No Bonnaroo in 2027? Here's how to figure out where to go instead. With Bonnaroo taking a fallow year, a lot of us are asking the same question: what festival do we go to now? So we brought in long-time friend of the show Liesl (@rockstarsweat), a festival superfan who's been to Bonnaroo, Pickathon, Glastonbury, Solid Sound and just about everywhere in between, to talk through how she actually chooses which festivals to attend.
Barry, Russ, and Liesl get into the real decision-making: lineup vs. community vs. cost, how the Glastonbury ticket lottery actually works, the difference between city and camping festivals, and why the fallow year might just open a door to something new. Plus, we open the show remembering Dolly Parton, and why she belonged at Bonnaroo.
Get tickets to CaveFest here! Oct 10-11, 2026 at The Caverns
Listen to this week's episode here or watch it on YouTube. As always, subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get podcasts for weekly updates on Bonnaroo and festival news!
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After Bonnaroo: How to Choose Your Next Festival
Russ (00:00)
Before we get into today's episode, I have an announcement. The What Podcast is giving away two tickets to CaveFest at The Caverns October 10th and 11th. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. A John Prine 80th birthday celebration. Lindsay Lou, Jim Lauderdale, lots, lots more. Camping is included, so you and a friend can come see these amazing acts. You can hang out with us, hopefully, and it's all completely free. As you know, there's no Bonnarooo next year, so if you're wondering where to go instead, why not come to our second favorite place in the world?
The Caverns is just down the road from the farm in Pelham, Tennessee. To enter, it's easy. Subscribe to The What Podcast on YouTube, like this video, and leave us a comment. Tell us who you'd bring or who you're dying to see. Full rules are available at the what.co slash giveaway. One catch though, you actually gotta come. If you win and you don't show up, yeah, we're gonna give you a hard time about it. Alright, so how do you pick your next festival? Let's get into it now on The What Podcast.
Barry (00:59)
Welcome to The What Podcast. I'm Barry. That's Russ. With us is Liesl. How are you?
Liesl (01:07)
I'm doing well, how about you?
Barry (01:09)
I'm doing so good. So Russ and I were talking this week and we had such an amazing week numbers wise. Russ, I don't know if you've looked. I look all the time because I'm obsessed with it, but so many people have been checking out our last week's video about the cancellation.
Russ (01:28)
it's good, but
not not that good. I mean you YouTube changed the way they count views, so it's about double what it would normally be, so
Barry (01:36)
I don't care. I'm counting the numbers. It's kind of like back when I used to used to say
Russ (01:38)
Okay, well don't get too excited there.
Liesl (01:39)
Ha ha ha.
Barry (01:41)
we were we're huge in Korea, South Korea or North Korea
Russ (01:45)
Yeah.
Barry (01:46)
or whatever. but anyway, we were talking this week and I was like, how what do we do to top last week's episode with Ryan French, city council person for Manchester? And I was like, who who knows more about festivals than you or I?
And it was lethal. It was it was pretty clear.
Russ (02:08)
Th we agreed, yeah.
Liesl (02:09)
my gosh. Too generous.
Barry (02:13)
So what we want to talk about, we got several things. We want to talk about Dolly, of course, as everyone has has been. We want to talk about CaveFest. We want to talk about our other girl on the West Coast, Beth, who is going to another festival. But also with you, we want to talk about festivals in general because I can't think of anybody that goes to more festivals than you do. Is that fair?
Liesl (02:41)
It sure feels
like it. I I th I'm I
Russ (02:43)
Yeah.
Liesl (02:43)
know there are many more, yeah younger, more energy. but you know I do go to my a couple of them every year, maybe two or three or four. Depending. Yeah. No, no, no, no. I don't I
Barry (02:53)
No, it's more than that. Yeah.
Russ (02:54)
Mm. Two or three or four a month, maybe.
Liesl (02:59)
actually I just can't afford that, right?
But you know,
Russ (03:01)
Yeah.
Liesl (03:02)
I I do I am careful. Like I try to select ones that are gonna be
Well, there's the nostalgia, right? A Bonnaroo that I love. And now that's become pickathon. And then there's the exploring new festivals that I haven't been to yet. So which are in the multitudes, right? So it's it's you know, and then there's timing, right? What do you have time to do between your day job and all of that? You know, to select the music festivals. But there's just always that push and pull between, ooh, that band's playing there. but my friends are over here. That's a that's always a pull.
Russ (03:35)
Yeah.
Barry (03:35)
That's what we're gonna get into. How do you choose? How do you pick?
Liesl (03:39)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (03:40)
go from there. But let's start with Dolly because obviously that's what's on everybody's mind. it's wow. I never got to meet her, never got to interview her of all the artists that I, you know, interviewed over the over the years. Dolly was not one of
in part because my coworker Lisa Denton was such a huge fan and her daughter, so anything that came to the paper that was Dolly related, you know, that was hers. and
Russ (04:12)
Yeah.
Barry (04:13)
I was happy to happy to do that. She used to go up to Dollywood every year for the the grand opening for the parade. she and her daughter Kayla, and they would come back with such funny stories cause Kayla, who is probably forty
I I I shouldn't I mean I don't know. She's she's not a child, let's put it that
Russ (04:35)
Yeah.
Barry (04:35)
way. But she would cry. She would she'd lay eyes on Dolly and just literally break down in tears at the sight of her. So it was that kind of thing.
Russ (04:45)
Yeah, 'cause Dolly
actually was if you went to Dollywood at any time during the year, there's a good chance Dolly herself was there.
Barry (04:51)
Yeah.
Russ (04:52)
she you know, it wasn't just that she put her name on it and that was it. She loved that place and she was there quite a bit.
Barry (04:59)
Yeah. Used to come to Chattanooga. Go ahead.
Liesl (05:00)
A mist sorry. I
Russ (05:02)
Yeah. No,
go ahead.
Liesl (05:03)
was
like like a mystical creature here on the West Coast, right? Like, it's Dolly,
Barry (05:07)
Yeah.
