Bonnaroo Sells Out: Ken Weinstein

Barry Courter on one side of the country, Brad Steiner on another.

Well, I guess we're not bi-coastal. Are we bi-coastal these days?

What would you call it? I don't know.

I know, but we're all over.

For you, I just call you bi.

Yeah, we're bi everywhere.

But, you know, I'm glad you said that because think about this, Brad.

Our last several podcasts we've had Orlando, Dallas, Seattle.

And now we're going to go to New York. You're in New Orleans.

That to me is the new message.

I'm overthinking this, but that to me is...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm overthinking it, but that's the message.

Yeah, I mean, it's a beautiful place.

It's Bonnarooo, right? It's the entire country. It's nuts.

Right. And we talk a little bit about that with Ken Weinstein today.

It's a very quick pop-up episode of The What Podcast because we've got a little bit of news.

We'll talk about my New Orleans thing in an upcoming episode.

We'll leave that where it is.

But we got Ken Weinstein back today.

And normally, you know, we'll be honest with you.

You know, we're trying to not overdo it with the inside baseball stuff,

but things just keep happening over and over.

It just feels right to talk to some of these guys that are pulling the strings and the levers of all of this for us.

So Ken was nice enough to come back on the show.

Ken Weinstein from Big Hassle. He's sort of like the promo guy, right?

Is that what you would call him? The guy that really is the messenger of the Bonnarooo...

Yeah.

...Bonnarooo feeling.

I describe him two ways. He's the media guy. He's the PR guy, number one.

That's his official. But he's also the fifth Beatle.

He's the first... He's the highest ranking non-Superfly AC Entertainment guy.

He's the one that they brought...

Where are we on that list?

Uh, ooh, that's a good question.

I don't... But yeah, yeah.

The answer is, we're not on that list.

We're not on that list. But Ken is. So Ken was there, right?

He was there from the beginning. And you're exactly right.

I hesitated as to go get him because it becomes...

You know, we become the inside baseball guys.

But yeah, it sold out. And the fact that it sold out so quickly...

It's something definitely that needs to be paid attention to.

And by the way...

Correct.

In this conversation that we have with Ken, guys...

Yeah, I heard it.

...he drops a big piece of news.

I heard it.

Did you hear it?

I heard it. I heard your ears go, bing!

I was not going to push it because I don't know if he...

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Sometimes I think they're doing this on purpose to us.

And we just need to stop being surprised when it happens.

But there's a little piece of news in here that I think you're going to like a lot.

Plus, when we come back out of this, we have a little bit of news on our side to share with you that we're very excited about.

Very excited.

And we have a question from Big Hassell and one of the curators of your Boner Experience on the What Podcast.

Hi, guys.

What's up, Brad? How are you doing?

This is great. This is really exciting. We get to all talk to each other at the same time and not wear pants.

And...

Well, it's 40 degrees where I am, so unfortunately my pants are all...

Well, this is how you and I are different. Ken, this is how you and I are different.

Yeah, Brad, it's a little bit warmer down there where you are, right?

Yeah, it's doing pretty well.

Ken, you've got a pretty easy job from here until June, huh?

Well, I would say that I don't have to worry about helping sell tickets.

But I wouldn't say it's easy because it's still very important to tell Bonnaroo's story.

There's a lot of new narratives for 2020 and we're going to keep on telling those stories and getting people excited.

I think a lot of what fed this sellout is all the stories we told last year.

So, you know, there's a lot of information that's going to come out in the next several months. That'll be pretty exciting.

Yeah, let's talk about that sellout. That's the reason we're talking.

I mean, the fact that this thing sold out so quickly and it's gotten so much energy, right?

I mean, people are so excited about this. It's amazing.

Yeah, yeah, I think Bonnaroo always... People always say to me, and I might have said this in the last interview,

you know, how was Bonnaroo? And I'm like, it's never not great.

So, I think the word of mouth on the festival couldn't be any stronger than it is right now

because, you know, it's the gateway to the soloist. It's the rite of passage.

