Why Bonnaroo Feels Like Home: Fans Share Their Stories & Memories

Despite Bonnaroo's cancellation this year, fans persevere and call in to share what makes the festival so special: freedom, life-changing connections, and more. But first, The What Podcast crew celebrates a big milestone. Thank you for 2,000 YouTube subscribers! Fresh off last week's in-depth interview with Brad Parker and Cory Smith about Bonnaroo 2026 plans, we dive into the heartfelt listener voicemails, reflect on the 2025 shutdown aftermath, talk transparency, programming changes, and more. Want to share your own thoughts with us? Call our voicemail line at (423) 667-7877.We also head into the off-season by spotlighting a few recent trips to The Caverns for a last-minute Drive-By Truckers show, and a visit to Dave's Little Magic Bar in Johnson City. Stay subscribed to The What Podcast for an upcoming interview with Kyle Hollingsworth from String Cheese Incident and some upcoming fall festivals we're covering, too!Listen to this episode here or watch it on YouTube. As always, subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get podcasts for weekly updates on Bonnaroo and festival news!______CHAPTERS(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:41) YouTube milestone(00:06:36) Recapping last week's show(00:34:53) Russ' bus trip(00:41:30) Bryan at The Caverns(00:44:58) Hinterland Update(00:46:39) Listener Voicemails(01:06:56) Previewing next week's show(01:08:32) Rock is dead, part 2(01:15:45) OutroLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEBonnaroo 2026: Brad & Cory from C3 Answer Your QuestionsThe Real Roo Bus Joins The What PodcastThe Bonnaroo Yearbook: Capturing Festival MemoriesHow The Caverns Became Tennessee’s Premier Music DestinationBonnaroo Community Spotlight: How Church Boners Became a Festival FamilyInside Hinterland: Sam Summers on Festival Challenges and the 90-Degree GuaranteeHow Bonnaroo Changed Manchester Forever: Live from Planet RooIs Rock Dead? The Bonnaroo Music Census and Remembering Ozzy Osbourne______ 🎧 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.