Writers note: I am sorry this piece has taken me five months to write! Life has very much gotten in the way. And if you read my columns then you know I surely run around the country living life. I had attempted to finish it on the plane for a 36-hour trip to LA to see Phish at the Hollywood Bowl! Now it’s Sunday evening in November and I’m sitting in front of my TV watching War Games and hoping I can get it done in this seating.
I got a Facebook post from a friend saying “5/26/11, don’t you think it’s time for another one?” When I asked him what he meant, he said, “Jambands column!” Ok, I guess you do read what I write…sorry everyone. On
to the column!
Manchester…home of the 3rd largest city in Tennessee for a week every June. Manchester, TN, home of Bonnaroo…the greatest land festival ever.
It was nothing short of perfect as we celebrated 10 years of the astonishing event.
One of my most cherished life accomplishments is being a part of the team for 9 years.
Here’s my history: Year one, I created the Bonnaroo compilation, a free 2-CD mix of many of the artists that played the fest. Superfly was apparently impressed with my ability to wrangle so many bands to opt in that they offered me an onsite position helping to run the Sonic Stage which was essentially an interview platform.
After a year of assisting in that role, they asked if I would run the department and book as many bands as I could. Sirius Radio sponsored the stage and I ended up booking it solid for 3 days and turned our little interview stage into a multi-entertainment area…essentially, performances became more frequent than straight up Q&As.
Year after year, I packed in the short 30-minute sets (with only 15 minute change-overs, mind you). Greats like Herbie Hancock, Buddy Guy, Rat Dog, Umphrey’s McGee, moe., Amos Lee, Bela Fleck, Bruce Hornsby, Jerry Douglas, Del McCoury, Blues Traveler, Ralph Stanley, Michael Franti, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Warren Haynes, Susan Tedeschi, Allan Toussaint, Brett Dennen, Broken Social Scene, Clutch & John Butler and MANY MANY MORE performed. Want to hear something cool? Not one band has ever gotten paid to play the Sonic Stage. It’s purely for the love of their fans and the ultimate love of music.
Every year, I say, “It was the best year on my stage!” And as I look back on the magnificent list of musicians who have graced the Sonic Stage, I can’t really say one was better than the other. But I will say that for Bonnaroo X, my 3 favorite artists of all time played: Bruce Hornsby, Amos Lee & Bela Fleck. It was actually Bela’s 4th year at the festival and 4th year on my stage. “I could never say no to Annabel,” he says. Are you kidding me? Someone PINCH ME!
So let’s start the photo recap…
Manchester, TN wasn’t even on the MAP before Bonnaroo. And since we visit every year, the town actually gets excited. Most of the locals truly appreciate the financial improvement while some, naturally, resent having 80,00o hippies take over their small and quiet town. The liquor store across from my hotel has the same sign EVERY year and I’ve always taken a shot of it in the day time but liked seeing it light up at night.
This is STILL (and my previous columns will reflect) my favorite photo from Thursday. It gets me so excited for the weekend. I noticed something new this year. The speed limit around the exits of Manchester is usually 65 but for Bonnaroo, they take them down to 55. Smart, I’d say!
The city of Bonnaroo, TN exists as an actual city for the weekend. Russ Bennett and his imaginative visual design help create that vibe. We have a real post office right on site where you can mail letters, packages, etc…So of course we have to have a real mailbox.
The build of the site is so much fun. Here, the famous green glowing letters had yet to be properly placed on the What Stage.
Just like in the 60s where the name was coined, Bonnaroo too builds Tent City. You can rent a tent and a cot for the weekend!
Even though he looks like a bastard child of Eric Clapton, Trey, along with hundreds of other familiar faces were painted around the cite. The design crew listed every single artist that has played at Bonnaroo to celebrate the X.
Oh the sweet Sonic Village, my baby…here she is during the build, the calm before the storm
I have some weird obsession with the Which Stage. I also have a crazy obsession with the Bonnaroo Sunsets. Here, they both glow to end the day and welcome the night.
If you ever wondered where the name Bonnaroo came from, I’ll tell ya. Dr John had an album called Desitively Bonnaroo, (which means good times.) On the album cover was this awesome purple fuzzy hat. The signature arch was decorated to commemorate the namesake. The projecting lights could be seen from anywhere on site and the disco ball lit up the entire arch. Not only was it a BEAUTIFUL visual, but more creative than imaginable.
Top Chef is one of my favorite shows and I absolutely geeked out over seeing Tom Collichio, who comes each year with his family.
Friday morning yoga in Planet Roo. Time for a Triangle!
So I’ve got an eclectic palate for music, but I love the funk A – L – O – T. Opening band on the Sonic Stage…the New Orleans Allstars. I think you know from my Jam Cruise pieces, but Ivan Neville is one of my dear dear friends. And Jamie and I have a long history as buddies. Combine them with Kirk Joseph & Terrence Higgins and you have an A-list super group. And in this photo, I am pretty sure Ivan made a snide comment that sent all of us laughing hard.
Paul Hoffman & Anders Beck, two of the amazing members of Greensky Bluegrass. Their manager was smart and emailed me before Bonnaroo was even announced to ask for a slot on the Sonic Stage.