It's the state of mind that people want to tap into.

And we're incredibly inclusive. We're a bunch of nice people.

We're a bunch of loving people. We're a bunch of music loving people.

And we just like having a good, fun, safe time together.

And everyone's welcome. Everyone's invited. All types of kinds, sizes, creeds, everything.

And it's the land of acceptance and Bonnaroo is the best. And people love that.

Who wouldn't want to be there?

Yeah, it is quite amazing. And it's got to be a source of pride when you get to, you know,

look at the calendar and say, oh my goodness, we sold out quicker than we ever have.

I mean, this is not something that major festivals can send you that they do on a regular basis

with this type of, you know, quickness. It just doesn't happen very often.

The testaments, everything that you were saying, the story that's been told,

the feeling that has been created by Bonnaroo over the year after year after year

and what you guys are continually to build.

And, you know, at some point you got to look around and be like,

what more is there that we can do?

But you guys are continually finding new ways to super serve the audience, huh?

Well, that's for sure. You know, we never sit on our laurels.

We are always looking for ways to improve.

And even though we sold out last year, we still want this year to be better.

And there's a lot of focus on that. And we want to make sure everyone's happy.

We want to stay current. We want to do new stuff.

And there's a lot of, and people know that.

And that's why they keep coming back, because they know we're creative

and that, you know, we're going to keep on injecting new, cool,

interesting things into the fabric of the festival.

I would like to say the awarding is important here because it's not the fastest we sold out,

but it is the earliest we sold out.

Right.

2002 sold out in 19 days. Can't beat that too easily.

The second one, 2003, sold out nearly as fast-ish, but this one is the earliest.

So we have never sold out before March 1st before. That's unheard of.

And I think, you know, it's because people want to tap in and come hang out.

And they know we do things right down there, and they know it's a lot of fun.

And the lineup is insane.

Yeah. And I think the way you said earlier is exactly right.

And I think that that is part and parcel of why we love Bonnarooo so much.

It's never not great.

I mean, if there's anything that is more of a Bonnarooo, it could be a Bonnarooo catchphrase.

It's never not great.

Never not great.

Never what?

Never not great. I like it. Bonnarooo, never not great.

Pouring down rain, pouring down rain, maybe a lineup that maybe doesn't hit 100% for you.

Maybe, you know, you had a bathroom emergency that really screwed up a day or two for you.

It's never not great.

100%. You know, I just came back from a fish in Mexico,

and that was an incredible experience, not just because everyone was in Mexico,

but because of these like-minded people getting together, gathering.

It's where they see each other.

That's where they come to catch up, hang out, dance, see great music, but really to connect.

And when I was in a band in the 90s, a tiny band,

we would draw like 30 or 40 friends every time we played.

When we broke up, our friends were like, we're never going to see each other again.

You know, like this is what brings people out.

And it's where it's a gathering that's created, you know, that's created by the band,

and it becomes something bigger than the band.

And I think Bonnarooo has achieved over its 19 years something very similar,

that it's bigger than the festival itself.

We're talking, you know, we're talking people's lives being changed on an annual basis there,

growing, maturing, meeting friends of a lifetime, meeting spouses of a lifetime, you know.

It's very super unusual.

Well, that's what I wanted to ask.

First of all, I wanted to go back and point out that the last two sell-outs are, you know,

kind of coincidentally because, you know, the What Podcast has come online.

So, are you saying the What Podcast also sell-out?

I'm ready to agree.

You know, are you going to say it's not?

I'm ready to agree, Barry.

We're going to claim it anyway.

I sort of got it.

If I would have said that, I would have gotten kicked in the face.

I'm going to do it.

I'm going to do it.

You know, the timing is just what it is.

But one of the things that Brad and I have really learned in doing this is it's across the country.

It's across the world.

I mean, the people that we talk to as part of this podcast, Ken, are Orlando, Dallas, Seattle,

and everybody has a very similar story.

It's remarkable when we break it down that everyone has the same vibe, the same feeling.

