Have a question for Bonnaroo?
By Alex Young on March 8th, 2010 in Festival News/Rumor, News
Two things are pretty clear: Our first interview with Bonnaroo co-founder Ashley Capps was a pretty big hit and we have a pretty vocal Bonnaroo readership on this website. So, when Mr. Capps agreed to sit down with us again for another interview, we figured we’d get you guys involved.
Here’s how it works: Post your Bonnaroo related questions in the comments section below. (Remember, you have to be registered to comment.) Later this week, we’ll choose our favorite ones and ask Mr. Capps to answer them. Please note that only well thought-out and appropriate questions will be considered. Deadline for submissions is Wednesday night. We’ll post the end result early next week.
Now, fire away…
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Bonnaroo Music Festival
TAGGED AS: Ashley Capps, Bonnaroo Music Festival
comments (38)
Given that:
A) Superfly is looking to bolster its “brandname” power by showcasing its talent-management starmaking ability (Kings of Leon going from small tent to -SURPRISE- headlining in 2010, if not entirely premature);
B) DMB’s manager helped out AC/Superfly with the first Bonnaroo (making him someone that you can’t and/or really shouldn’t turn down) so DMB is headlinging in 2010;
C) AC/Superfly is STILL looking to recover from the Kanye West embarassment while trying to broaden the musical score of the festival to include mainstream hip-hop, so you choose Coachella’s Jay-Z as a headliner for 2010;
D) AC/Superfly reads that Stevie Wonder is chosen to close out Glastonbury during it’s special anniversary this year, and, hell, if it’s good enough for Glastonbury, it’s good enough for Bonnaroo;…given those items, my question is: when did Bonnaroo stop caring about leading the US Music and Arts Festivals creatively and with original, hard-to-get headliners? Over half of Bonnaroo’s second tier is playing at Camp Bisco this year. CAMP BISCO for God’s sake! Did your mishandling of Phil Lesh two years ago cause some uber-backlash where everyone good and unique that didn’t get nominated for a Grammy this year turned you guys down?
Do you realize that your faithful Bonnaroo patrons and participants care about the unique musical experiences?
Do you realize, through the years, that you have set an extremely high bar for talent at this festival?
Where’s the originality? Why isn’t Bonnaroo THE premiere festival anymore? Why don’t you care?
I have a question regarding the venue’s infrastructure. Bonnaroo recycles, has water filling stations, over all is getting “greener” as the years add up. What about RV exhaust?? I have been in VIP RV for 3 years now and if I had one complaint it would be about the constant running RVs. The fumes suck. Now that you’ve bought the farm is there a plan to lay down permanant infrastructure? You did lay electircal down for the large lights. Lets not burn all that fuel, how about some solar collection throughout the year that the farm sits unused?
I know that a lot of us who attend Bonnaroo like to get there on wednesday night so as to set up camp and not have to deal with the hassel of driving in when the masses show up. will you guys ever make it official that you can enter wednesday night or am i going to have to keep going to the walmart down the road hoping for the best and waiting to hear from word of mouth that the gates are open?
How come you guys (Bonnaroo) have yet to release any full concert length DVDs? JImi at Monterey Pop & Woodstock; The Who at Isle of Wight; etc have become legendary concerts due to them being released on video in the US and throughout the world.
Pearl Jam and Radiohead, as well as a few others, should be released based on the quality of their shows; and their status as legendary performers will be known forever and Bonnaroo could be part of history a la Isle of Wight and Monterrey Pop in the late 60s and early 70s (not to say you already aren’t).Also, how come you guys did not offer full concert mp3s this year? I would love to have had the King Sunny Ade show as I felt his was the best performance last year.
Thanks
I’ve got some questions:
1. I’ve gone over the Bonnaroo schedules from the past several years. I like to think of it as “studying the Bonnaroo scheduling trends.” I’ve made several attempts at making a mock schedule for this year’s festival. I know more bands will be added, but it’s looking like we already have so many bands on the lineup this year, that you may have to add another tent. Rumors are going around that another tent will be added? Will you be adding another tent? Will the music start earlier each day? Will it go later? Will bands have shorter sets? Will you be bringing back the Jazz Tent?
2. When looking back over Bonnaroo’s lineup since 2005, it appears that one year you put out an absolutely incredible lineup, but the next year it doesn’t look as good. 2005 was stellar, 2006 not as good, 2007 was much better than 2006, 2008 was weaker than 2007 and 2009 was by far the best lineup I’ve ever seen. A lot of people seem to be seeing the same things I’m seeing. I’m sure what bands are touring that year have a lot to do with it, but are there any other reasons why it seems to go back and forth every year from completely and insanely awesome to a little weaker the following year?
3. Have Paul McCartney, the Stones, David Bowie, Roger Waters or Prince ever been considered for Bonnaroo?
4. Where do you see Bonnaroo in five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Fifty?
5. Are there any plans yet to have any other festivals or events at Bonnaroo?
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that the “haters” are all real people and not the internet.
i am not one of them, but, as you can see by the questions there are currently a lot of people “hating” on the lineup. do you have anything to say to this people? do you have a way to make them happy? do you really care what the internet thinks?
When will there be live downloads available? e.g. Why not after the DMB set (or any willing artist) is there not an onsite download area where for $10 I can download the show onto my iPhone/iPod in minutes? Technology? Rights? Monetization battle?
1. Why would Bonnaroo be willing to share a headliner with Coachella. I suppose I could see the logic if it were something totally unique, but in this case I think we can agree it’s not.