Liesl (05:08)
right?
Russ (05:08)
Yeah.
Yeah. we're a little you know, being in East Tennessee, we're a little closer to Dolly, so but yeah, I mean she was known and loved all over the world. Just happens to
Barry (05:21)
Yeah, that's
Russ (05:21)
be here in our backyard.
Barry (05:23)
that's what's so fun. She got married down the road, literally were used used to live in Ring Gold. He lived on Missionary Ridge, which is where I lived. He lived on Missionary Ridge for a while, so he knew about Ring Gold and he suggested that they go down to the chapel down there and it was booked. So they got married at the First Baptist Ring Ringold First Baptist Church. Everybody thinks they got married at the chapel, but it was at the church.
And they used to come every so often. She would come
without
Russ (05:55)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (05:55)
her wigs. She would they would come to Ring Gold or Chattanooga every so often, which is funny to think that you could be literally standing in line next to Dolly and Carl Dean, because they used to come here all the time.
Russ (06:11)
Yeah, she was so good at keeping her private life and her public life completely separate. You would never know anything about what she's really like underneath. I mean, because she was so good at make maintaining this persona and you know, you'd never see her out in public without all of her stuff on.
Barry (06:31)
Yeah. I I've done a couple of radio interviews, whatever people always talk about Dolly. What I what amazes me is to go back and watch like the old Johnny Carson or the Merv Griffin shows, and everybody would make fun of her, kinda sorta, for being the dumb
Russ (06:49)
Yeah.
Barry (06:50)
country bumpkin. She was not dumb. She was so smart.
Russ (06:55)
No, she was sharp. Yeah.
Barry (06:59)
She knew exactly what she was
Liesl (07:00)
Yeah, j and the f
Barry (07:01)
doing.
Liesl (07:02)
and the philanthropy, right? Just giving back to the community where you live
Barry (07:06)
Right.
Liesl (07:07)
and
Russ (07:07)
Yes.
I've got proof of that right here. So this is a book that I'm holding up. This is a children's book. I get one of these a month. They're not for me. This is for my stepmom's great grandchild. but you know, Dolly's Imagination Library is a program where you can sign up and have a free book delivered every month to for a child. And she started this,
Barry (07:28)
Yeah, all eight.
Russ (07:31)
a long time ago to help kids you know
learn how to read and and write and and develop a love for books and reading. you know, 'cause she grew up her her dad couldn't read or write, just never had the opportunity to learn. So this was her way of helping kids in in the area actually actually do that, which I think is is pretty cool. And so that's
Barry (07:56)
Yeah.
Russ (07:57)
her legacy lives on. I mean this this program is amazing. You can sign up if you have a kid and just get a book from Dolly once a month.
Barry (08:06)
All eight
Russ (08:06)
For free.
Barry (08:06)
all eight of my grandkids get books from Dolly.
Russ (08:10)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Liesl (08:11)
Wow. Well and just so welcoming, right? All are welcome, right? It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, but come on, you know? And just that that giving nature of of taking care of everyone.
Barry (08:25)
Yeah. I will say I have become very good friends with James Rogers, who, if you're from this area, James is from Chattanooga, North Georgia area and partnered with Dolly for three decades up in Pigeon Forge at Dollywood and music mansion and all of that stuff and talked with James Wednesday, so the day after she passed, and he was
Verclimpt to say the
least. He he became
Russ (08:57)
Mm. Yeah.
Barry (08:58)
very choked up. Just he said, I just want people to know what a great friend and what a great human being she was. Everybody knows the celebrity, everybody knows the big hair and the the costumes and everything else, but she was just such a great human being. and so, yeah, that's our tribute. We don't nothing different than anybody else, just amazing.
Russ (09:19)
Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. It's the
same stuff. And
Liesl (09:23)
Yeah.
Russ (09:24)
Lisa, what you said about her, you know, just being accepting of everyone, you know, I think that's one of the reasons Dolly of course is on everybody's list to play Bonnarooo. And I think that's part
Barry (09:33)
Top of the list, yeah.
Russ (09:34)
of it. Top of the list. Not only because she's an amazing singer and performer, but also the way she treated people and her attitude was very much in line with the Bonnarooo spirit, you know.
Liesl (09:46)
Mm-hmm.
Russ (09:47)
it just seemed like such a good fit to have her there. And and you know, I've seen comments people have said like, they they screwed up, they didn't get Dolly, you now that now they can't. Well, they tried. We we we know that they have tried.
Barry (10:00)
Well, yeah.
Liesl (09:59)
Yeah. yeah.
Russ (10:02)
we don't know the details. And this is something that, you know, everybody seems to know. Well, all you gotta do is just book this band and that band, and there you go. And it's it's not like that. Every artist, it's a negotiation, it's a conversation.
And sometimes those take months, years,
Barry (10:18)
Right.
Russ (10:19)
you know, to to get w where both people agree that, you know, this is something they want to do. We don't know what happened. we know Dolly knew about Bonnarooo, had said nice things about it, but you know, other than that, we don't know what what went between the bookers and you know, her team. So
Barry (10:37)
Yeah, that that reminds me, that's how smart I am. So I went to Moon River five years ago, had a couple of quick shots of Sweetens Cove bourbon and then walked
Russ (10:48)
Yeah.
Barry (10:49)
in and saw Brian Benson who books Bonaro. And you know, 'cause I'm an idiot, I walked up and I said, You know who you should get is Dolly. And he said, What a good idea. I never thought yeah. I was an idiot.
Russ (11:05)
Yeah.
Liesl (11:05)
Well,
and the hope there with Miley Cyrus, right? In the that year that b like right there w
Barry (11:08)
Yeah. Godmother. Miley's a godmother, right?
Russ (11:10)
Yes.
Liesl (11:12)
that year that wasn't, right? That was ooh.
Barry (11:14)
Yeah. Yeah.
