Feist meets Rubblebucket in 2012

A selection of this year’s artists reflect on their past trips to The Farm as fans, performers and Bonnaroovians

Rubblebucket: Bonnaroo Class of 2012

Rubblebucket may have only made one previous trip to Manchester, Tenn., but they certainly made the most of their trip to The Farm. The New England-bred, New York-based indie-dance band played four sets in one weekend and the ensemble’s horn section even made time to fit in with indie-pop crossover band Foster The People on the expansive Which Stage.The group has been through a lot since their inaugural Bonnaroo appearance: In 2013, lead singer Annakalmia Traver was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and Rubblebucket channeled the emotional period into their 2014 album Survival Sounds. (The album was released on Communion, a label co-founded by Ben Lovett of this year’s Bonnaroo headliners Mumford & Sons.) The band will return to Bonnaroo for the second time—technically guitarist Ian Herseyhas another feather in his cap since he attended as a fan—to perform on the brand new The Who Stage at 10:15 pm this evening. Communion will present this evening’s The Who Stage festivities.

What were your expectations of Bonnaroo before your first trip to the festival?

Big—biggest musical party I could imagine—and a massive playground with lots of friends. That somehow I’d have FOMO in the middle of it all because there’d be so many amazing things happening on all sides.

What do you remember most about your own performance?

We played four sets and played horns with Foster the People.One of our sets was during Radiohead’s show, which I thought would be a drag, but it was the most packed tight, high energy show we may have ever played as a band. I was blown away by the energy of these people who’d been out in the sun all day watching amazing music. They were wild and screaming. The whole band crowd surfed as our 15-ft robot puppets danced, accentuated by the metallic and fluorescent explosions of the set.

Describe your craziest Bonnaroo experience.

We took a golf cart from sitting in with Foster the People to play our third set of the day, on small side stage. Directly after that last set I sprinted to the main stage—via the artist/VIP back channels—where Radiohead was playing.I was dripping sweat and my heart was pounding. The second I got there they played their last note and said goodnight. I lowered my head and walked away slowly in disappointment. I got about 40 feet when I hear 50-80 thousand people start cheering. They’re doing an encore! Four songs! During “All I Need” (I think) I started balling my eyes out. I hadn’t had a cry like that in years.

How does Bonnaroo compare to other festivals you have played

It’s bigger than most. It just sort of has this feeling being the festival in the United States, and one of the most important festivals in the world. Highly organized yet filled with a fluid organic atmosphere. Near our campgrounds there was a huge crawfish boil. This really, really long table was completely covered with crawfish and surrounded by happy people gettin’ dirty. It had a Baroque/Medieval meets NOLA swamp feel to it.

What was your quintessential Bonnaroo moment from years past?

Backstage for Foster the People was a huge open space and it was sort of the most peaceful place at the whole festival—fewest humans per square feet. It felt very special. We were there to practice some horn parts, standing in a pack and this beautiful woman walks up to us smiling. I was like, “Whoa, who is the radiant person?” She said she stumbled upon our set at the Solar Stage the previous day and loved it. Kalmia went into shake her hand and said, “Wait a minute, you’re fucking Feist?” Feist laughed. We got an amazing photo of them shaking hands.

What band would you most like to collaborate with at Bonnaroo this year?

It’s an incredible lineup, therefore hard to say. We’ve been listening to Kendrick Lamar pretty nonstop on tour. He’d be top choice. Beyond that: Caribou, D’Angelo, Reggie Watts, Earth Wind & Fire. (I’ve played so many of their songs over the years. I can’t even believe they’re performing).