Bela Fleck, one of my childhood heroes since I was 13. Now he’s my friend. I went to his wedding. Four years at Bonnaroo, four years on my stage. He said he can never say no to me. How cool is that?
What’s even cooler is that he had nothing pre-arranged to play. He even turned me and said, “what do you want me to do?” So I jumped on stage with him and we winged it! A few tunes, a few questions, a sneak peak into his banjo concerto for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and a CD signing with the Flecktones to promote their new album. It was perfect!
Ok really, ALL my music heroes come to play at my stage. This is my life. Bela and I be-friended each other when he played on Jam Cruise many years ago. But I’ve kept my distance from Bruce and just stayed a super fan because I was scared to cross over the line of fan > friend. But he’s got a new manager who knows that Bruce needs to be immersed in the jamband scene and therefore, I let go of my fears and dove head first. Now we text each other and I can’t wait to spend more time with him on Jam Cruise. Here, he played a beautiful and rare solo set on the dulcimer.
Enter 3rd hero…this one came later in my life. Amos Lee. I’m borderline obsessed with everything about him, especially his voice. He’s a BIG artist these days and if it wasn’t for my close friendship with his manager, Amos never would have performed for me. But he did. And it was incredible. I’m a bit full of pride right here.
Backstage, I asked Amos to play Night Train. “For you…anything.” But I didn’t realize how much my heart would sink when he dedicated it to me on stage. The crowd all turned and smiled to me…my heart was full. Speaking of crowd, look at how huge it was.
Ariel Hyatt, my big sister, gets photo credit here. So, obviously I was GUSHING to everyone about how special it was to have Amos on the Sonic Stage. I was so in the zone when he was around that I didn’t even notice that she took this photo. The hug I gave him after he came off stage was so real and so full of love. She captured the most perfect moment and I am forever grateful to her and to Amos.
I’ve known Chris Hartford since Wetlands days. So the moment he was booked at Bonnaroo, I saved him a slot. But what I didn’t know at the time, was that his Band of Changes was going to Joe Russo & Dave Dreiwitz…icing on the cake! This photo is just so darn cute.
3am, Which Stage, String Cheese Incident…ya never know who’s gonna be partying late night. Good thing it was Marcus Mumford I got to hang with because he’s pretty damn cool.
I’m a big fan of Ben Ellman’s. He’s also been a dear friend for 10 years. Obviously I love Galactic, but he’s got a great Balkan Bounce sounding DJ project called Gypsyphonic Disko. Just like Chris Hartford, I’ll do what I can to support musicians. So I put Ben on the stage. And he might not have brought 1,000 fans himself, but because he played right before G Love, there were OVER 1,000 people rocking out to his set. Perfect…just perfect.
G…we’re like brother and sister. Anyone who sees the two of us together is blown away by our vibe. It’s very palpable.
So their manager saw it as a no brainer for him to come to my stage, knowing that I would take very good care of him. His set was AMAZING and one of the best attended of the weekend. See, the Sonic Stage is PERFECT for an artist like G. He’s got a RABID fan base. He plays one main set at Bonnaroo with his whole band then comes solo to my stage and the fans get a special treat. And the artists LOVE it.
I love Tim Carbone. I really do. Railroad Earth played a great set on the Sonic Stage, but I had to take a moment with Tim and have a deep and honest conversation about how grateful I am to be his friend. I meant it.
Jamie McLean and I have also been friends since the Wetlands days. He opened the stage with the New Orleans Allstars and closed the stage with his band. I was just happy to spend time with him. I think this is one of the cutest photos in the history of life
It’s not just me who runs the stage. There’s no way I could do it without my AMAZING team. I am supported by a stage crew, a soundman and 3 rock solid assistants. Together, our department is so tight, professional and successful. And DAMN we have a good time doing it. Thanks to all of them! We even got Ben Sollee in the shot!
I love love love the Bonnaroo sunsets. They are part of my spiritual connection to the festival. And the Sonic Stage…I am a better person because of it. Getting to book, manage and emcee something so extraordinary for so many years has been a dream come true. The Sonic Village is my world while on site. And I love it like a child, nurture it and watch it grow.
Last night…done with work, time to party. My assistant and I essentially had our own private platform to dance to Widespread Panic. We were even doing cartwheels. It was completely ridiculous.
Check out our VIEW!!!!
Late night after Panic, annual staff crawfish fest. It’s so fun to hang with everyone after the event. It’s a social overload and we all leave with bellies FULL of crawfish!
It’s not just staff that attends the crawfish fest. Usually, people are hanging out and having fun, but Mr. Ron Jeremy decided to take a nap in a chair by the food table. Obviously, I had to take this photo. Someone he was with was bitching: “leave him alone!” Leave him alone? Are you kidding me? He’s the one who fell asleep in public. All bets are off, honey! I think my photo was passed around to many people after Bonnaroo. It’s classic.
OK – this was Bonnaroo’s 10th year. It showed…everyone went above and beyond to make the landmark year exceptional and distinctive. When I found out they came out with the Bonnaroo pendant, I immediately asked for one. I wore it with pride all weekend long. I really do have immense pride for working at Bonnaroo. Thanks for all the memories and I can’t wait for next year.