Russ (11:15)
That was twenty twenty. Miley was on the lineup,
so you know, and not not a possible to get Dolly, but we could certainly hope to get Miley again someday. So she was already on the lineup. and so I think that would be great to have her back on. Or or on since she never made it. Yeah.
Liesl (11:28)
right. On, back on. well and then
Barry (11:30)
Yeah.
Liesl (11:32)
you think about and then then you see and then I was just the FOMO was real Newport Folkfest, where Dolly was there with Brandy Carlisle and the highway women. And I'm like, What
Russ (11:44)
Mm.
Liesl (11:44)
a get Newport Folk Festival just that's on my bucket list, that's for sure. But you know, to see Dolly up there in her nudie Cohen embroidered suit and
Just these really powerful women s singing and i it I was just like, Wow, w couldn't we have that at Bonnarooo?
Barry (12:02)
Yeah. She has
Russ (12:03)
man,
Barry (12:04)
sh
Russ (12:03)
yeah.
Barry (12:04)
she has so many great quotes. My favorite is It takes a lot of money to look this cheap. I just think that's such a great dolly quote.
Russ (12:09)
Yeah.
Liesl (12:12)
I shouldn't have swallowed my coffee. Said that.
Russ (12:12)
It is.
Barry (12:17)
I I can't think of anything that sums her up any better than that.
Russ (12:22)
yeah,
just go on YouTube and just look up, you know, compilations of Dolly quotes 'cause she was so quick witted. She had a great answer for every question and she never made it about her. You know, she always would deflect if if somebody was trying to fig you know, catch her and, you know, saying something like like she's
Barry (12:40)
Yeah.
Russ (12:41)
a dumb blonde or something, 'cause she's definitely not. She knew exactly
Barry (12:43)
No.
Liesl (12:43)
Yeah.
Russ (12:45)
what to say, and just very quick witted, very funny, and very honest.
Barry (12:50)
Yeah.
Liesl (12:50)
brightened
up my doom scrolling, you know? Like I there's Dolly singing with Kermit the Frog. There's Dolly singing with so and so there's Dolly on Johnny Carson.
Russ (12:57)
Yes, mm-hmm.
Liesl (12:59)
There's Dolly like I mean and that has just been been wonderful. I have side side note I have you know I call them Jesus candles but what are they the candles you know that you light in a church some of the Catholic churches that have the figurines on them and things like that. So I have a rock star collection. I have Dolly is the center.
And then I have myself an Eddie Vetter,
Russ (13:20)
like all the saints, yeah.
Liesl (13:21)
a Chris Cornell, a Dave Matthews,
Russ (13:23)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (13:25)
and gosh, and a Dave Grohl. So but Dolly is the center and and I you know, I felt like I should be laying flowers to shrine.
Barry (13:31)
Nice. Yeah.
Russ (13:35)
Yeah, there's actually a Dolly mural here in Ringo, Georgia, you know, where she got married, up on one of the buildings downtown and and this week they had lots of people coming and laying wreaths and flowers and candles and stuff like that. So kind of neat.
Barry (13:55)
Hey guys, if you're enjoying the show, please take a moment and subscribe to our YouTube channel and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. All right. So the reason you're on Miss Liesel, because as I said at the start, I can't think of anybody that do goes to more festivals or more different festivals, maybe not numbers but different types than you.
Obviously the news came out last week that Bonnarooo is taking a fallow year off. That's what we're gonna call it. and I don't know if you heard our episode last week with Ryan French, Manchester City Council person.
Liesl (14:42)
Yeah.
Barry (14:43)
kind of a lot of things to think about from that. It didn't say that it's coming back in twenty twenty eight. We're all
anticipating that it is, but I have not heard from anybody that guarantees that. So there is that news. but I was also sort of interested in his comments about what we we as fans can do. We as Bonnarooians can do we as business owners in Manchester
can do to guarantee that this thing comes back. so when Russ and I were talking about what to do this week, obviously we don't we can't no one from the C3 world live nation is ready to come out and comment. So I thought, well, we have tried, trust me. Trust me.
Russ (15:36)
We've tried.
Barry (15:42)
I thought, well let's just talk about festivals. And I thought, who better can talk about the sort of
progression than us, but also lethal. So
All that said, what do you love about festivals?
Liesl (15:59)
I think well Bonnarooo was my first festival in 2008. And so that's
Russ (16:04)
Yeah.
Liesl (16:05)
what got me excited and into music again. I was going through some time in my private life and my friend said, Hey, you want to go to this festival? It's called Bonnarooo. I'm like, Okay. And having no idea what it was. And you know, it it was the music and the sense of community and all of those things that we talk about that get us get us to Bonnarooo.
Which is and the friend the people, right, that I now go to Pickathon with or that go to Solid Sound or that, you know, it how how that web just kind of kind of grows. And you know, I love the feeling that you get, right? In so many different spaces in a music festival. So when you arrive and you first see Lord Taco or you see Lindsay or you
Russ (16:54)
Yeah.
Liesl (16:54)
see your friends, and you're like, my gosh, it's actually happening.
You know, this year was the first f festival at Bonnarooo to first Bonnarooo that felt like a Bonnarooo again because it's been fits and starts. And I took a few years off to go to a couple of other festivals, but you know, so there's that moment you arrive and you see your friends, that moment you go under the arch, that moment you were on the rail, for this artist you've just been listening to on repeat that you really want to see. So for me.
going to music festivals is about that feeling and recreating that feeling as many times as I can. You know, to get me through the dark season here in the Pacific Northwest.
Barry (17:35)
Yeah, I should say that. You you
Russ (17:36)
Yeah.
Barry (17:36)
live on the West Coast.
Liesl (17:38)
Uh-huh.
Barry (17:38)
but you've l list, if you don't mind, some of the festivals that you've been to besides Bonnarooo. you went to what, Glastonbury two years ago or last year? Okay.
Liesl (17:45)
Sure. I did. 2023. 2023.
