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edit: found part of that question. "A festival with an average daily attendance of 50,000 to 60,000" - so no re: attendance (just right under there)
It was 90k in 2019 and sold out in February for this year. I'm not plugged in enough to speak on its "clout" but attendance-wise its arguably stronger than it was back then
Well in a sense, it's not, since the top-tier is held by a lone festival. It's really the 'big one'. Then you have the next three, followed by your OSL's, Hangout's, Govball's, etc.
Honest question here - outside of the experience of Bonnaroo - is it really that much different from say a Jazz Fest on a talent/attendance level? It's lost it's edge a bit and that is not meant to be a knock. Perhaps it is fatigue, but one kept evolving while the other three have felt more tired.
edit: found part of that question. "A festival with an average daily attendance of 50,000 to 60,000" - so no re: attendance (just right under there)
Just perspective I guess. When this question was asked, I feel like we were wondering if Bonnaroo should be talked about with Gov Ball and Firefly as opposed to Lolla and ACL. No its back comfy in the top 4. Personally feel like Roo still has much more of an identity and maybe even more “clout” than Acl at this point.
This is probably the right answer. Living in Texas all I hear the kids mention is ACL. This is kinda what I was meaning earlier when I said they don’t seem to get the same media coverage as they did before. It used to FEEL like a big deal. Now? Not so much.
Just on this point, and this is also anecdotal: I've lived in Houston my whole life. It's never not been like that.
Post by piggy pablo on Jul 13, 2020 3:23:22 GMT -5
If lineups or "clout" are a factor, the most recent two lineups we've seen from Bonnaroo crush the most recent two from Lollapalooza, and as much as this board clowned on Roo 17, go check out the Lolla 17 lineup and let me know what makes it better. To me it was Roo and it wasn't particularly close.
I think Slack got it right. If anything Coachella elevated to another level as opposed to Lolla, ACL, Roo drooping to Govball/Firefly territory.
For comparison’s sake, the other three have anywhere from 90K-400K followers on Instagram while Coachella has over 2 million. Facebook has ACL and Roo around 600K likes, Lolla right over 1 million, and Coachella over 2 again.
Post by piggy pablo on Jul 13, 2020 8:34:34 GMT -5
I wasn't really saying we should consider Lolla a lesser festival. I was saying I don't really see the argument for it being in a tier over Bonnaroo if we're considering quality. It's pretty clearly Coachella and then the other three to me. Any of the three could be the best lineup in a given year. ACL was the best the past two years, imo. Bonnaroo probably would have been this year. And Bonnaroo has late night sets and that just makes it inherently better lol sorry if that's homerish but music ending at 10 and having to navigate going to a club sucks shit
Yeah, to me Lollapalooza should drop a rank tho it's a long way from dropping from something like Lolla to something like Gov Ball or Firefly so idk
S/ Coachella - Bonnaroo - ACL A/ Lollapalooza - New Orleans Jazz Fest B/ Gov Ball - Firefly - Bottlerock - Boston Calling - Shaky Knees - Rolling Loud C/ Music Midtown - Riot Fest - Forecastle - Pitchfork - III Points - Bunbury - Newport Folk - Beale Street D/ Hopscotch - Moogfest
I do not think I would go to Lolla again any time soon. Really a bad crowd. Much worse than Gov Ball or Firefly.
And really since its moved to four days the lineups have been really really watered down as well. Taking the top 8 from a fest and only being able to see 4 is a real tough bullet to swallow when the bottom is so thinly spread. I think ACL is significantly better than Lolla now.
Bonnaroo atleast has taken steps to better themselves after the community (and ofcourse the sales) were negative about the line ups the past few years and the last 2 years, I feel like they've got their shit back together in some way. Sure, there is not Yuma-tent or whatever but they've tried to find back what made Bonnaroo Bonnaroo whereas people have been complaining for YEARS about the Lollapalooza line ups (especially yes since they went to 4 days) that it's just 8 headliners most of the time masking the fact that their undercard has gone shitter and shitter each year.
Music festivals in general are less of a big deal too. At least amongst the early 20s crowd. Basically everyone that actually wanted to go to one has been. The most buzzed about shows in my circles in MO the last few years have been Sunday Service, Travis at Lolla 18, and when Drake brought out Ye in Chicago in 16.
the way i interpret it is festivals in the United States are bigger than ever in terms of attendance and revenue, but aren't as "cool" as they used to be. when anyone can go to a pretty good big city festival not too far from their house, festivals as a whole lose some of their mystique. as opposed to when friends would drive several plus hours to a festival and come back with tales of a magical wonderland where there was music on every corner and the weed flowed like wine. just speaking from my experience, i can't stress how fucking crazy the idea of Bonnaroo sounded when my friends came back from the first edition in 2002 and shared their stories.
All festivals should thrive after COVID. Wild how fast things that used to be so routine like festivals feel so foreign now.
the key will be holding power. the festivals with the liquidity/cash reserves to hold through the pandemic should see a lot of success. i remember at one point thinking people might still be too scared to go to a festival once we are past the worst of it, but just look at the behavior of young people and bars during the reopening. we are social creatures, and there is something inside of us that wants to be in packed crowds near each other celebrating, even those of us that consciously think we hate crowds.