It doesn't matter if it's 30 minutes from Manchester or, you know, 5,000 miles.

It's the same vibe.

That's a really weird thing.

Not weird.

It's a remarkable thing, right?

It's a very remarkable thing, and I think there's a lot of focus these days in the news

about how the world is divided.

And, you know, there are a lot of, dare I say, walls between people based on ideology, religion.

That stuff makes me really sad because it takes out the human element.

And human beings should just be together and get along.

And I hate to think who you think should be president or, you know,

what version of the Bible you read could separate you.

But at the end of the day, what Brad only shows, and other gatherings like it,

is that, like you said, no matter how far and wide,

there are people who are just like one another, who come together, be together,

and share in these great experiences that truly are the fabric of even kind.

It is the one thing that binds us all together no matter what our differences are.

I have a couple of, maybe they're not process questions, but just real quickly,

and clarify this because I don't know how this works,

but what does Baneru do specifically to curb or fight or whatever the word might be,

even if it may be a completely different word, against aftermarket retailers,

second market retailers, when they see a ticket online that's $800, $900?

Does Baneru do anything about that?

That's above my pay grade, Brad.

Yeah.

I actually don't know the answer to that.

I would answer it if I knew the answer, but I don't know the answer.

Yeah.

But we don't like, I don't, no one likes anyone being ripped off, that's for sure.

Yeah, I got you.

Along those lines, I guess maybe, Ken, I had a question about demographics.

I was just thinking today,

but demographically, what is, who's coming to Baneru?

Because that's one of the things Brad and I have, like I mentioned earlier,

they're coming from all over the country.

What are you guys finding?

Really all over the world.

They're coming from all over the world, and it's, you know,

while I haven't seen recent demographic numbers, they're, you know, really,

it's incredibly eclectic and diverse.

All ages, all genders.

You know, it's really, it's an incredible, it's a real diverse collection of people.

I was going to use the word fabric again because my parents were in the garment industry,

so I decided not to.

All right, to that point, when you said that, you know,

you haven't seen the demographics yet,

is that something that you guys can see today,

or is that something that you don't see until much further down the line?

Well, it's 2020, Brad, so we're living in a society of metrics,

and so many, you know, all these numbers are available to everybody all the time.

I mean, you'd be shocked if you saw the back end of Spotify.

Yeah, I know, that's sort of where I'm going.

The metrics they collect are wild.

Yeah, and what's that doing to drive decisions that are being made for,

maybe that are changing your direction for 2020, like, tomorrow?

Is it changing anything as you see the demographics come in

and making you recalibrate maybe some plans that you have already?

I think the answer to that question really is, like, you know,

on one hand, don't fix what isn't broken,

and on the other hand, you know, just make sure you're serving,

you know, you're just being creative.

And I mean, if you're just cooking dinner for one group,

there's another group that, you know, if you're really, like,

focused in on a recipe that only one group is going to like,

and the other group's going to be unhappy,

I think the idea is really to have something for everyone.

You know, that's why Miley Cyrus is opening up for tool in that slot,

and I think, I wouldn't say opening up,

but coming before is a better way of putting it.

But on one hand, this is an interesting point,

I'm kind of actually going to go back on myself here,

because on one hand, while you can't focus only on one group

because the other group will be unhappy,

at the same time, modeling knows how eclectic its fan base is,

and, you know, more people would be at least interested in seeing Miley,

more tool fans would be interested in seeing Miley,

and hanging out and watching that act than you'd imagine.

And I think that finally really respects its fan base,

knowing that it's the most open-minded fan base in the world, really,

certainly in the country.

You know, we, so I think to answer your question more succinctly,

you know, you have to follow your nose, follow your gut,

try to cook up things that respect your audience,

and because they're smarter than you think.

Yeah.

See, this is what's so interesting,

and this is the kind of thing that we talk about, that we think happens,

but this is the reality.

I mean, you guys understand that the Bonnarooo audience is a different audience, right?

Absolutely.

It wants to be, yeah.

Yeah, they are very open-minded, open-hearted.

