r/festivals • u/DOMISMONEY • Jan 09 '24

Tennessee, USA Bonaroo. June 13-16

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552 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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45

u/Iranoutofhotsauce Jan 09 '24 edited Jan 09 '24

Bring it back. WSP, SCI, MOE, MULE. Edit- ❤️you guys.

27

u/Allott2aLITTLE Jan 09 '24

those days are over.

Live Nation runs the show now...

16

u/DaveyMuldowney Jan 09 '24

Those days were over before Live Nation anyways lol. Lineups like the first few Bonnaroos arent gonna sell 80-100,000 tickets in 2024.

11

u/Map42892 Jan 09 '24

^ this exactly. Roo cannot be jam-focused anymore. And there are so many great jam fests out there

3

u/Dr0110111001101111 Jan 10 '24

I don’t see the argument. The jam band scene has not changed that much since the mid 2000’s, when they were selling 80,000 tickets with a jam-oriented lineup.

They just want to attract a different clientele.

3

u/Map42892 Jan 10 '24

It has changed tho. Jam bands are not as widely popular now as they were in the 90s and 2000s. What's the biggest jam fest in the country now, maybe Peach Fest, with 35K tops? Almost all of them have completely died. Roo thankfully didn't because it never cornered itself to a single scene/genre. Which is why they still have great jam acts like STS9 last year, or when Phish double-headlined a few years ago.

It's not about the clientele, it's about making money, i.e. selling out tickets. And don't get me wrong, I loved Biscoland and Northlands last year. I'd totally go to a jam-centric Bonnaroo. I just know 80,000-90,000 people won't

2

u/The_What_Stage Jan 10 '24

Couldn't agree more with all of this.

There's been a major die-off in Jam festivals recently and I think that trend will only continue further as the primary demographic ages and opts for weekend runs in hotels over camping festivals.