Bonnaroo atleast has taken steps to better themselves after the community (and ofcourse the sales) were negative about the line ups the past few years and the last 2 years, I feel like they've got their shit back together in some way. Sure, there is not Yuma-tent or whatever but they've tried to find back what made Bonnaroo Bonnaroo whereas people have been complaining for YEARS about the Lollapalooza line ups (especially yes since they went to 4 days) that it's just 8 headliners most of the time masking the fact that their undercard has gone shitter and shitter each year.
I mean there’s no debating that Lolla’s lineups aren’t always great. It feels more geared towards 16-21 year olds anyways. I think Bonnaroo’s greatest mistake was moving away from the “festival for everyone” vibe instead of just booking it like Lolla on a farm, which seems like they moved away from that with the return of AC.
Re: other points in this thread
ACL’s crowd (like most places in Texas) is not great. I think that is to be said for many city fests in general, Lolla included. You just get a far younger demo mixed in with families, regulars, college types, and those who are just there out of sheer convenience. You lose some of that at destination fests. Like Coachella has gotten this bad wrap as an elitist paradise, which might be true for some, but in my experience there’s still a large portion of hardcore music fans.
30 years from now they won’t look back at the 10’s and talk about “the big four”. It will be Coachella then all the rest, stateside anyways.
Yeah, to me Lollapalooza should drop a rank tho it's a long way from dropping from something like Lolla to something like Gov Ball or Firefly so idk
S/ Coachella - Bonnaroo - ACL A/ Lollapalooza - New Orleans Jazz Fest B/ Gov Ball - Firefly - Bottlerock - Boston Calling - Shaky Knees - Rolling Loud C/ Music Midtown - Riot Fest - Forecastle - Pitchfork - III Points - Bunbury - Newport Folk - Beale Street D/ Hopscotch - Moogfest
I'm confused what these rankings are based on tbh. I think MM has a bigger attendance than Shaky despite it having a worse lineup. Also Gov Ball, Fire Fly and BC all have bigger budgets than SK. BC got Foos, RHCP and Rage while SK said Rage was too expensive.
Yeah, to me Lollapalooza should drop a rank tho it's a long way from dropping from something like Lolla to something like Gov Ball or Firefly so idk
S/ Coachella - Bonnaroo - ACL A/ Lollapalooza - New Orleans Jazz Fest B/ Gov Ball - Firefly - Bottlerock - Boston Calling - Shaky Knees - Rolling Loud C/ Music Midtown - Riot Fest - Forecastle - Pitchfork - III Points - Bunbury - Newport Folk - Beale Street D/ Hopscotch - Moogfest
I'm confused what these rankings are based on tbh. I think MM has a bigger attendance than Shaky despite it having a worse lineup. Also Gov Ball, Fire Fly and BC all have bigger budgets than SK. BC got Foos, RHCP and Rage while SK said Rage was too expensive.
In terms of both quality and attendence, I guess.
Yeah, but I wouldn't put SK in 'C' right, or no? Idk. Also BC's undercard was garbage with those headliners so I guess having a better undercard (SK) makes a bit up against bigger headliners (BC) but I agree that BC is probably a bit bigger..
I'm confused what these rankings are based on tbh. I think MM has a bigger attendance than Shaky despite it having a worse lineup. Also Gov Ball, Fire Fly and BC all have bigger budgets than SK. BC got Foos, RHCP and Rage while SK said Rage was too expensive.
In terms of both quality and attendence, I guess.
Yeah, but I wouldn't put SK in 'C' right, or no? Idk. Also BC's undercard was garbage with those headliners so I guess having a better undercard (SK) makes a bit up against bigger headliners (BC) but I agree that BC is probably a bit bigger..
Shaky Knees is a lot closer to Riot and Forecastle than BC and Firefly imo. Love the fest but I think it’s C tier here.
I'm confused what these rankings are based on tbh. I think MM has a bigger attendance than Shaky despite it having a worse lineup. Also Gov Ball, Fire Fly and BC all have bigger budgets than SK. BC got Foos, RHCP and Rage while SK said Rage was too expensive.
In terms of both quality and attendence, I guess.
Yeah, but I wouldn't put SK in 'C' right, or no? Idk. Also BC's undercard was garbage with those headliners so I guess having a better undercard (SK) makes a bit up against bigger headliners (BC) but I agree that BC is probably a bit bigger..
if youre gonna have III points in the C, I think SK belongs too
Alright Druid you coward, now unlock the thread where we argue about attendance figures
Coward? I’m here every day filling prescriptionsputting chips insidefor people with COVOD to make it where they can't cross the gates of heaven. You better back that up.
edit: found part of that question. "A festival with an average daily attendance of 50,000 to 60,000" - so no re: attendance (just right under there)
It was 90k in 2019 and sold out in February for this year. I'm not plugged in enough to speak on its "clout" but attendance-wise its arguably stronger than it was back then
It was 90k in 2019 and sold out in February for this year. I'm not plugged in enough to speak on its "clout" but attendance-wise its arguably stronger than it was back then
Man that ‘16 undercard was ass. Also just realized that their highest billed hip-hop acts were Macklemore and J. Cole. Probably not the greatest formula.
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