They're a very special group of people, really special,

and they follow us for, you know, the word of mouth follows us.

Even if the same person who came here once isn't there in year 19,

that person tells someone who tells someone who tells someone who is coming this year.

I went back and listened to our interview with you at the end of, you know,

a couple years ago, and I mean, what is the file that you have, Summer Festival?

Summer Festival.

Summer Festival.

That's nuts, and to think, here it is, and it's sold out in six weeks, basically, right, two months?

Yeah, basically, basically, yeah.

I mean, what is that?

It's so exciting because it really, it confirms what we were thinking all along, you know,

and there's no better feeling.

It's great, you know, there's just no better feeling than to nail it at that level

where people are so excited about something you built.

Yeah.

Let's do this.

That's a great point, though.

I'm sorry, Barry, to interrupt, but that's a great point.

So when did you, you specifically, because you've been around for a very, very,

very long time when it comes to this, when was it in your heart did it hit that, yeah,

when you got to the next level, then you hit the next level and you can feel it,

you can probably see it, but when did you feel that you hit that top, like, that upper echelon,

you looked around like, oh my God, I think we got it, I think we really, really did it.

You know, you know, you know what?

Really?

Right from the beginning, it was clear that we tapped into something very special,

right from the get-go.

I told you that story in the last interview about, you know, the Sounders, you know,

on the main stage when Trey with the orchestra was about to begin and looking at it,

70,000 and going, you know, wow, you know, really tapping into something that, you know,

I make a joke with my friends and my family, I'm always like, we need to invent the brick,

we need to invent something that everyone needs and doesn't know that they necessarily need,

everybody needs the brick.

Yeah.

So, Ballou was, you know, one of those types of inventions, you know, like,

no one realized that it was a void, but it wasn't just a void for just anything.

It has to be, it was, there's a lot of care and thought put in and people recognize how much care

and thought and the response that they know they're coming and being well taken care of

and that it's going to be great, it's not a hazard, it's like programmed and,

but just enough, it's just enough programming to make it perfect and not too much to make it too

uptight and organized, you know, like an organized fun vacation at a club med, you know,

it's not too uptight, it's just tight enough with the right creativity and the right care,

but it allows people to make it their own at the same time.

And right from year one, right from year one, we knew that, you know, it was done the right way.

When I was asked, you know, after Superfly left, it's the first year without Superfly,

you know, when I was asked, what, you know, what do you recommend, Ken?

What do you, you know, what should we do?

And I said, don't change, just, you know, don't, there's that phrase, keep Austin weird,

keep Austin Texas, keep Austin weird, and it is, it's as weirdly beautiful as ever.

And that was, and everyone's tapping in and coming out.

That all gets to my, where I was going to go with, I want to give you the chance because 2016,

you know, the numbers were down and as Jeff Cuellar pointed out,

it still was the largest festival in the country or close to it.

Right.

So, you know, don't just overlook that, you know, it was,

and you know, you know, you know what was great in 2016?

Yeah, we had room.

Everything, everything was great.

Everywhere was one of our favorites.

No, no, no, you know what was great in 2016?

Baru.

It was great.

Yeah, exactly.

Never, never, it's never not great.

So, yeah, the numbers were down that year for whatever reason,

but like it was still literally the greatest weekend of 2016.

So some of the folks, you know, online are saying you guys reinvented or this or that or whatever,

but you sold out last year.

You sold out this year very, very quickly.

So, I mean, yeah, 16 was sort of a...

Yeah, Baru, Baru, Baru is a living, breathing organism and, you know, it's going to shape shift.

And the founders are smart enough and the, you know, the promoters, the organizers,

they're all smart enough to not be rigid, you know.

No one thinks they're perfect.

Everyone is going to react to what the fans want.

Everyone's going to react to what society is looking like, cultures looking like, you know.

And by the way, talk about an ever-changing, growing being.

You know, you mentioned it a few minutes ago that, you know,

no matter what your political stance or your religion,

boy, it just so happens that Bonnaroo has sold out the last couple of years

and really found a niche in the most polarizing time in our lifetimes, you know.

