It’s been a few months since the HT Crew got together for an old fashioned cookout. With the cold weather creeping in and the holiday season upon us we thought we’d get the gang together one last time this year to throw some large hunks of meat on the grill and crack open a few Troeg’s Mad Elf Ale’s for another rousing edition of At The Barbecue.
It’s hard to believe that 2009 is rapidly coming to a close. Since we’re all live music junkies here, we thought we would share our thoughts on our favorite concerts from the last 12 months. The rules were simple: any show that we attended between January 1 through the beginning of this month were game. So, let’s get at it…
Ryan Dembinsky – Phish – Hampton Coliseum – Hampton, VA
Talk about a no-brainer. Much love goes out to Hartford, Camden, JB3, an intimate surprise Avett Brothers release party in front of maybe 100 people, and a whole slew of great bands I saw for the first time this year, but March 6, 2009 will be branded on my brain forever.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
From the beautiful weather, to taking a much needed road trip away from adulthood, to the friends, to the smothered and covered, to of course the music, Hampton Coliseum pretty much made my year. READ ON for more of the Hidden Track Crew’s favorite concerts of 2009…
There hasn’t been much to cheer for if you’ve been a fan of the New York Knickerbockers over the last decade or so. While the once mighty franchise has struggled,
Back in 2004, the formidable trio of Conor Oberst, Jim James and M. Ward teamed up for a tour they dubbed Monsters Of Folk. Each artist delivered a solo set,
The eighth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off late Thursday afternoon, and while the weather may not have cooperated by all accounts things got off to a great
Leave it to the folks at Bonnaroo to break a big a story about their lineup mere hours before the festival is set to kick off. After a curious rumor
This weekend marks the moment we’ve been waiting for since we said goodbye to summer last year, as we officially say hello to Summer ’09 (or the Summer Of Jam
After 33 seasons of football, 2009 will be the last year that the Giants and Jets will call Giants Stadium home before moving into new digs across the lot for
Last week, we brought you part one of our in-depth interview with Superfly Presents president Jonathan Mayers where we discussed his start in the industry, the booking process for Bonnaroo and so much more. This week, we bring you part two of Scott Bernstein and Jeffrey Greenblatt’s talk with Jonathan, which includes his thoughts on Outside Lands, Vegoose, Superfly’s Greening efforts and much more…
Hidden Track: What has been your favorite Bonnaroo – both, in terms of your experiences and in terms of performances?
Jonathan Mayers: I have a couple, really. I’ve had many amazing moments there. You know, to be working with your friends every day, to feel creatively inspired, realizing that you can do anything. It’s like you can have an idea and with a good team of people you can execute on it and that just for me, the festival itself happening, is very fulfilling.
In terms of performances, I’m a huge Neil Young fan and when Neil Young & Crazy Horse played [in 2003] it was just such an amazing thrill for me because here was my hero, playing the festival and totally killing it. That was amazing. And, I’m also a huge Radiohead fan and I thought, Radiohead it was just an amazing set and they are one of my favorite bands. When they played, it felt like the festival was evolving – so that was really exciting too. And even Metallica last year – we had a lot of people that didn’t feel like that was a good booking for us and I thought that they were amazing. I thought it was a statement that – you know what – the place isn’t going to burn down. They’re an amazing live band and it worked.
READ ON for more on Outside Lands, the future of Vegoose, the economy and who Jonathan is most excited to see at this year’s Bonnaroo…
In 2002 the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off their inaugural edition with a lineup filled with the biggest names in the jamband world. Over the past seven years the ‘Roo has blossomed into arguably the best festival in the country thanks to diverse lineups, fan-first thinking and a comfortable setting where both artists and attendees feel at home.
While most music fans have their sights set on this year’s installment of Bonnaroo on June 11-14 in Manchester, TN – Superfly Presents president Jonathan Mayers already has his set on who he’s going to bring to the middle of the Volunteer State next year.
The extremely engaging and wry-witted Mayers recently took some time to speak with Hidden Track about his start in the industry, the fest’s booking process, their vast vault of performances, year two of Outside Lands, the future of Vegoose and much more in interview with Jeffrey Greenblatt and Scott Bernstein. With so much ground to cover we’ve split the interview into a special two-parter, so make sure to check back next Wednesday for the rest of the interview. In the meantime here’s part one…
Hidden Track: Can you tell us about your background, how did you get into the music industry?
Jonathan Mayers: Well I started in the adult entertainment business, I was… no that’s not true. Well, I went to school in New Orleans and I was always passionate about music, but I was also an entrepreneur and had all kinds of different businesses and stuff. So I went to school there and really got entrenched in the whole music scene down there and got inspired by it and then also, I had interned at the Jazz Fest when I was a senior in college. The New Orleans Jazz Fest is one of the best festivals in the world, it’s an amazing festival, and so I interned there.
READ ON for more on late nights, nabbing The Boss and keeping things fresh…
