The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, now entering its 14th summer, always inspires enthusiasm among music lovers who flock to Manchester, TN from all over the world. The festival’s performers also get caught up in the excitement, and two of the biggest bands on the 2015 bill are no exception to the anticipation. In a recent phone interview, Marcus Mumford (Mumford and Sons) and Earth, Wind, and Fire bassist/founding member Verdine White opened up during a press conference chat about how Bonnaroo is on their minds, despite their busy schedules.
White thinks Bonnaroo could be a chance for the band to expand on their normal show and make an entirely new impression on the notoriously music-savvy Bonnaroo audience. “We actually talked about it. We really did. You know, we can go out. In other words we can go outside our normal boundaries. A lot of these people, the young people, they know all these tunes, man, and we’re anxious to get out there and show them those songs and for them to see us and see actually what their parents have been telling them about us,” he said. “It’s kind of like a generational merging.”
White, who founded the legendary band with his brother Maurice in 1970, is the only member of the original group who will be at Bonnaroo, though Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, who joined the band in ‘72, are still a part of EWF. They’ve spent 40-plus years in one of the biggest bands the world has ever seen, and they’re currently riding a wave of new found popularity. “The last three years, four years have been really explosive for us, you know,” White added. “I think a lot of the new generation caught onto our music. I think we were able to play some really great concerts. The Hollywood Bowl out in Los Angeles with the Philharmonic. We did the Proms in London in Hyde Park for like 50,000 people, and I think they just really just caught onto the music. And now many young people come as much as their parents. So it’s really a very interesting phenomenon to see.”
Marcus Mumford made no bones about the fact that Bonnaroo is an important gig for his band, especially after their recent return from hiatus. “I consider it kind of like Glastonbury of America where it’s kind of down and dirty and everyone kind of mucks in and there’s a very special kind of unique atmosphere there,” he noted. “I’d say more so than even Coachella which is a very different beast. I’d say, yes, for me, Bonnaroo is kind of the Glastonbury of America and as you know Glastonbury is kind of our home turf. So yes it’s going to be great. And the Bonnaroo festival itself holds a lot of really special memories for us. So we’re nervous, but we’re so excited to come back and to do it, and also with this new collection of songs of which we’re really proud and excited to play. It’s certainly a bit more risky than it would have been those couple years ago to headline. But we are really excited just to get out and play these songs.”
The bands of Bonnaroo get amped up about playing the festival, but they also have an agenda of their own when it comes to their time on the farm. Mumford and White both offered interesting choices for other acts they might see while in Manchester. “Who would be on my short list? Kendrick Lamar. That’s it,” Mumford asserted. White also named just one band: Mumford and Sons. He gushed about the English group, unaware that once he hung up, Mumford himself would be phoning into the press conference. “I love the songs, man.” He reiterated: “I love the songs. I love that they’re authentic, you know. I’ve been a big fan before they even came on the scene. They’re my number one. My staff is going to keep me so busy. But I’m going to try to sneak out and see them.”
The feelings of those two musicians – two of the most popular that will grace the fields of Manchester, TN in just a few days – have been echoed by audiences and other bands for over a decade. There may be many major music festivals across the globe, but few inspire devotion from fans and appreciation from performers like Bonnaroo. It’s sure to be another weekend of sensory overload, and you can follow it all here on Glide.