It's just odd how that all works out.

It's like the thing that brings us all back together.

But back to something that you just said, and I've never really thought about it before,

but when they came to you and asked you, you know, what you thought,

and I'm not saying you or somebody else,

was there ever a discussion that Bonnaroo could be thicker or smaller?

Were those options thrown out there just to, you know, see what happened?

Well, it did go to 90,000 one year.

I just, I forgot what year that was. It might have been 2005.

But, yeah, I mean, I'm sure those discussions happened, not in front of me.

I'm not invited to that table, and that's cool.

Yeah. I mean, I get it.

I mean, look, you've got several festivals around the country that go two weekends.

You've got several. You've got, you know, Jazz Fest that goes for two weeks.

Yeah.

You know, if you wanted to, you could literally keep people in Manchester camping for a month.

If you really wanted to.

I can think of two.

I mean, they might leave.

I can think of two, right?

That would make Coffee County very happy.

Yeah, I just, I've got to wonder, like, there's got to be some sort of conversation like that,

just to throw stuff against the wall and see if ideas stick and wonder how far those conversations had gotten.

Because what I do know about the great founders and organizers of Bonnaroo, from what I know, and I know them pretty well,

they talk about everything.

So everything gets broken down and discussed.

So I'm sure that's, I'm sure they talk about that too.

Interesting.

I think that's a big part of what we've learned, Ken, in the three years that we've been doing this.

And the fact that you come on here and talk about it, and Jeff Quayer comes on here and talks about it,

and Ted Heinegg and Brian and Stephen came on and talked about how they booked the festival.

I mean, there's so many things about that that I find fascinating.

One, that people care.

I mean, that's the thing.

And it's not just me and Brad.

It's people all over the country.

We're obsessed with this sort of thing.

I love it.

Yeah, I love it.

We love cooking for you, Barry.

Thank you.

Yeah.

We love cooking for you.

I will turn you back to the thing that Brad said before.

I think, you know, these are divisive times, and I think maybe that is why it's selling out.

I think people are really requiring, you know, like, give me that blanket.

I need a little bit.

I'm kind of cold.

So, you know, I think people are, like, looking for a little, you know, body warmth.

Let me ask you this.

Looking together and feel safe.

If you want some body warmth, come to Camp Nut Butter.

Barry's got plenty of it.

Yeah, yeah.

Very warm Camp Nut Butter.

I can attest to that.

Moonshine and pimento cheese.

Let me ask you this, Ken.

That's a lethal combination.

Yeah.

I think people are wondering.

So, 80,000 is sold out, right?

That's the number.

Right.

All right.

And Brad is asking...

There are some, by the way, just to put it out there and make sure the listeners know,

there are some, the National Shuttle tickets, there are some of those available.

So, you know, those people who are, you know, it's still, there are still ways in.

So, just look online and look at Bono.com because the 80,000 tickets are gone, but there

are still limited ways in.

So, what is the add-on number?

What is the op number?

What's the extra number?

What's the staffing?

I mean, because we're...

I'm not sure what the staffing is this year, but you know, probably grows by 5,000 from

that or, you know, five.

I don't really know the answer to that, but there's, you know, it's a big staff to do

what we do.

It's huge.

It's huge.

That's what we're trying to figure out.

I mean...

It takes a village.

It takes the seventh largest city in Tennessee.

Hey, Ken.

Okay.

Let me ask you this.

You guys, you just said something that was really interesting.

So, it's like a warm blanket.

It's a feeling that is emitted from all the good places that we maybe throw deep down

under and we don't really engage with on a regular basis.

What...

Do you feel a responsibility?

Maybe not you specifically, but do you think Bono feels a responsibility to lead in that

area?

Do you feel like it's like on them to create something or do you think that it's more of

a general created feeling by the fan and by the space?

Is it more of a magical thing that's grown from the earth, if you will, if you want to

start talking witchy stuff, or do you think it's Bono's responsibility to create this

and lead in the way of creating positivity and love and warmth?

