When I was a broadcast journalism major at the University of Illinois, my friends and I would take off for long weekends and criss-cross the country to the closest Phish and Grateful Dead shows. You never knew when a magical moment was going to happen. Seeing the rejuvenated Phish come back from their extended hiatus and have a blast jamming with one of the band's boyhood heroes - Bruce Springsteen - was an instant classic. (See photos from the festival here.)
This is the seventh Bonnaroo for Stephanie Katsaros, who attended school in what we call "Chambana" (Champaign-Urbana) the same time I did. A few years ago Stephanie quit her job as a radio producer at WCKG in Chicago, and traveled to South America, North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Last night left her and her boyfriend nearly speechless.
“Phish as a backing band for the Boss singing 'Glory Days'?! The only thing that came close to that was him walking into the crowd. Bruce Springsteen crowd-surfing Bonnaroo!”
We've been attending Bonnaroo for some time, and our great friend Robert Kwon from Southern Recording has helped us record it since 2005. Robert has two day jobs working for an electrical distributor, and also works with his family making upholstery, not to mention a bit of moonlighting as a Korean BBQ caterer extraordinaire. But he also makes time to see Phish.
Before meeting us here, Robert took some vacation time to go to Asheville and Knoxville on the Phish Tour. “I started seeing them in college, and I had to go meet all my dear friends to celebrate,” he said.
This was John Appleman’s first trip to The Roo, and first time seeing Phish. He traveled from the Quad Cities area - Moline, Illinois - to hang with his uncle and finally get to see Phish. “I finally got to experience the crazy roller coaster ride everybody has been talking about,” he said. He’s hooked for life. Have fun at Rothbury, John.
We look forward to sharing fascinating interviews and intimate performances with some of the most talented artists on earth. We hung with The David Grisman Quintet, Jenny Lewis, Allen Toussaint, The Mars Volta, Ani Difranco, Grace Potter, Gomez, Bela Fleck, Warren Haynes, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Femi Kuti, King Sunny Ade and TV On The Radio, among many others.
Stay tuned to CNN.com/Showbiz all summer to see more Bonnaroo highlights, and see what’s on the minds of your favorite artists.
- Jason Morris, CNN Producer