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While this has become the expectation, and we may not see eye to eye with them on what would be considered a blow-your-mind booking… it’s interesting to think about how someone from the Bonnaroo team is so comfortable with this level of failure. It should be obvious that one of the 5-7 most prestigious festivals in the country should be attempting to land a whale every single year. He says it as if they have recently been booking McCartney level acts but oh this year will just be a little less mind blowing than RHCP / Post Malone / Fred Again.
They haven’t made a splash headliner booking since 2017. It’s not simply “hey thats how the cards fell for us this year.” No - you’ve failed to book a head-turning #1 act in 7 straight tries. With how long it’s been, it would be fair for someone to claim Bonnaroo is currently incapable of booking a McCartney level headliner. Actually weirdly triggering if they are talking as if they still have the swag of a festival that could do that even if they wanted to.
Upcoming Shows: 11/8 - Goose @ The Andrew J. Brady Center 11/13 - Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros w/ The Wolfpack & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra @ Cincinnati Music Hall 2/14 - Alan Walker @ The Fillmore Detroit 4/15 - Ben Folds w/ The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra @ Cincinnati Music Hall
I can't really dig it up right now, but I had a back and forth with Brad on Twitter a few weeks ago where he basically said that.
My impression in connecting the dots with what he was saying was that Roo has approximately the same budget as usual, but the talent costs in that higher tier area have now gone somewhat beyond that budget.
From what I do know and what I strongly suspect though, I do think that the subheadliner lineup is definitely going to be in a very good position. I personally think that area is Roo's strength in terms of lineup right now.
Post by Jim the Luck DЯagon on Nov 5, 2024 10:16:59 GMT -5
I for one would much rather them not even try to book whales and continue taking shots at creating a more well rounded and interesting undercard and promoting interesting acts towards prime time slots, which they’ve clearly been trying to do recently.
I would have gladly traded u2 for not the worst bonnaroo lineup in history
Post by Mr.BelgianAmbers on Nov 5, 2024 10:20:34 GMT -5
I think they’re still in recovery mode from the pandemic. That's both Bonnaroo and all the artist agencies. Things will get back to how they were before but you can see it globally and not just Bonnaroo. Let festivals experiment with booking a new set of headliners during this time when they are recovering from the canceled editions.
In Bonnaroo's case they had a last minute cancelation. And I must say the latest lineups haven't really been affected too much. 2022 was a big sign of in what direction they decided to go. I feel in 2023 and 2024 their focus has mostly been on expanding the campground experience and Where in the Woods. And I agree that it is mostly focused on the younger audience but that makes sense trying to grow the festival.
The last 3 years, none of the headliners Bonnaroo booked didn't deserve that slot. Tool was probably the biggest booking in recent years and I don't think many were disappointed.
Which makes me wonder, who do you all think was the biggest headliner booking in the last 3 editions? And who was the smallest?
I think they’re still in recovery mode from the pandemic. That's both Bonnaroo and all the artist agencies. Things will get back to how they were before but you can see it globally and not just Bonnaroo. Let festivals experiment with booking a new set of headliners during this time when they are recovering from the canceled editions.
In Bonnaroo's case they had a last minute cancelation. And I must say the latest lineups haven't really been affected too much. 2022 was a big sign of in what direction they decided to go. I feel in 2023 and 2024 their focus has mostly been on expanding the campground experience and Where in the Woods. And I agree that it is mostly focused on the younger audience but that makes sense trying to grow the festival.
The last 3 years, none of the headliners Bonnaroo booked didn't deserve that slot. Tool was probably the biggest booking in recent years and I don't think many were disappointed.
Which makes me wonder, who do you all think was the biggest headliner booking in the last 3 editions? And who was the smallest?
Upcoming Shows: 11/8 - Goose @ The Andrew J. Brady Center 11/13 - Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros w/ The Wolfpack & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra @ Cincinnati Music Hall 2/14 - Alan Walker @ The Fillmore Detroit 4/15 - Ben Folds w/ The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra @ Cincinnati Music Hall
When I first learned we got them, I thought getting the Foo's was huge. It was still a very big deal, but it felt really cheapened when they were at what felt like dozens of other festivals too.
