Bonnaroo is SUPER corporate and money-driven, way more than any other festival. They flew under the radar the first year because Superfly just pulled it out of thin air. But year 2 was completely ClearChanneled out and now they make every dollar they can. Look at the facts:
-First year: open taping like any good jam festival. Second year on, major taping hassles and they\'re selling everyone\'s performance for more money.
-First year big mainstage acts: Cheese, Trey, J5. Fourth year: Dave Matthews, O.A.R., Jack Johnson. They know who shows up with the fuckin money. Bonnaroo \'05 is closer to the neo-Woodstocks than it is to Bonnaroo \'02. I bet Cheese chooses not to play anymore, they\'re the headiest band of all time.
-I don\'t know what the winning bid was to get the beer vendor contract last year, but I know that we (Boston Beer Co.) bid a LOT of money and didn\'t win it. Mind you that this bid is for the right to serve your beer just for brand recognition. Clear Channel still gets every penny of every $5 beer sold all weekend.
Gotta give some credit at this point to groups like Gamelan, Terrapin, and High Sierra for keeping their festivals more or less greed-free. Sure they\'re out to make money but it\'s obvious that the music is very important to them, and I don\'t mind spending at their festivals. I\'m sure they\'ve been approached. Superfly either sold out in a hurry or got legally strong-armed by ClearChannel.
