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Yea, I didn't get FOMO last year, but after hearing about all the positive changes Roo has made, the secret sets, the unique sets and everything in between, I think it's about time I make the trek back to Tennesee. If the lineup has atleast 20 acts I wanna see, I'll be there.
Post by 3post1jack1 on Jun 11, 2018 9:01:12 GMT -5
Tempering the positive statements I made, while I am heartened by the positive changes, they weren't enough to give me FOMO exactly.
I didn't participate in the discussion regarding Bonnaroo being "worth it" last week, but I have to agree with esteban. Any music festival is a pain in the ass, but Bonnaroo is significantly more of a pain in the ass than other festivals I have attended.
This is for me personally: I'm not a camper, so I have to go the hotel route, which means I either have to pay for the shuttle package, which is great but incredibly expensive, or I have to book a hotel and drive myself, which means a thirty minute drive to/from Murfreesboro, waiting in traffic for 30-75 minutes to get in everyday, and driving back at 3am. Add to that your standard music festival negatives like crowds, potential sound issues, heat, etc., and the bottom line is the lineup and schedule need to be pretty goddamn stellar for me to consider Bonnaroo "worth it".
As such Bonnaroo needs to give me more than your average festival for me to attend. Movement replaced Bonnaroo for me this year and last year, and even during a down year lineup wise like 2018, Movement gave me acts I was excited to see from gates to close, and then after that numerous interesting late night options throughout the city.
Then we have Voodoo, who consistently puts out lineups that are just OK for me and my tastes, but I still go because it's a pretty easy festival to deal with logistically, and it doesn't hurt that tickets are still remarkably cheap relative to other festivals.
Post by Jake Jortles on Jun 11, 2018 9:13:20 GMT -5
One more thing that was an improvement was that the Which stage sounded fucking great. I usually considered any Which Stage act to be a lost cause in the past. Bon Iver and Alt J sounded like they were on the What Stage. Idk how much sound quality changes from act to act, but I was thoroughly pleased with how crisp and loud they sounded.
Post by Delicious Meatball Sub on Jun 11, 2018 9:19:28 GMT -5
I’ll be interested to see if little bright spots on the lineup were the sign of a renewed focus on a creative lineup, or if it was just dumb luck. The emphasis on Bonnaroo special features is great, but it doesn’t mean much to me if the features are bands idgaf about.
One more thing that was an improvement was that the Which stage sounded fucking great. I usually considered any Which Stage act to be a lost cause in the past. Bon Iver and Alt J sounded like they were on the What Stage. Idk how much sound quality changes from act to act, but I was thoroughly pleased with how crisp and loud they sounded.
They fixed the sound on Which. Only took them 17 years. Glad they got around to it.
In all seriousness though, I’m glad they made some changes for the better. FOMO was worse this year than last. I want to come back.
Tempering the positive statements I made, while I am heartened by the positive changes, they weren't enough to give me FOMO exactly.
I didn't participate in the discussion regarding Bonnaroo being "worth it" last week, but I have to agree with esteban . Any music festival is a pain in the ass, but Bonnaroo is significantly more of a pain in the ass than other festivals I have attended.
This is for me personally: I'm not a camper, so I have to go the hotel route, which means I either have to pay for the shuttle package, which is great but incredibly expensive, or I have to book a hotel and drive myself, which means a thirty minute drive to/from Murfreesboro, waiting in traffic for 30-75 minutes to get in everyday, and driving back at 3am. Add to that your standard music festival negatives like crowds, potential sound issues, heat, etc., and the bottom line is the lineup and schedule need to be pretty goddamn stellar for me to consider Bonnaroo "worth it".
As such Bonnaroo needs to give me more than your average festival for me to attend. Movement replaced Bonnaroo for me this year and last year, and even during a down year lineup wise like 2018, Movement gave me acts I was excited to see from gates to close, and then after that numerous interesting late night options throughout the city.