I went to Glastonbury. Our friends in Raleigh actually got the tickets. So like when you get the ticket, you go. I'm like, sorry. Yeah. And then I that year I was trying to figure out how to do Bonnarooo and Glastonbury. And I'm like, I'm too old for doing two large-scale music
festivals like that. I would die. but Glass.
Russ (18:07)
Yeah, if you don't know, you
don't just buy tickets and go to Glastonbury. You are on a wait list and you get selected because there's such a demand, right?
Liesl (18:14)
It's a lottery. It's a lottery. So you have to start
I mean, I don't know if you want to go into this later, but it's it's it you have to take your picture and you have to get your registration materials in advance. You have to get a group of six people to go in to buy tickets in lottery. And then
Barry (18:30)
wow.
Liesl (18:31)
much
Russ (18:31)
I didn't even know all this.
Liesl (18:32)
much like you know, where you're trying to get that elusive ticket and you're waiting on Ticketmaster, you're doing the same thing through their ticketing venue. Everyone is try of your sixth group.
Trying to get in and get the tickets. So, and then you, if you get in and you actually get the tickets, you put a deposit down. And then the final deposit isn't due until April of the next year. and so that allows you time to save and decide what you're gonna do. but it is and then there's a resale. So those tickets that aren't fully paid for in April to get released back into a pool, and there's another opportunity in April to get Glastonbury tickets. So
tidbits for any Bonnaroovians who were thinking about going to to Glastonbury this year.
Barry (19:16)
I mean, do you how what are how much are we talking about? How much money?
Liesl (19:21)
it was you know, I at that point I didn't think it was that much more for me flying to the West Coast to Bonnarooo, having to make all the travel arrangements and all of that sort of thing. So the festival ticket was was it three hundred and fifty pounds, four hundred? So it's it's probably it's an average
Barry (19:37)
Okay.
Liesl (19:38)
ticket that you
Russ (19:38)
No, yeah.
Liesl (19:39)
go in on a Wednesday and you leave on a Monday, right? So very similar. it's like a whole festival of tent only.
So you are not driving you park your car in the car park and you hike all your stuff in to the fields where you're going to camp. You can bring in alcohol and food into the festival. it is like a 24-7, 24-7 operation. but some there is something for everyone. So if you need a break from the music, great. You can go over to the Greenpeace fields and learn about metallurgy and sword making and jewelry or
You know, or if you're the late night person you can go to Shangri-La, which is this giant EDM, like imagine Calliope, like twenty five times over. Like it's just giant EDM area. So you c you can't see it all. You cannot see it all. It's
Barry (20:34)
Yeah.
Liesl (20:34)
it's yeah, anyways, I could go on and on, so I'll pause there. But Glaston
Barry (20:37)
No, I want you to.
Russ (20:38)
Yeah.
Liesl (20:38)
Yeah.
Well, Gl so Gla the festival that I did overseas, Glastonbury. And then the next year I did a festival in Stockholm called Rosendahl Garden Party, which was in Stockholm, which was really kind of it's a single stage. It had Prodigy, it had turnstyle, it had it had the Cardigans, it had MIA, and so that was a really cool experience. And then we transitioned over to Isle of Wight.
which is an island s on the south end of the UK, and did Isle of White and then went up to Manchester to see Pearl Jam. So that was kind of a big, big tr two big y trip years in a row. So yes. No, but hey, I was still in Manchester that year.
Russ (21:21)
The real Manchester, not Manchester, Tennessee. Yeah. Yeah, here it still counts.
Barry (21:24)
That's all right.
Liesl (21:28)
but I've done Ohana Fest in Southern California. Riot Fest in Chicago was a really great festival, which I did that for many I would start with Bonnarooo and end with Riot Fest.
Pickathon, my Bonnarooian friends that I met years and years ago have now transitioned over to Pickathon. So it's the I call it the root thread instead of the through thread. I call it my root thread. So because they, you know, we're there and now we're here and so that so that's kind of fun. So a number of different festivals out there that I've been to.
Barry (22:00)
How do you choose?
Liesl (22:04)
Sometimes it's like, Hey, you wanna go to this festival? And I say, Okay. You know, I look at my I calendar and I'm like, Okay. Yeah.
Russ (22:11)
Just say yes. Yeah.
Liesl (22:13)
that's how nowadays I because I have some favorites, like I know I really love Pickathon. So then how am I gonna bookend that festival? Am I gonna do something in June? Am I gonna do something in September? so and then and then sometimes it is the lineup like this year I
Which Bonnarooo did a really great job of having kind of the women led rock kind of punk flavor t thread to it.
Russ (22:39)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (22:40)
Like I felt like they dropped some of Riot Fest into Bonnarooo this year. So of late I've really been into the British bands. So I've been looking for where's Turnstyle gonna be? Where's Amal and the Sniffers or the Lambrini Girls or De Spitz or any of those bands gonna be? and sometimes it's like, Can I get someone to go with me? Like I go by myself. I have done that, but usually if I can get a
a friend to go along that sometimes that's the decision making factor. I know I'll be fine whatever festival I'm at, right? Yeah, feel comfortable, I'll figure it out. I'll understand the stages. Those concepts are all the same. So I feel like it's like multiple factors kind of come into play when I'm finally deciding which one I'm gonna and is there a payment plan? Sometimes it's is there a payment plan that I can
Russ (23:25)
That that's important.
Liesl (23:27)
like one big sorry, go ahead.
Barry (23:27)
Well this is No,
no, go ahead.
Liesl (23:31)
No, I just gonna say like one big holiday in January. I'm gonna do that in Mexico. And so that had a payment plan and that's a larger chunk of money. So I was able to
Russ (23:40)
That's My Morning Jacket, isn't it?
Liesl (23:42)
yeah.
Barry (23:42)
Yeah.
Yeah. Which we're both big fans of. Hold
Russ (23:44)
Nice.
Liesl (23:45)
Yeah. yes.
Barry (23:47)
up your coffee mug.
Liesl (23:50)
No.