Well, I tell all my clients that you can't paint your canvas while looking over your shoulder.

I feel like that can get you in trouble.

You can overthink.

But Bono is...

I think there is something...

There is a certain magic potion to it, but nothing at that festival happens without a

lot of thought and care.

I think it is aware of its place in society and its place in the fabric, there I go again,

of the industry, so to speak.

I think there's a little bit of pressure to be Bono, but I think there's also a magic.

It's that weird combination of things that you can't put your finger on probably.

I think you can't cook it up.

You wouldn't be able to put a recipe in the book and make it happen again.

I think Tennessee has a lot to do with it too, just the location.

That was my question.

You're in New York.

Brad and I are 60 miles away, and we bring it home with us.

What's it like for you?

Does Bono-Ru live in your world 365, or do you go back and you had a good week and everything

changes?

Well, me personally, Bono-Ru is in my life 365 days.

It's part of my everyday existence all the time.

It's a mindset that sticks with me all year round for sure.

I learned from Bono-Ru, I learned from Bonoruvians, I learned from the people I work with, the

people who I...

I learned from the people who go down to the festival.

I take that in.

None of it's lost on me in terms of how we get along as people.

You say you live at 365, and I know that when we talked to Brian and Steve, they would tell

us it's their job to think about this every day.

First and foremost, they've done a lot of other stuff to deal with.

The fact that they're dealing with Bonoruv and other festivals every single day is almost

beyond my comprehension.

That's somebody's job.

Do you think that people like Barry and I and some of the others are weird?

That's a fair question.

That's a great question.

I think the two of you are weird, but not because of Bono-Ru.

I would have it no other way, to be honest with you.

There's a Bono-Ru...

People are posting about Bono-Ru all year long.

I don't think it's weird.

It's like what I was saying before about Fish Mexico.

The guys in Fish know that that thing that they have is bigger than their own band that

they've created.

It goes way further than the band and its songs.

It's this way deeper thing that connects people.

If you look at it that way in terms of human connection, it's just not weird at all.

You guys are obsessed about it because the endorphins that are created by the concept

of Bonoruv, you want to keep tapping into that.

You want that again and again and again.

I think the point here is...

I'm going back to the beginning.

Brad, you and I talked to folks from Orlando, Dallas, Seattle.

We've got Ken, who was there from the beginning.

We all have the same connection.

We're not making this up.

This festival is something different that we've all...

Sorry to interrupt, but I was talking to the editor of Polestar, the music editor of Polestar.

His name is Ed Gensler, great guy.

Came to Bonoruv last year for the first time.

We were talking on Friday and he said a mutual friend of ours asked him if he was going to go back to Bonoruv.

He hasn't made his plans yet.

He has kids and all these obligations.

He said, he's like, I'm really thinking about it.

It was just so good.

Everything.

Going over all the things that he loved about last year and just being there.

He's drawn to just wanting to feel that again.

Yeah.

I think what you're talking about, guys, is very universal and not weird at all.

Yeah, well, okay, but you are still a person.

You are still a human being that has your creature comfort.

What are the biggest struggles for you to be on a forum for a week?

I don't know.

I mean, I probably struggle with how do you cover everything that you want to cover?

You want to see every band.

You want to catch every DJ.

You want to visit every plaza.

You want to be able to capture in writing, I think is the key here.

You want to be able to capture in writing what your eyes see and what your heart feels and what your ears hear.

You know what I mean?

And your soul takes in.

How do you capture in words what sort of you almost can't put into words?

If I was a member of the media, that would be my struggle.

Yeah.

And you think that you would be the same GA person too, I bet, trying to see everything.

Oh, absolutely.

And it's so funny that you make it that because somebody like me who struggles with just general living,

it's the heat, right? It's the elements.

It's the heat.

It's the rain.

It's the feeling like I just want to die for about an hour in the day, but then by seven o'clock, it's all worth it again.

I do think that we do paint a very rosy picture of it in general because there's a very rosy picture to paint.

But it does come along with some real things.

