Bonnaroo Holds AMA, Adds Fuel to the Daft Punk Fire

Rob Slater on February 28, 2014

Bonnaroo co-founders Ashley Capps and Rick Farman held a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) last night following the festival’s triumphant lineup announcement just over a week ago, and did very little to quell the Daft Punk/Bonnaroo fever. In fact, it is now entirely possible the popular French electronic duo shows up on The Farm sometime in June, based on some of their responses.

Anyway, here are some highlights from the lengthy AMA, including all things Yeezus, why OutKast isn’t on the lineup, and pipe dream headliners for the future.

  • Fans of the World Cup will be thrilled, as ‘Roo plans to once again show the games on the outdoor screens like they did in 2010. “You bet,” says Capps.
  • Daft Punk Mention #1: Was it close at all this year? Capps confirmed, “I suppose it was really close this year. Maybe next!
  • Capps on the 2008 incident with Kanye: “It was complicated and there’s no reason to point fingers at anyone. There are so many moving parts to the festival and, in this case, a bit of miscommunication and a sincere desire to come up with a solution simply didn’t work out the way anyone wanted it to. But we have all moved on.”
  • Farman lists some of his “white whale” acts, including Prince, U2, The Rolling Stones, anything with Jimmy Page and Justin Bieber (jokingly). He also says that “having Phish was a huge deal personally because they were that transformative band” for him. Oh, and Daft Punk! (Mention #2)
  • Daft Punk Mention #3: When asked if there were any “goodies” in store (i.e. a Daft Punk secret set), Capps said the legendary electronic act can play a secret set whenever they want (except during Kanye’s set), and there will be a nice surprise coming with your tickets.
  • As far as the Superjam “?” is concerned, Farman says they have a lot of interest from people that “will at least hold par” with what they’ve done in the past.
  • For fans of the art installations, Farman says the festival is in talks with the Burning Man organizers about collaborating on projects for this year’s Bonnaroo.
  • When asked about the bizarre rumors that Grateful Dead members refuse to play Bonnaroo, Capps quickly shot that down, saying they have had multiple talks with Phil Lesh and Furthur about returning.
  • Capps addressed the lack of “jam bands” in recent years, saying, “When we book our festival each year, our only goal is to keep it fresh and exciting. Music is continually transforming and reinventing itself – and the jam band scene has also evolved and transformed.”
  • As far as Kanye is concerned, Capps says they started the discussion with the popular rapper “well over a year ago” and “it was time to leave the past behind.” Capps also mentions that there was discussion about a surprise set last year, but it unfortunately didn’t come to fruition.