While the members of The Black Keys are both busy touring with their solo projects this fall, the Akron-based act did manage to make their way into the recording studio
While we can only play the guessing game when it comes to what album Phish will cover at their upcoming Halloween festival, fans that are headed to see Bruce Springsteen
With Jack White’s newest band, The Dead Weather, hitting up NYC’s Terminal 5 for shows over the next two nights, the ever busy guitarist turned drummer has decided to open
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
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…
The demise of former ultra-hyped blog buzz band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah may have been a bit exaggerated by the same sources that had previously hailed them. The Brooklyn-based
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…