I for one would much rather them not even try to book whales and continue taking shots at creating a more well rounded and interesting undercard and promoting interesting acts towards prime time slots, which they’ve clearly been trying to do recently.
I would have gladly traded u2 for not the worst bonnaroo lineup in history
I think 18 was worse than 17
But U2 wasn’t really the issue there. They also booked RHCP and Weeknd who aren’t cheap and had Chance as a 4. The subHLs were pretty pricy too, Lorde was doing an arena tour that year. I think that lineup was an attempt to go more pop to sell enough tix to keep the fest going after the worst selling year ever.
not even gonna try with thursday anymore but if childish gambino and luke combs are 2/3 of the fri-sun headliners, who would round that out?
Kings of Leon and The Black Keys
I’m actually pretty surprised we haven’t had The Black Keys since 2011. Not pushing for it. Just seems like a filler band that would get booked regularly.
I for one would much rather them not even try to book whales and continue taking shots at creating a more well rounded and interesting undercard and promoting interesting acts towards prime time slots, which they’ve clearly been trying to do recently.
I would have gladly traded u2 for not the worst bonnaroo lineup in history
This is so misleading IMO. As Tranter pointed out, they had plenty of money left over after U2. That lineup didn't suck balls because they were left without resources after booking U2. They simply made bad choices. And it was the first year with a full other stage lineup. It was absolutely jarring to see such a large portion of the lineup infested with stuff like borgore and nghtmre.
Of course I would rather them choose better artists all throughout the lineup. I'm pretty confident that isn't a zero sum game. When they book Yves Tumor, in my mind they are just making a good decision to book them instead of a shitty artist that costs the same. I don't think it's like "finally we have the capability to book Yves Tumor since Fred Again was so cheap!"
btw 2017 is the worst ever even if it looks better in retrospect based on what some of the artists have done SINCE they played there.
I can't really dig it up right now, but I had a back and forth with Brad on Twitter a few weeks ago where he basically said that.
My impression in connecting the dots with what he was saying was that Roo has approximately the same budget as usual, but the talent costs in that higher tier area have now gone somewhat beyond that budget.
From what I do know and what I strongly suspect though, I do think that the subheadliner lineup is definitely going to be in a very good position. I personally think that area is Roo's strength in terms of lineup right now.
You saying that's their strength for this unreleased lineup that you have some info on? Or do you mean recently? Because...
Maggie Rogers - Khraungbin - Seven Lions - Joe Russos Almost Dead
Cage the Elephant - Melanie Martinze - Cigarettes After Sex - Diplo - Jon Batiste
Megan Thee Stallion - Json Isbell - Two Friends - Carly Rae Jepsen
The subs for this year are definitely going to look way stronger for most people.
For example, two that I don't entirely know about but feel pretty confident about are King Gizz and Vampire Weekend. Nothing quite got to that level for me in the last few years, so that's plenty enough for me personally. But I know there's a handful more that are on that level for me, one of which that's going to be a fairly big deal that I have only seen guessed maybe two or three times in this whole thread.
In hindsight the 2017 lineup is not bad tbh. A lot of really big names and people who’ve blown up since 2017. I didn’t attend that year but besides that Saturday late night the rest of the fest wasn’t that bad.
The subs for this year are definitely going to look way stronger for most people.
For example, two that I don't entirely know about but feel pretty confident about are King Gizz and Vampire Weekend. Nothing quite got to that level for me in the last few years, so that's plenty enough for me personally. But I know there's a handful more that are on that level for me, one of which that's going to be a fairly big deal that I have only seen guessed maybe two or three times in this whole thread.
only two or three times that's an exciting choice?
The subs for this year are definitely going to look way stronger for most people.