Russ (23:51)
There it is.
Barry (23:54)
that and that's sort of the point of what I wanted to talk about is how do you choose? And I and I think where we are as a as a fan of festivals is where are we? How do we choose? Is it the lineup? Is it the comfort zone? Is it the ease?
payment plan. I mean that's you you kind of said that with a giggle, but that's the reality, right?
Liesl (24:18)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (24:18)
it it there's so many different factors that come into play when we're choosing these kind of things. When you went to Glastonbury, w was that a bucket list? Was it that year? Was it that lineup? Or was it just the timing was right?
Liesl (24:36)
Well, I had tried a couple of years before to go and you don't know the lineup when you're getting the so y you're putting your tickets in in November and the lineup doesn't come
Russ (24:44)
Mm. Yeah.
Liesl (24:46)
out until springtime. So you just know you want to go to Glastonbury. And so that in in that instance I'd been I'd tried before. I had some interest around some friends who wanted to try. So I had, you know, four people to try to get tickets, so four times the luck to get the tickets. and so
That and then again, once you get the ticket, you can't say no because you don't know if you're ever going to get those tickets again. Once we got the tickets, I'm like, well, that's what I'm doing. and it's really cool because it's actually so accessible. I mean, flights to London are easy to get. It's real they make it easy to get to the festival. So once you get to London, then you take we took the train to Bath, England.
and so that's where we did a couple nights there to see the Roman baths. We were at Stonehenge for the Equinox or for what is it in June?
Russ (25:42)
Wow.
Liesl (25:42)
That one's called. is it the Equinox or are those the other ones? Anyways. longest day of the year and where they let you in and walk among the stones. And then the next day we caught a bus, 'cause you can buy your bus ticket with your festival ticket. And so you take the
Barry (25:59)
Nice.
Liesl (25:59)
bus. They drop you off at the top of the festival and
away you walk to get into the festival and get set up. So
Barry (26:07)
So along those lines, when you come to Manchester, Tennessee, what are what are your what did you go see?
Russ (26:14)
Ha
ha ha.
Liesl (26:14)
Manchester, Tennessee?
Well.
Barry (26:16)
I mean there's not Stonehenge,
so what'd you
Russ (26:18)
Yeah.
Liesl (26:20)
Well
the I you know, we have Lindsay there. We have no Jiffy Burger. Okay, when you said Lord Taco,
Russ (26:22)
Waffle House. Jiffy Burgers, yes.
Barry (26:23)
Did you go to Waffle House? Exactly.
Liesl (26:28)
Jiffy Burger, I've been going there from the first Bonnarooo. And so I'm I made it a tradition to go to Jiffy Burger and
Russ (26:35)
I yeah, it was my first time this year
and I'm so glad I went.
Liesl (26:39)
It's exceptional. I I remember one year we're in there, we're having breakfast and Gal is serving us coffee and we're like, Yeah, we couldn't get off the interstate and we had to drive all the way north and circle back. She said, Let me get my daddy on the phone. And so her daddy either was the mayor or related to someone on the council and said, They're not letting anyone off the highway into town And
Barry (27:02)
Yep.
Liesl (27:03)
yeah, so
Barry (27:05)
Love
it.
Liesl (27:05)
You
know, I I love Manchester. There's Lindsay. Lindsay will take us to the d like to the brewery. and so I I just love that feeling when you're driving down the highway out of Nashville and you pass Murfreesboro and you know, it's just it feels like home.
Barry (27:24)
Well, I I think that's probably the point that I'm hearing from you and from us it and this festival for people who don't go, maybe don't understand why d why do we go sit and sweat in a seven hundred acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee? It's because of this kind of thing. We've become friends, right?
Liesl (27:45)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Russ (27:46)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (27:47)
I mean, it's not just the music. It's not just
It's just everything. It's the fact that we now know each other and we get to hug and howdy as I s as I say and and become friends, right?
Russ (28:04)
Yeah, I mean I I'll be going to Lindsay's this coming weekend for Labor Day. He's having a a camp out out at the other farm, so
Barry (28:11)
How many have you been to, Liesel?
Liesl (28:13)
Yeah, I had a little bit of a break. I went in two thousand eight, then again in two thousand thirteen on. I think I've been to eleven Bonnarooos now. it would be a little higher if I hadn't had taken the little Europe detour, so
Russ (28:27)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (28:28)
eleven eleven bonaros.
Barry (28:31)
your thoughts on the the fallow year?
Liesl (28:35)
I feel two ways. A a split way, right? I'm like, I get it. I can see that Glastonbury does a fallow year, takes some time off, let the property reset. and I think that there are a number of reasons that that is probably a good thing from the property to the marketplace.
for festivals and how saturated it is and what is Bonnarooo and kind of what do we want it to be now and into the future. a little bit of excitement because that means I don't have to worry about a conflict for if I if I were to get Glastonbury
Russ (29:12)
Yeah.
Liesl (29:13)
tickets or whatever festival, I don't have to go, my gosh, but Bonnarooo because there's always the pull to if I do X, I can't do Bonnarooo. Right. So I'm and I know that it is such a personal experience for all of us.
that every it's like grief. People respond in many different ways. So you've got the gamut of, you know, gosh, I'm not gonna see these people. Maybe I can see them somewhere else. Right. So I have a I have that excitement that it opens up another door for me. so I I can see many different angles on that.
Barry (29:44)
Yeah.
Russ (29:45)
Yeah. I I you know, like you said, you go through the different stages of grief. Sometimes you move back and forth between those stages. I'm kind of at a point of acceptance right now. You know, I get it. but I just know when January hits in a few months and I'm like, we should be getting a lineup right now. We don't have it. That's gonna make me sad. when June rolls around I'm like, we should be getting ready to
to leave, you know, that weekend is gonna be really tough, knowing that what we're missing.
Barry (30:16)
Yeah.