2. What in the fuck were you thinking with the lineup rollout? All may have been forgiven if you topped it off with something incredible (and unforseeable), but what we were left with was someone that we all suspected was going to be there anyway. The hints that were dropped didn’t really help your cause, either, since everyone was anticipating something big.
when creating a lineup are you conscious of what other festivals are doing? are you always trying to one up coachella or lollapalooza? or is it not even a competition?
Who in the heck is gary chardonnay lol? im sure this will be passed over, but i want to know
Will the fountain be running all day, last year it was only on every once and a while except at night when the lights were on it (I guess since it looks cool). It was a nice start to your day/excape from the heat in 08 when the fountain was running all the time.
I’m guessing it’s not a green thing since it pumps brown water. I’m thinking it might be a way to help push people to spend $ at the Garnier Fructis showers.
Please give us back our Bonnaroo Fountain
I am a senior in college and I am working on a multi genre, camping music festival scheduled for September. As Bonnaroo has sold out multiple times in the past with no traditional advertiting, what techniques should I use to raise awareness of the festival? Any other advice that you could give me on how to make this festival awesome is much appreciated.
Were you guys happy with how the lineup was released this year?
If you had to go to one festival other than ‘Roo, which would it be and why?
Who are you most excited to have at the farm this year?
When will I be getting my piece back? It was my favorite piece ever…
Was there ever any truth to the Led Zeppelin rumor in 2008? And if so, how close was that to actually becoming a reality?
Can we all chip in an extra 20 bucks and just get Radiohead…?
Do you have any information about the Radiohead Roo ‘06 DVD?
Will there be screens at the Which Stage this year?
Is it true that Neil Young contract negotiations stalled? If so, have you already replaced him on the lineup or will there be another major addition?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does the 2010 Bonnaroo lineup remind you of the 2009 Langerado lineup?
What was Kanye’s reaction towards you guys after his set in 2008?
Why was there never a dvd released for Bonnaroo 2005-2007? and will footage from those three years ever be released?
I just have three questions
1. What is the process by which bands are chosen? Is there some sort of executive meeting where someone says “We should get so and so” or is it just known who will be touring and try to schedule them?
2. Why is there no mini Thursday headliner? Wouldn’t this be a great way to kick off the weekend?
3. Isn’t Ashley a girl’s name?
How much does the touring frequency of an artist play into booking decisions? This year there seems to be less of an emphasis on bands which perform rarely, re-unions, one-offs..etc
Has Bonnaroo ever considered making the SuperJam line-up public earlier, using it as a marketing tool to sell tickets? It seems that being able to promote something as simple as “Jack White Playing Guitar!” would sell a fair amount of tickets.
Thanks!
I have a couple quick questions…mainly when is Rage Against The Machine going to headline??? 2011???
Will you eventually start filling in the ditches at the back of the farm with hay or something? So if torrential downpours occur again (like Thursday of last years festivities) people will be able to pitch their tents?Mitch
additionally, what I would LOVE to ask him, but I’m sure this won’t be chosen is
How is it that Jay-Z, who headlined Glastonbury, one of the biggest festivals in the world, is 4th on the line-up? And above all, how is he below Kings of Leon?
Does 2 top overplayed radio singles and a Bonnaroo seniority really qualify Kings of Mediocrity to headline the biggest festival in America?Where is the poster?
Are there any big plans for the 10th anniversary?Please throw in some tough(er) questions to try and get his reaction to the overwhelming dissapointment with this years line-up. I know you need to approach the subject with kid gloves, maybe something like:
Although many people are content or even really excited about the line-up you put together this year, there is a very vocal community within your online fanbase, and among COS readers, that think this is line-up doesn’t live up to the epic line-ups of years passed.
Do you find it difficult to keep up with the expectations of your fans, and to continue to top yourself year after year?What is your reaction to the criticism and outcry within the online community about the quality of this year’s line-up?
What, if any, role does your fanbase play in choosing which bands you book for the festival?
Have you seen a slump in ticket sales this year compared to the past few years? (I doubt we’d get a clear answer to this)
Also I’d love you to ask him what in god’s name makes him think Kings of Leon are capable of holding down a top 2 headliner slot, but I can’t think of a way to ask that without sounding like a dick.
Why is this year’s lineup clearly sub-par of every other year of the festival?
If you were so thrilled to be saving money this year, why are ticket prices still the same?
Are there anymore BNAs coming? (I would consider BNAs as top 5-10 act)
Is anything special being planned for the 10th anniversary in 2011 or is it going to business as usual?
What is your reaction to the many different fest failures (Roth, 10klf, etc.) and how are you going to prevent Roo from following the same fate?
Where’s the poster? Is this evidence of either a big name (s) dropping or being added?
Why aren’t there any late night sets at WHAT stage, after the main evening’s headliner?
When can we expect comedy adds? Why aren’t there any comedy troupes doing sets in the comedy tent?
What has sparked AC/Superfly’s interest in widening the scope of bands that play the festival from a more jam heavy festival to a festival that encompasses nearly every style of music?
How did you not score MMJ or fleet foxes? Two of the premier folk/indie/rock bands that fit perfectly into the lineup?
Are there going to be more additions??? Mainly big names…cough neil cough young cough?
What happens to all the confiscated contraband?
Why did bonnaroo tweet blatent hints of further, rolling stones, etc. When they obviously weren’t even options? I guess I just want to hear It was all a ploy to draw attention from the coachella lineup that was dropping that day..
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I really honestly don't know what to think of these guys. They are incredibly..different....
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