For example, two that I don't entirely know about but feel pretty confident about are King Gizz and Vampire Weekend. Nothing quite got to that level for me in the last few years, so that's plenty enough for me personally. But I know there's a handful more that are on that level for me, one of which that's going to be a fairly big deal that I have only seen guessed maybe two or three times in this whole thread.
only two or three times that's an exciting choice?
hoh boy. that's exciting
Come see King Gizzard for 60 minutes and Vampire Weekend for 75 minutes but stay for Luke Combs. The magic of the farm is alive and well lol
There was a moment where we almost said something about it on the podcast this week, but we had to stop ourselves since it's not really "safe" to hint at or leak just yet. II feel like it'll be pretty awesome for a lot of people, maybe just a little divisive for a few.
The subs for this year are definitely going to look way stronger for most people.
For example, two that I don't entirely know about but feel pretty confident about are King Gizz and Vampire Weekend. Nothing quite got to that level for me in the last few years, so that's plenty enough for me personally. But I know there's a handful more that are on that level for me, one of which that's going to be a fairly big deal that I have only seen guessed maybe two or three times in this whole thread.
Just to be clear, I have a lot of good things to say about the 2024 lineup. I think it was the best undercard (below the subs) since maybe 2015 and I never really stopped beating that drum. In fact, I think it's annoying that the board doesn't recognize that because they tried to throw us 5-7 more bones than they usually do. I could see them just reverting back to standard after getting no response from doing better in that regard. Though the lack of response was because the headliners and subs were putrid.
Anyways - My original point was about their headliner bookings.
There was a moment where we almost said something about it on the podcast this week, but we had to stop ourselves since it's not really "safe" to hint at or leak just yet. II feel like it'll be pretty awesome for a lot of people, maybe just a little divisive for a few.
If this wasn’t in reference to a sub, I would guess Linkin Park (with replacing Chester and all), but they would be a headliner at this point if booked right?
I for one would much rather them not even try to book whales and continue taking shots at creating a more well rounded and interesting undercard and promoting interesting acts towards prime time slots, which they’ve clearly been trying to do recently.
I would have gladly traded u2 for not the worst bonnaroo lineup in history
This is so misleading IMO. As Tranter pointed out, they had plenty of money left over after U2. That lineup didn't suck balls because they were left without resources after booking U2. They simply made bad choices. And it was the first year with a full other stage lineup. It was absolutely jarring to see such a large portion of the lineup infested with stuff like borgore and nghtmre.
Of course I would rather them choose better artists all throughout the lineup. I'm pretty confident that isn't a zero sum game. When they book Yves Tumor, in my mind they are just making a good decision to book them instead of a shitty artist that costs the same. I don't think it's like "finally we have the capability to book Yves Tumor since Fred Again was so cheap!"
btw 2017 is the worst ever even if it looks better in retrospect based on what some of the artists have done SINCE they played there.
Okay, The U2 booking wasn’t a monolith that made the entire lineup bad on its own. Bad choices were made with other bookings all over the lineup.
But if they hadn’t blown their wad on three very expensive headliners and tons of bullshit pop they would have had more cracks at good bookings both in headliner slots and throughout the undercard. Would all of those have been hits? No, they’re not going to bat 1.000, but I’ll take more at bats if the average was already that low. They probably would’ve booked the head and the heart anyways though, yes.
Post by dioramadeux on Nov 5, 2024 11:08:54 GMT -5
It’s clear the festival has changed their booking strategy…they’re appealing to the under 25 crowd at Roo and that’s totally a smart move by them.
Makes up the majority of the crowd at roo and allows them to book cheaper acts in lieu of legacy acts. That’s why it’s so funny seeing the guesses in here, there’s a severe lack of industry plant bedroom pop and alt nation approved acts.
They’ll book a smattering of jam and wook adjacent acts each year that play the entire wook circuit.
This fest tried to make music not their identity and pivoted to trying to be the US version of Glastonbury but with corp sponsors added (which defeats the whole point of Glasto).
Roo went from being one of the big three 10yrs ago to now probably being below Lolla, ACL, Coachella, and OSL in terms of lineup strength/uniqueness.