Liesl (30:16)
Yeah, you'll
have to find maybe something else to try, right? Out of the area. Where you where you have all
Russ (30:21)
Yeah. yeah I'm it
Liesl (30:23)
friends, right? Because that's I see it as my responsibility. If I have people in other areas coming here, I have all the camping gear. So if anyone is coming out to a festival this way, I wanna help. Like I wanna I've got the sleeping bags, I've got the tents, like I wanna give it back.
Barry (30:39)
Yeah.
Russ (30:40)
Just like Dolly.
Barry (30:42)
There you go.
Liesl (30:42)
Yeah. Be like Dolly.
Barry (30:45)
You I think you told me this morning or maybe yesterday you're good you're coming out here for Shaky Knees, right?
Liesl (30:52)
Yeah, I've never done Shaky Knees. So yeah,
Barry (30:54)
Awesome.
Russ (30:54)
yeah. You're gonna love it.
Liesl (30:56)
so I have I have no idea. I mean, it's a city fest, so I know at least that experience from Riot Fest. and so I'm excited about that, that I've got something else to look forward to. Riot Fest and Shaky Knees both had solid lineups too. Like I really like that rock piece of it. and there are artists that I think I missed at Bonnarooo that I now get to catch at Shaky Knees.
Russ (31:20)
Yes, mm-hmm.
Liesl (31:21)
So
That's always fun. Fontaines DC, I've I've really been into them. and and Turnstyle, I mean, having seen them before this latest album, now and now they're just like all over the place, right? But like I'm excited for that energy. and I know I'll see some Bonarubians. are you gonna be there, Laura Taco?
Russ (31:42)
Yeah. you'll see us.
I'm definitely going. Barry hopefully he's going.
Barry (31:44)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Liesl (31:46)
okay. That'll be great.
Barry (31:47)
Yep. Yeah, and Mitchell
Russ (31:48)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Barry (31:49)
Mitchell is always there. Mitchell works, he's I
saw him was it two year last year? Yeah, selling ice cream.
Russ (31:55)
Last year. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Liesl (31:56)
I did get
to say hi to him
on Wednesday night. I did see him coming out of group.
Barry (32:02)
From your per perspective, what are the differences in festivals? You talked about city versus camping. Do you prefer one versus the other?
Liesl (32:14)
I think it depends on the experien you have to accept each festival for what it is, right? I because and know it going in. You know, camping is hard nowadays. I mean, I like doing it. I like being with my friends, I like being up close to the arch. I you know, I'm of of an age where like I like some of the comforts, and Lindsay
Russ (32:35)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (32:36)
helps me with that. but
For me, the so there's the accommodation like do I have to fly in, do I not? Do I get to drive with all of my creature camping comforts in my car, like I can for Pickathon? Or do I have to fly and figure that out? There's a different mental load associated with each festival, right? How much do I have to think about what's gonna fit in my suitcase if it's a camping festival? And that that can be taxing, right?
And I I like Riot Fest in Chicago because it's Chicago. It's a really really park and all of these really great neighborhoods. So there's other things outside of the festival to do in the festivals from like noon to ten PM at night. So it's it's just a different experience. I wish
Barry (33:25)
Yeah.
Liesl (33:25)
I had more to offer on that. I can't say I prefer one or the other.
Barry (33:30)
Okay. All right. Now Shaky Knees is similar. if
Liesl (33:33)
Uh-huh.
Barry (33:33)
you know, it's in Atlanta and pretty close to the five points area or the
Russ (33:40)
I think you'll like it.
Barry (33:41)
yeah, it's pretty cool.
Liesl (33:43)
reach out and ask you because I don't know. I haven't had the opportunity to do any studying about what I should do and see when I get there and before festival starts and stuff like that. So
Barry (33:53)
Yeah.
Liesl (33:53)
I'm gonna ask y'all about that.
Russ (33:54)
We can get you up to speed for sure.
Barry (33:57)
Are you going to Bumbershoot? Bumbershoot?
Liesl (34:02)
That's killing me because it was so Bumbershoot is great. It used to be a four day festival. and you used to it used to be much larger than it is now. And then it went through some iterations much like Bonnarooo. I am not going this year. Normally I go to what's called Labor Dave. Dave Matthews plays at the gorge, which is about
Russ (34:21)
Dave.
Liesl (34:22)
yeah, Labor Dave is what we call it. And I've been going to that since two thousand six. and he plays three shows and it's a giant carved out canyon. It's like
You know, you've got red rocks and you've got the gorge. And so I normally do Labor Dave. but I'm not doing that either. I'm going to with my friends
Barry (34:38)
Okay.
Liesl (34:39)
to a small lake in you know, off to the west. And I've got a
Russ (34:44)
that's not bad.
Liesl (34:45)
a whole b I've got some FOMO though, I just have to tell you because
Russ (34:47)
Yeah.
Liesl (34:48)
everyone is like, are you coming to Labor Dave? are you No, not.
Barry (34:53)
Well, I
bring it up, obviously, 'cause I thought maybe you were going, but
Liesl (34:56)
Bass.
Barry (34:57)
our our bicostal correspondent Beth is gonna be there. We need to give a big shout out to Bumber Shute for
Liesl (35:03)
bah
Barry (35:06)
she got credentialed. She will be there
Liesl (35:08)
Yes.
Barry (35:10)
on our behest. I think that's the right way to say it, right? She'll be there for The What Podcast, taking pictures and what a great event. it
The aforementioned turnstiled, the spits, peaches, blood
Liesl (35:24)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Barry (35:27)
orange, I I
Russ (35:28)
Yeah, the lineup for this looks really good.
Barry (35:30)
death cab yeah.
Liesl (35:31)
It's good. It
the space is at the Seattle Center, so it is sometimes I I stopped going for a while because it got so big and just the maneuvering, getting between stages was really crushed and crowded. And now that the format has changed, I had really given thought to going. There's this band called Bexley that I just saw open for Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, his cover band, This Is Real, just down the street from my house.
