After the unprecedented cancellation of Bonnaroo 2025, fans have had big questions about the future of the festival and in this episode, we get real answers straight from C3 Presents, the team that puts on the festival. Brad Parker, Festival Director and Cory Smith, Marketing Manager join us today for an in-depth look at the changes to Thursday programming, the removal of Tuesday entry, campground changes, stage updates, and more.
Many thanks to our Discord members for submitting questions for Brad and Cory! Fan feedback definitely plays a role in shaping the future of Bonnaroo, and we are very fortunate for Brad and Cory to sit down with us and answer all these questions and more. Join our server at: https://thewhat.co/discord
Listen to this episode with Brad and Cory 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!
______
CHAPTERS
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:54) Recapping 2025's cancellation
(00:22:10) Thursday welcome party
(00:27:43) Removal of Tuesday entry
(00:34:36) How many less tickets will be sold
(00:35:09) The Infinity Stage
(00:38:25) Kalliope, Outeroo, and the Who Stage
(00:44:51) 2025 artists returning for 2026
(00:46:17) Missed performances this year
(00:49:12) Roo Residency and jam bands
(00:52:49) Lineup, ticket sales, and pricing
(00:55:33) Vibe check
(01:01:39) Changes to camping and 1-day ticket sales
(01:03:36) Outro
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
When Bonnaroo Breaks Your Heart: Our Reaction to the 2025 Cancellation
Bonnaroo Community Spotlight: How Church Boners Became a Festival Family
Bonnaroo Lineup Behind the Scenes - Interview With AC Entertainment
How Bonnaroo Changed Manchester Forever: Live from Planet Roo
Thumbnail photo by: Evan Brown
______
š§ LISTEN LINKS
Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com
Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify
Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts
YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic
Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic
š± SOCIAL LINKS
Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast
X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thewhat.co
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thewhatpodcast
Email: comments@thewhatpodcast.com
The What Podcast theme: "Aquarius" by *repeat repeat
Other music provided by Midist
Popular Podcasts
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com