Then we have Voodoo, who consistently puts out lineups that are just OK for me and my tastes, but I still go because it's a pretty easy festival to deal with logistically, and it doesn't hurt that tickets are still remarkably cheap relative to other festivals.
I don't mind camping, but camping at Bonnaroo is an ordeal. The whole entry process after a long drive and then lack of shade sucks. I'd do it again at some point, and I probably would have gone this year if I would have guessed that Muse and The Killers would be as enjoyable as I found them. I've seen them both and expect some quality, but I didn't expect the additional effort both acts put which to me made them stand out as headliners. It might take Phish or something crazy like that to get me back to deal with all things Bonnaroo again. But I'm probably willing to put out the effort if they ever do have a lineup I really want to see. This year's turned into what looks like a much better lineup than it did on paper, but that did require elevating some of the low and middle card acts to a higher spot than maybe they should be. Looks like it might have been worth it afterall?
Tempering the positive statements I made, while I am heartened by the positive changes, they weren't enough to give me FOMO exactly.
I didn't participate in the discussion regarding Bonnaroo being "worth it" last week, but I have to agree with esteban . Any music festival is a pain in the ass, but Bonnaroo is significantly more of a pain in the ass than other festivals I have attended.
This is for me personally: I'm not a camper, so I have to go the hotel route, which means I either have to pay for the shuttle package, which is great but incredibly expensive, or I have to book a hotel and drive myself, which means a thirty minute drive to/from Murfreesboro, waiting in traffic for 30-75 minutes to get in everyday, and driving back at 3am. Add to that your standard music festival negatives like crowds, potential sound issues, heat, etc., and the bottom line is the lineup and schedule need to be pretty goddamn stellar for me to consider Bonnaroo "worth it".
As such Bonnaroo needs to give me more than your average festival for me to attend. Movement replaced Bonnaroo for me this year and last year, and even during a down year lineup wise like 2018, Movement gave me acts I was excited to see from gates to close, and then after that numerous interesting late night options throughout the city.
Then we have Voodoo, who consistently puts out lineups that are just OK for me and my tastes, but I still go because it's a pretty easy festival to deal with logistically, and it doesn't hurt that tickets are still remarkably cheap relative to other festivals.
I don't mind camping, but camping at Bonnaroo is an ordeal. The whole entry process after a long drive and then lack of shade sucks. I'd do it again at some point, and I probably would have gone this year if I would have guessed that Muse and The Killers would be as enjoyable as I found them. I've seen them both and expect some quality, but I didn't expect the additional effort both acts put which to me made them stand out as headliners. It might take Phish or something crazy like that to get me back to deal with all things Bonnaroo again. But I'm probably willing to put out the effort if they ever do have a lineup I really want to see. This year's turned into what looks like a much better lineup than it did on paper, but that did require elevating some of the low and middle card acts to a higher spot than maybe they should be. Looks like it might have been worth it afterall?
mentioning Phish you bring up a good point. as important as the undercard is, I really need at least two headliners I care to see in order for me to go to Bonnaroo. I can't imagine Bonnaroo booking an undercard strong enough to warrant me attending with zero headliners I really care about. So I need both a varied, unique, and interesting-to-me undercard and a couple of great headliners.
Subjectively, there are less and less headliners I care to see, so this puts Bonnaroo in a bit of a pickle if they want my money (and I'm sure Bonnaroo is in meetings as we speak discussing how they can best meet my needs). It would have to be some combination of Phish, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Depeche Mode, R.E.M., or Dr. Dre, and most of those artists probably don't make sense financially for Bonnaroo.
So when I speak negatively of Bonnaroo I'm not putting everything on them, as my specific musical tastes are clearly not in line with what sells in the current festival market.
I’ll be interested to see if little bright spots on the lineup were the sign of a renewed focus on a creative lineup, or if it was just dumb luck. The emphasis on Bonnaroo special features is great, but it doesn’t mean much to me if the features are bands idgaf about.