And Bexley is gonna be a bumper shoot. And so that is a band, just really powerful female vocalists that I'm I'm like, Beth, you gotta go check that out.
Barry (36:08)
Yeah. So that's cool. you guys weren't you guys together a week or so ago? It's something or kinda sorta.
Russ (36:17)
Yeah.
Liesl (36:18)
So yeah. Well, you know, so I met her for the first time, through Lindsay, I think it was in the blues traveler pit. And while she was taking
Russ (36:27)
Sounds right.
Liesl (36:28)
taking taking pictures, something like that. And then I'm like, gosh, you know, you're in, you know, Port Angeles, Port Towns in like a couple hours f from me. Like, you should go to Pickathon. And so she pocketed that away and then the week before, you know, she's like, I didn't I didn't get in for that. I'm like, Well, let me reach out to
My friend, Roovian, right, who's now taking pictures for Pickathon and the Ruth Red right there. And
Barry (36:53)
There it is.
Liesl (36:54)
yeah, and connected her those two together and she was able to get in and then she camped with me. So I got to spend some really great time with Bath and talk about
Barry (37:02)
She's awesome, isn't she?
Liesl (37:03)
music. Yes,
Russ (37:03)
Yeah.
Liesl (37:04)
yes, yes. So we had some really good conversation around music and bonero and all of that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Barry (37:09)
There it is. There's that Roo thread, like you said. That's so cool.
Russ (37:12)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (37:15)
all right, so we let's take a quick break and we'll come back. I wanna talk a little bit about CaveFest and anything else that we wanna catch up on.
All right, and we're back. what are some events, other festivals that you're looking forward to? What's on your bucket list? I mean Glastonberry's gotta be on everybody's right. So you've done that and you wanna do it again. So what else are you what else is on your list?
Liesl (37:46)
do
like i i get a lot of fomo on the british festivals now so reading and leeds i would love to go like to some festival in ireland so that I could go hang out in like maybe some old bar that's 600 year old cave to hang out with people that don't really understand what they're
Russ (38:06)
Yeah.
Liesl (38:07)
talking about. Like I think that experience would be cool.
there are some like I there's primavera and there's Porto, like some Spa Spain and Portugal festivals that I would be interested in going to. Ros Kilda, I don't know if I say it correctly. large festival, I think
Russ (38:24)
Sounds good to me.
Liesl (38:25)
it's in Denmark. Yeah, right. so I mean those are kind of some European ones. US wise, I have wanted to go to outside lands, but you know, sometimes if you don't hit it when it's small enough, it then gets too big.
for me. So I'm kind of Kilby Block Party. That has been on my list in Salt Lake City to check out, Kilby Block Party.
Russ (38:47)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (38:50)
okay, Bucketlist really is Newport Folk Festival. That is one that I have really wanted to go to.
Barry (38:55)
So
you mentioned a six hundred year old pub and why why limit it to six hundred? Why not go with
like a six million year old cave and come to Pelham, Tennessee and join us for CaveFest?
Russ (39:04)
Yeah.
Liesl (39:07)
Yeah.
Right. I've been Beth has talked about CaveFest. Lindsay has talked about CaveFest. You know,
Russ (39:15)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (39:15)
I I I worry about like being underground. I have some sort of anxiety. I might have died on the Titanic through drowning or just feel like I don't know in a past life, but you know, I I'm definitely interested. The venue looks beautiful and
Barry (39:30)
Yeah.
Liesl (39:31)
I I know people.
Barry (39:33)
Yeah, you do know people. We know a guy.
Russ (39:35)
Yeah.
probably a lot of people you know are going to this one.
Liesl (39:36)
You I
Barry (39:39)
We're gonna be there October tenth and eleventh. and Russ, we have news. We have great news. We have tickets
Russ (39:46)
We do.
Barry (39:47)
to give away.
Russ (39:47)
We got tickets to give away to CaveFest. two tickets. you know, this includes camping, so yeah, you're gonna get to come out to Pelham and see some bluegrass and and camp and yeah
Barry (40:02)
Hang out with us.
Russ (40:03)
and hang out with us. I hope so. Yeah. No, no
Liesl (40:04)
No no payment plan required.
Barry (40:07)
No, no payment. No, we're good.
Giving them away. so what do we got what do people have to do, Russ? W first of all, if you're gonna enter p please plan on coming. If you're gonna win these, plan on coming. But what do we decide? What's the best way?
Russ (40:20)
Yeah, please we w we want to
give these away to somebody who's actually gonna come. there's no cash equivalent, you know, if you don't make it, you're not gonna just, you know, get some get something else. So make sure you're actually wanting to come. What's that?
Barry (40:30)
Yeah, we'll make fun of you bad if you don't come.
We'll make fun of you if you don't come.
Don't use Yeah.
Russ (40:36)
And we'll make fun of if you don't come, yeah.
but yeah, I think best thing to do is first of all, make sure you're subscribed to us, on YouTube, Spotify, wherever. follow us on social media, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, whatever. and then like this video and leave a comment. you know, maybe tag somebody that you wanna go to CaveFest with. maybe talk about who you wanna see, just
A comment that we know you're y you want the tickets and we'll we'll pick a winner from there. How about that?
Barry (41:09)
Yeah, that works. I'm excited about it. Liesl, it's kind of like you were talking about, it's it's it's gonna be a Bonnarooian type of thing. We're we were already planning on going and so when the announcement came that twenty twenty seven was not happening, it feels like okay, we're gonna go hang out with our friends. a lot of the same people
Russ (41:32)
Yeah.
Barry (41:33)
that we camp with, I at Bonnarooo. So
Liesl (41:38)
That'll be great.
Russ (41:38)
And it's gonna be in the
Barry (41:38)
Not saying it's
Russ (41:39)
fall. The weather's gonna be so good.
Barry (41:42)
I hope so, man. I hope so. I talked to
I talked to Jeff over there. he was like, Yeah, it's gonna be hot in the at during the day, but it's gonna be cold at night. I'm like, I haven't camped in the cold in forever.
