Bonnaroo's Infamous "Squarch": The Full Story with Tim "Tuba" Smith

In Bonnaroo’s 20+ year history, few controversies stung fans more than the fiery demise of its iconic arch in 2019—replaced by a giant LED monolith nicknamed "The Squarch". In a rare interview with The What Podcast, Tim "Tuba" Smith—C3 Presents' Director of Festivals and Strategic Initiatives—finally tells us the full story. Faced with an aging wooden arch riddled with rot, bees, and safety hazards ("you could hear it creak in a stiff breeze"), Tuba's team prioritized safety, burning the original and hastily designing a modular LED replacement. Beyond the arch drama, Tuba talks to us about navigating Bonnaroo’s COVID cancellation, Hurricane Ida's 2021 gut-punch, and modern upgrades for The Farm like flushable toilets and paved roads. He also dives into C3's mentorship initiatives, including the KU LEAP program that immerses students in festival logistics.Want to break into the festival industry? Love geeking out over Bonnaroo’s behind-the-scenes magic? This episode is for you! We also cover the latest news about the Who Stage moving to Outeroo. Also, be sure and join The What Podcast for a special meetup and live episode on The How Stage inside Planet Roo at 4:00 PM on Thursday during Bonnaroo!Listen to the whole story about the Squarch right here, or watch the video on YouTube. And don't forget to like, rate, and subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!______CHAPTERS(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:23) Moving the Who Stage(00:07:49) Interview with Tuba(01:19:28) This week's question(01:20:57) Outro______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thewhat.co Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thewhatpodcast The What Podcast theme: "Aquarius" by *repeat repeat, used with permission. Other music provided by Midist and used with permission. We love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.