My guess is dumb luck. They got some acts that are good and appeal to the masses (sturgill, muse, anderson paak, rufus) , but I think they only actually cared about the second part of that equation.
Bon Iver's sets being relatively empty was depressing. Those sets being lightly attended is just a self fulfilling prophecy. "See when we book good artists nobody shows up. Why wouldn't we just only book trash?" Nobody is at those shows because the fans of those artists have nothing else to see on the lineup.
Used a lot of hyperbole to make a point, but whatever. Im just glad we had the lineup we did this year to go along with all of the major improvements made over the last 5 years.
I’ll be interested to see if little bright spots on the lineup were the sign of a renewed focus on a creative lineup, or if it was just dumb luck. The emphasis on Bonnaroo special features is great, but it doesn’t mean much to me if the features are bands idgaf about.
My guess is dumb luck. They got some acts that are good and appeal to the masses (sturgill, muse, anderson paak, rufus) , but I think they only actually cared about the second part of that equation.
Bon Iver's sets being relatively empty was depressing. Those sets being lightly attended is just a self fulfilling prophecy. "See when we book good artists nobody shows up. Why wouldn't we just only book trash?" Nobody is at those shows because the fans of those artists have nothing else to see on the lineup.
Used a lot of hyperbole to make a point, but whatever. Im just glad we had the lineup we did this year to go along with all of the major improvements made over the last 5 years.
Sasquatch also booked Bon Iver, and had a lot in their undercard that fans would also want to see... They did not do well at all and may not come back next year.
I’ll be interested to see if little bright spots on the lineup were the sign of a renewed focus on a creative lineup, or if it was just dumb luck. The emphasis on Bonnaroo special features is great, but it doesn’t mean much to me if the features are bands idgaf about.
My guess is dumb luck. They got some acts that are good and appeal to the masses (sturgill, muse, anderson paak, rufus) , but I think they only actually cared about the second part of that equation.
Bon Iver's sets being relatively empty was depressing. Those sets being lightly attended is just a self fulfilling prophecy. "See when we book good artists nobody shows up. Why wouldn't we just only book trash?" Nobody is at those shows because the fans of those artists have nothing else to see on the lineup.
Used a lot of hyperbole to make a point, but whatever. Im just glad we had the lineup we did this year to go along with all of the major improvements made over the last 5 years.
Eh, I know I’m a broken record here, but they don’t need a lot of people to show up to these sets, just enough people. Enough people who probably would have stayed home without Paak and BI on the bill. The mix was pretty good this year, and the ticket sales followed, so hopefully they don’t abandon this experiment. If I were them I’d focus on the top 3 instead. But you could still be right.
My guess is dumb luck. They got some acts that are good and appeal to the masses (sturgill, muse, anderson paak, rufus) , but I think they only actually cared about the second part of that equation.
Bon Iver's sets being relatively empty was depressing. Those sets being lightly attended is just a self fulfilling prophecy. "See when we book good artists nobody shows up. Why wouldn't we just only book trash?" Nobody is at those shows because the fans of those artists have nothing else to see on the lineup.
Used a lot of hyperbole to make a point, but whatever. Im just glad we had the lineup we did this year to go along with all of the major improvements made over the last 5 years.
Sasquatch also booked Bon Iver, and had a lot in their undercard that fans would also want to see... They did not do well at all and may not come back next year.
I dont think anyone is denying the importance of booking acts that have mass appeal. The ratio just swung too far inone direction, especially in 2017 imo.
Post by pondo ROCKS on Jun 11, 2018 11:06:43 GMT -5
I had to leave early Saturday (I was sick before I got to Roo and probably shouldn't have gone but had to try) but saw enough improvements (especially with Kalliope not keeping folks awake all night) to keep going back. For all the negative I heard beforehand, it was a positive experience despite being Ill.
That said, Thursday night was way better then I think most thought it would be (Spencer Ludwig stole the show for me Thursday) and sets were pretty smooth overall with hardly no sound problems IMO.