Russ (41:55)
man, it's so good. We're gonna have a campfire going. yeah, it's gonna be amazing.
Barry (42:00)
I can already see it in your eyes. I can see it in your eyes.
Liesl (42:01)
Are you gonna have your moonshine? Your
Barry (42:03)
You're thinking about it, aren't you? yeah, that'll be moonshine.
Russ (42:03)
There will be moonshine. Yeah. The there will be butterscotch moonshine for sure, yeah.
Liesl (42:05)
Yeah, butterscotch moonshine.
That is like lives on in into me right here, along with apple pie. There's moon. Yeah.
Russ (42:12)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Barry (42:14)
Apple pie. Mags. Yeah.
Liesl (42:17)
But what other festivals are you looking forward to when you look forward into the landscape?
Barry (42:23)
That one for sure. Shaky Knees.
Russ (42:26)
Shake your knees.
Barry (42:28)
Russ is trying to get down to Hulaween, which I would love to do.
Russ (42:32)
Yeah.
Liesl (42:33)
yeah.
Russ (42:34)
I have not heard
Liesl (42:34)
That is
Russ (42:35)
back. but that's fingers crossed that I I get to go to that
Liesl (42:39)
Mm-hmm.
Russ (42:39)
one. I have always heard such great things about Hulaween. It's gonna be about a six hour drive, which, you know, is a mm, it's a little far, but
Liesl (42:47)
Well on the verge.
Russ (42:49)
but I could I could make it. If I get accepted, I'll definitely be there. And I've just heard, you know, camping wise
Barry (42:54)
Yeah.
Russ (42:54)
it's great. the lineup is great, it's very jam and EDM heavy.
Liesl (42:59)
Mm-hmm.
Russ (43:00)
but I mean My Morning Jacket
Warren Haynes, string cheese, you know, it's a lot on there that I would really like to see and just the pictures look great, the video I've seen, everybody that's gone has has recommended it.
Barry (43:14)
I think we gotta figure out how to get to Hinterland next year. Our buddies our
Russ (43:19)
Yeah.
Barry (43:20)
buddies Parker and Jake and Michael have invited us. I wanna go to that. Bourbon and beyond, we've talked about a bunch. I want to go.
Liesl (43:30)
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Russ (43:31)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (43:32)
I loved Forecastle.
Liesl (43:35)
Mm-hmm.
Barry (43:35)
I and I know they're two completely different things, even though they're in Louisville,
Liesl (43:41)
No.
Barry (43:41)
sort of.
Russ (43:43)
Ha ha.
Barry (43:43)
one's down
was downtown and the other's out by the the fairgrounds. So those are yeah, those are on my list. and then, you know, just whatever else we can think of. But Shaky Knees Shaky Knees to me, here's the thing. It's lineup. It's about the lineup. The the event itself is it's a city fest, so it's very much lineup driven.
For me, Hulaween sounds like an event.
Russ (44:17)
Yeah, that sounds more like the experience. And the lineup is almost secondary. Yeah, I agree.
Barry (44:25)
Yeah, so that's where we are.
Liesl (44:27)
You said Bourbon and Beyond. I had a couple of different times. I've been on the payment plan for Bourbon and Beyond. And the good thing about payment plan is like you could cancel before your last payment and you get most of your money back. So
Russ (44:39)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (44:40)
yeah, I have been I have eyed Bourbon and Beyond a couple of different times and that one, not so much experience, but that one is lineup driven.
Barry (44:49)
Let me ask you this and then we'll we'll wrap this up. you pretty much travel by yourself, right?
Liesl (44:58)
A lot of the time, I mean, I'll meet people when I'm there, right? Or like meet new people, but have people that I know that fly in, right? So I'm not actually by myself by myself. Like I'm
Barry (45:10)
Well.
Liesl (45:10)
meeting another Bonnarooian for Shaky Knees. So
Barry (45:13)
Expand expand
on that. I mean like that first Bonnarooo, did you come by yourself?
Liesl (45:19)
No, I did not. It was my good friend who said, Let's go. And so we went together and we did VIP that year when it was like five hundred dollars, six hundred dollars, you get all the food included too. those days. But I did not but after that, when I came back in twenty thirteen, I went by myself and I had met up with the folks it was before Reddit. That sounds so old. InfoRoo, the right the Inforo chatrooms and stuff like that, and had connected with tent only. And so
met and started that's where I've met Lindsay actually was through that group.
Russ (45:53)
Mm-hmm.
Liesl (45:53)
Yeah, so that's what
Barry (45:53)
He's the guy to know.
Liesl (45:55)
yeah,
Russ (45:55)
Yeah.
Liesl (45:56)
well he was he's trying to raise money for his kids' soccer teams, handing out those bracelets and all of that kind of stuff. So so I do fly by I'm fine flying by myself. I usually fly but then I will get there and I will have someone that I know at the festival. But I don't mind going completely by myself. I've done that too
Barry (46:14)
Yeah, that's what I was getting at. for pi people out there who are like, you know, could I go by myself? We've had several people on our show that ha have done that and I think Bonnoroo's one of those that makes it I don't know if easy's the right word,
Liesl (46:28)
Yes.
Barry (46:30)
but it kinda takes that hesitation away. It it's they make it fun. And welcoming.
Liesl (46:39)
And welcoming. Everyone wants to know
you. Your neighbors want to you to have a good time. We all want to hang out and do the same thing.
Barry (46:46)
Guys, if you're gonna come to CaveFest, leave us a comment, get win those tickets. I can I can't wait. as far as upcoming shows, I'm not sure what we're gonna do. we've been doing this show since 2018. I've been going to Bonnarooo since the beginning. Russ has been going since 2018. We love Bonnarooo. This is a Bonnarooo-centric podcast, but we talk about other festivals and
part of the reason is that we get to meet awesome people like Liesel. Thank you so much.
Liesl (47:22)
Thank you.
of course, of course. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.
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