And I want to talk in future weeks about like first timers.

We've talked about in the past and some realities that you have to understand.

I mean, there are certain things that you need to be prepared for.

And the heat and basically an onslaught of rain is very possible.

But again, like Ken says, it's never not great, Barry.

No, he's exactly right. It's never not great.

I mean, I don't think that one of the things that make special from a performance point of view,

and I think we might have covered this in the last interview is what you're saying is people are definitely up against the elements.

They are like they're embedded in this wild, you know, not so much survival game.

It's not, you know, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's it's more of a we're all in it together.

But it's but it's definitely, you know, you're definitely putting yourself out there and you're, you know, you're living amongst it for those four days.

And that, you know, that vibe of living there and living with everyone else and really kind of going up against the elements.

That's because that's why the energy from that crowd.

That's right.

Give so much to the band and then the band send it right back. And that's why some of my favorite performances of all time have been at Bonnarooo,

because that energy exchange is so unique to that very place, that very far.

You're not. And again, you're never you're never going to get that from, you know, well, you can.

But City Festival is hard for you to get there because it requires an amount of vulnerability that if I were to tell any any first timer

or second timer who's still on the fence or maybe your friend who, you know, industry people who still look at it like, I don't know if I can do that.

If you allow yourself to be vulnerable, if you allow yourself to let go, it really will reward you ten times over.

You're in New York. You've probably seen a show or two, right? I mean, you see them every day.

You could go every day. And Bonnarooo is special to you.

It is fascinating. It is really fascinating. And it's and you know, it's it's yeah, we're all just like shaking our head and raising our hands and toasting and cheering.

And it's a beautiful thing. And again, it's just so great to be to the.

It's so affirming and life affirming to know that you built something that people like so much and want to be there because you built it.

You know, you know what? If you build if you build it, they not that's it.

They won't necessarily come. You got to build it right.

Well, they come back and you got to make them come back.

So, you know, so so if you if you look, you put your crystal ball, you have to ice your crystal ball.

What is the thing that you are two things, the thing that you're most excited about, maybe a show you're most excited about an artist.

They're most excited about for twenty twenty or a change. And secondly, what's the biggest change that you're excited about?

Well, there's a lot of changes that we're about to announce in a lot of the things that are going to happen in the plazas.

Very exciting. Like I said this last year, you know, it'll it'll remain true again that you could never you could not step in.

If you didn't step in, you'd still have the weekend of a lifetime.

So there's a lot of great announcements that are going to come down the pike about what's happening out in the campgrounds and at the plaza.

So I'm pretty pumped about that. And gosh, in terms of being excited for a show, I mean, there's just too many to mention, frankly.

I'm excited for that tool headlining slot in a big way.

I'm also excited for the Turkish band Altun Gun. Yeah, they're going to be there.

But I mean, literally just just too many to mention.

There's I mean, it's it's going to be it's bonkers that that lineup is nuts.

And then there's some, you know, I guess back to the struggle for anyone going, whether you're media or just a person as a, you know, just a fan, you know, the FOMO factor, because you want to be everywhere at the same time.

Yeah. You want to be at the main stage. Those are very far apart.

By the way, that's something we haven't we haven't talked to you since the lineup drop.

When you saw it before anybody else thought, did you know it was going to be this well received?

Did you have a feeling that this is going to be really good?

I will tell you that I sent three letters back to it was a simple email with three letters back to the person who sent me the lineup when it was finalized and done.

And that was W.O.W. What does that spell? Whoa.

Oh, wait, that's W.O.A. four letters. I just I saw that lineup and we were all just pretty blown away.

Wow, this is a good one. Goddamn.

And I knew that, you know, the thing is with Bonnarooo again, see the lineup, I just know that's the tip of the iceberg.

There's so much more to that festival. And that's why I say there are a lot of festivals, but there's only one Bonnarooo.

And that's because the lineup is just the tip of the iceberg. That's right. That's right.

Yeah, that's what that's what we keep coming back to. I mean, it's so much more the the the experiences the out in the G.A.

