've had a Tame Impala on the festival three times, starting with the tent on a Sunday

at 6 p.m.

That was in 2013, I believe, when the, you know, the second record was just kind of breaking.

They came back in 2016 and did the late night set on second stage, which you referenced

earlier, and now they're headlining.

So, you know, we didn't break Tame Impala, but we knew that Tame Impala was a great band

and we, you know, fought on it early.

But there are a bunch of artists that really, really thank you a lot.

Well, we provide an opportunity.

But I think what we're, I think one of the, there's a couple of things you're missing

though, right?

Because we're just one part of it.

You know, just because we book a band and give them an opportunity at Monterey, that

isn't the end of the story, right?

To me, there's two other huge factors there.

One, the artist still has to come out and perform and put on an amazing show.

But then the number one thing, the reason why we get so excited to book the undercard

in the early slots at Bonnarooo is because it doesn't matter if we book a band early

in a 10 or on the Who stage or whatever, if nobody shows up to see them.

And that's why Bonnarooo is the best festival in the world because our audience shows up

to every show because it gives us the confidence as it really allows us to be curators and

taste-based groups and say, Hey, we really think you are going to be turned on by this.