As we settle into the annual Bonnaroo weekend (one of the big three yearly American music festivals), I can't help but reflect on and compare the lineup, the live stream, and the entire vibe of these big events, how they've evolved, and their current states compared to the history and the legend of each.
Already this year, Tennessee's Bonnaroo festival has continued to struggle with severe weather issues that have resulted in delays and difficulties for attendees on site. Last year, the rain created so much mud that, especially when coupled with lightning and tornado watches, caused the promoters to cancel the festival less than half-way through the weekend. Perhaps changes in weather patterns have made the mid-June, outdoor event in that particular region too difficult to facilitate. It's possible the festival could do better in May or September or on different grounds nearby. This year, even with a scaled down first day that consisted of only four performers, the headliner, Skrillex, had his set yanked from the livestream broadcast at the last minute due to "licensing issues," something that would have seemingly been worked out well in advance for any DJ or electronic artists who regularly feature samples in their songs. Fingers crossed for the artists, fans, and livestream viewers that the rest of the weekend picks up and goes well!
Chicago's Lollapalooza, the granddaddy of American touring festivals in the '90s which became a destination event 20 years ago, following Bonnaroo's early years of growth and success, chooses to focus on modern youth culture, in general, rather than particular musical styles, sounds, or genres. While this keeps the interest highest among the three festivals for those in their teens and twenties, it arguably turns its back on Lollapalooza's roots in alternative rock and hip hop not to mention fans of those styles and the mid-life Gen-Xers who made it successful and famous, many of whom now prefer Riot Fest, down the road in Douglas Park about a month later each summer. In both cases, Chicago's festivals don't allow camping, so the vibes are very different compared to those that do.
Two months ago, the festival season official began with the two-weekend-long, supersized Coachella in Indio, California. While it has been known for years as the trendy option for west coast influencers and related fans, the organizers and producers of Coachella seem to understand the importance and appeal of curating a bill that sincerely invites fans and artists of several generations, spreading artists from the '70s through today out among seven stages, all of which are included on their official live stream (unlike Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza who only offer a selection of performances each year). That invites parents to attend with their kids instead of just dropping them off. It gives people of all ages something to get excited about each day of the festival rather than having only one or two artists to look forward to during the weekend. Most importantly, it strengthens the connection between modern rock and its many variations to the greater lineage of rock history. Yes, Gen Z may have been more excited about Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Beiber, or in some cases, newer fusion artists like Teddy Swims, Dijon, or Turnstile, but their parents and older siblings were getting their fix with Devo, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, and Suicidal Tendencies. Modern rock torchbearers like Jack White, Trent Reznor (appearing this year with his new spin-off project, Nine Inch Noize), The Strokes, and Moby tied both ends together, giving fans both old and new thrilling sets of hits, deep cuts, and new material. Even the current version of Black Flag, featuring only original guitarist Greg Ginn and a trio of players in their early twenties, seeks to bridge the generational divide and draw attention to consistent similarities that could potentially unite OG punks and the modern socially-justice minded.
None of this, of course, even touches on the outrageous cost of attending any of these events, or their many, smaller-level imitators, or the logistics of camping (or not being able to camp) at each, but even those issues seem to have at least been considered by the Coachella production team, who allow all sets to be streamed for free on Youtube (where Bonnaroo has recently partnered with Hulu and this year Disney+). Certainly, watching from home is a completely different experience than actually attending, just like a sporting event, but giving fans across the country and around the world who may not be able to get to California for any number of reasons a chance to participate in and enjoy any of the performers they would have wanted to see if they had been able to attend the opportunity to do so, and at no cost, only adds to Coachella's continued dominance in this particular market.
It was not long ago that the future of these big festivals (and many smaller ones) were all in question, at first due to COVID and the resulting financial hit of not being able to stage the festivals for one or two consecutive years, so the fact that they are still up and running is already impressive, but Coachella's strategic choices in each relevant area has quietly lifted them back to the front of the pack against their biggest competitors. It's hard to imagine how long these sorts of destination events can sustain, and they'll all definitely need to continue to adjust to many factors moving forward in order to even attempt to do so, but following Coachella's lead regarding artist variety and the fan-connection experience would be a huge boost to the others.
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