It's just a game changer. I mean, we would have never, never considered going out there, Ken, 15, I mean, three years ago.

And now now we're like, dang, we're in the wrong spot.

I've been going out to the G.A. I've been going out to the campgrounds and all 18 years.

And it's always fascinating out there and always amazing.

It's a real treat to see how creative the fans get out there.

But now, yeah, starting with a few, you know, with five years, six years ago, the programming out there just keeps on getting better and better and better.

Yeah, it was one thing. It's all very integrated. It's all very integrated into the fan experience.

Nothing feels out of place or forced. It's just, you know. So I have an idea.

It feels like a pop up. What do you feel like? What do you feel about this idea, Ken? You, me, Barry, Lord Taco, we take a stroll through camp sites and just go talk to people randomly in the campsite.

What do you think? My golf cart is your golf cart.

Is that a euphemism?

So they have to be.

This turned really dirty really quickly.

That's so exciting. I really love. I love talking to you. I love. I feel like, you know, me as a radio guy, right?

I know when I can talk to somebody and hear them and feel like they're my pal and I don't even know them.

And I'm knowing the listener the way that I feel like I know them.

I think that you are everybody's best Bonnarooo friend. And we can't thank you enough for everything you've done for the show, for the festival.

And, you know, we're just excited to see you again at Camp Nut Butter, man.

Well, the feeling is heavily mutual, Brad and Barry.

You know, Brad, you and I just met. Barry and I have known each other for years. And any friend of Barry's is a friend of mine.

But yeah, we are clearly like minded people and I'm excited to ask.

Hello, Ken. Ken Weinstein for Big Hassle on the What Podcasts? Barry Courters. Brad Steiner, you are Bonnarooians.

Now, we appreciate you first off for listening. And because you listen, we want to thank you with a little bit of a gift, Barry Courters.

A big gift. We're going to make some folks happy. These things have become valuable, right?

Yeah, it's a big gift now. We've got a pair of tickets to give away in the upcoming weeks to a What Podcasts listener.

So we just need to figure out a way to give this away. So my suggestion, Barry, and we can do this right here right now, I say we've got a guy whose name is Lord Taco.

You might have heard him on the Roo Bus podcast. Now, he said very fondly the other day that Lord Taco, he said, I can get on the Roo Bus podcast, but I can't get on my own podcast.

So Lord Taco. Well, I mean, you know, there's standards. He's fielding all of these social media interactions.

I mean, he's the go-to guy that's on social media for us. So here's what I'm thinking.

If you share us on Twitter, on Instagram, we'll find you. And you share us, you follow us, just hit share.

Hashtag the What Podcast or at the What Podcast. Share it. And the larger we grow, the more thanks to you.

And we'll find somebody along the way who shared us with another friend. We'll find you and we'll give you tickets. We've got a pair of tickets to give away.

So what do you think about that? You got any other ideas? No, no, I love it. I love it. Lord of texting and communicating online.

Lord, it's tweeting, tweeting, getting online. And by the way, if you don't know this, I bought him an actual piece of property in England that he is the Lord of. So all he needs to do to claim his Lordship is to renounce his citizenship in America.

And then he has been the Lord of his piece of land. So that's all he needs to do. He's officially requested Lord Taco. He just has to get that bus across the pond.

Get that Volkswagen bus across the pond. Share us in some form or fashion. We'll have some tweets and some Instagram messages and so that you can share along with all of your friends and hopefully spread the good word about the What Podcast.

And somebody along the way will get a pair of tickets to Bonnarooo. A sold out Bonnarooo. Sold out. Man, nuts. Can't thank Ken enough. Unbelievable.

You know, and I just it blows my mind, Brad, that all these people across the country were all of the mind. It's so similar. You know what I mean? It's it's it's.

It's anyway, we're not that similar. I've seen some of the guys with their shirts off. We look nothing like. But we are we are pretty similar. All right. There you go. Barry Courter. We back next week. Bonnarooo let to partner.

On the What Podcast season. Bye.