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest
“Welcome back, Sasquatch!” praised one Facebook user among the mostly positive comments on the festival’s page.
“We’ve taken the fans’ impassioned responses to heart and are fired up to share a lineup rich with musical discoveries in the spirit of the best Sasquatches past,” founder Adam Zacks said in the announcement.
Bonnaroo '15/'16/'17/'18/'19 - ACL '13/'14/'15/'17/'18 - Fun Fun Fun '14 - SXSW '13/'14/'15 - FPSF '16
2019 Shows: 4/30 - Vampire Weekend 6/28 - Father John Misty & Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 9/6 - Cardi B w/ Teyana Taylor 9/28 - Vulfpeck w/ The Fearless Flyers
“Welcome back, Sasquatch!” praised one Facebook user among the mostly positive comments on the festival’s page.
“We’ve taken the fans’ impassioned responses to heart and are fired up to share a lineup rich with musical discoveries in the spirit of the best Sasquatches past,” founder Adam Zacks said in the announcement.
Who said they had the worst sales ever? Reports from the festival I read said the crowds were bigger that the previous years, which had bigger and more mainstream artists.
Even if you were right, what point are you even trying to make? We should want shitty lineups because its more financially viable for whatever corporation runs the event?
Post by trantsgiving on Jun 11, 2018 11:57:20 GMT -5
In terms of why I think this year sold better, here are some observations I made:
-so many people came for Eminem. I talked to many who came mostly just for him
-the crowds felt very spread out throughout the weekend. You could get pit for pretty much any show (except Eminem) if you showed up an hour before and you could even just walk into some 5 minutes before (Muse, Sturgill, Jungle). I get that not every pit will be filled but it felt very easy this year. You could even get in front of the soundboard 20 minutes before Alt-J. This leads me to believe that for a lot of people, it was a combination of the festival and many little things that got them to come rather than the top 5-6 because many of this shows filled up 5 minutes before.
-all the barn activities felt fairly well attended.
-the country acts drew many older crowds from near Nashville that otherwise would not have been there
-as expected, there were many bro-types. I could hear many tents near me play EDM every night.
Also I felt security was very easy to get through and much more efficient.
I feel like there wasn’t really a main reason this year sold better (maybe due to the fact that a unique experience at Roo is still better than a saturated city fest market). Eminem certainly helped though.
I mean, Bonnaroo booking Bon Iver #1 would have been misguided. But they didn’t. They booked him number 7, lower even than the last time he played. Why are we even talking about Sasquatch? It’s not comparable.
Best year since 2014 without a doubt, only hiccup of the weekend was entering off 111 Wednesday but once we got in was such an amazing time. The sound at pretty much every stage especially the Other (except for a couple shows) and Which was unbelievably good. Sound bleed wasn’t too bad but I imagine it was insane during Nectar. Security wasn’t bad, entry was a breeze. So much to do every night, easy to get a good spot for shows, so many good shows, twice as many shows I really enjoyed this year compared to 2017.
Top 10: Bassnectar Anderson .Paak Virtual Self Pond Space Jesus Alt J Chic CloZee (Kalliope) Pigeons Playing Ping Pong STS9
what was the comedy like this year without the comedy tent?
The comedy and cinema were spread out around Bonnaroo this year. You could catch some movies at the barns or during the day at the Kalliope. I saw Adam Devine open for Denzel Curry and T-Pain (opened with the same joke too) but he was fine. Then there was comedy at the Christmas Barn, in the plazas, and I heard some live podcast tapings at the Solor Stage.
Last Edit: Jun 11, 2018 12:33:12 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
pondo ROCKS
Bonnafunky Dirtyroo has viking horns and a clock
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest
One thing that baffled me (in a good way) was my arrival. I was trying to find the highway entrance but never saw a line of cars and got kinda lost. Ended up making a couple turns and happened upon a tiny coned off turn that apparently was the West tollbooth. But the weird part is that there was literally no line. There were 2 other cars total at the gates. I drove right in. This was Thursday at 9:15am.
