Live Nation Purchases Controlling Stake in Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

Earlier today, Live Nation announced that they will now be executing controlled interest over Manchester, Tennessee’s annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in a new partnership with Knoxville-based AC Entertainment and Superfly. The deal was announced by Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, who offered the following press statement about the decision:

“The addition of Bonnaroo builds on Live Nation Entertainment’s world leading festival portfolio of over 60 marquee festivals such as: Austin City Limits Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Reading, Leeds, T in the Park, Electric Daisy Carnival, Rock Werchter, and Watershed Music Festival to name a few… We continue to expand the industry’s most unparalleled and scalable festival platform all while driving strong revenue and growth for Live Nation on a global basis. Bonnaroo is another crown jewel in this festival channel strategy, one that appeals to both fans and artists in uniqueness and experience.”

Live Nation now also owns Great Stage Park, the large expanse of land in rural Tennessee where thousands of music junkies come every June to pitch tents and jam to some of music’s greatest legends and today’s hottest up-and-coming bands. This decision follows last fall’s acquisition by Live Nation of a similar stake in C3 Presents, who mastermind Austin City Limit’s and Lollapalooza.

Superfly and AC Entertainment have been positive in their response to the merger, with Superfly co-founder Rick Farman stating that “we are strengthening our commitment to create the best possible experience at Bonnaroo. Through this partnership with Live Nation, we’re even more empowered to enhance the festival while preserving the integrity of the event that we’ve thoughtfully built over the past 14 years.” AC Entertainment founder Ashley Capps concurred, declaring that “partnering with Live Nation is a milestone for Bonnaroo. It opens up tremendous opportunities for us to continue to evolve the Bonnaroo experience in an exciting, powerful way.”

While we are not certain what this means for the future of Bonnaroo at press time, we are hopeful that the new partnership will result in some exciting changes and investments in both the upkeep and growth of Great Stage Park as well as the chance for even more bands and activities to join in the fun every June. We look forward to seeing Bonnaroo evolve over the next few years, and hope to see both regulars and newcomers on the Farm with us this summer!

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