Two festival veterans break down Bourbon & Beyond 2026 in Louisville: the crowd, the hotels, the VIP setup, the beer prices, and the weather.

Barry and Russ are joined by our senior and junior correspondents, Trevin Bernarding and David Champion, who go to several festivals every year. They review the festival from the gate to the stage, then compare it with the rest of the circuit and look ahead to 2027.

In this episode:

- What Bourbon & Beyond is like: an older crowd, lots of guitars, no DJ sets

- The hotel rule that surprised them, plus VIP and general admission

- The amusement park, festival beer prices, and "And Beyond" branding

- How cancellations, evacuations, and weather shape their festival plans

- Their best tips for first-timers and how they find new bands

Listen to this week's 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!

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(00:00) Intro

(03:12) Bourbon & Beyond 2026 Recap

(18:51) Hotels, VIP & Festival Comforts

(26:48) Planning 2027 & the State of Festivals

(38:20) Best Tips & Festival Discoveries

(46:01) Outro

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Other music provided by Midist and used with permission.

We love to hear from you! Send us an email at comments@thewhatpodcast.com or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.

How do you play a mushroom? This week we're joined by Tarun Nayar of Modern Biology, a Vancouver-based musician who uses bioelectric signals from mushrooms, plants, and other living organisms to create music. Using custom-built devices and synthesizers, Tarun translates biological activity into musical information, creating performances that blend science, technology, improvisation, and art.

We talk about how he discovered plant and mushroom sonification during the pandemic, the history of bioelectric music, Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's influence on generative music, and what we can expect when he performs in a cave at CaveFest next month. (get tickets here!)

Plus we catch up with Abby, the winner of our CaveFest ticket giveaway: a recent festival-goer who has several Bonnaroos and Shaky Knees under her belt, and will now be a first-time CaveFest camper! Abby shares her festival journey and why she's excited for her next adventure at The Caverns.

Finally, we preview some upcoming festival coverage in the coming weeks, and try to get to the bottom of why so many festivals this year are getting cancelled or disrupted because of weather.

Listen to this week's 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!

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(00:00) Music made from mushrooms?

(04:08) Modern Biology's Tarun Nayar

(24:22) Abby's Bonnaroo, Shaky Knees & CaveFest journey

(36:50) Bourbon & Beyond and CaveFest preview

(38:15) Why festivals keep getting cancelled

(40:04) Outro

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Modern Biology LIVE @ Indian Summer Festival

@modernbiology101 on Instagram

Get Tickets to CaveFest Here

Fripp & Eno - A Radical Representative Of Pinsnip - Paris (1975)

📱 SOCIAL LINKS
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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 comments@thewhatpodcast.com or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.

The rain and heat at Shaky Knees 2026 did not stop Russ from having a good time in Atlanta! We catch up live from the hotel on Saturday morning and then the full recap in this episode: the heat, the lineup, and the Saturday storm and evacuation.

Hear about notable performances from Turnstile, Fontaines D.C., Geese, LCD Soundsystem, and Gorillaz who closed the fest out Sunday night, plus what it was like riding out the evacuation in downtown Atlanta.

Then we're joined by Scott Miller, one of the artists performing next month in October (get tickets here!) for a great conversation about songwriting, his history with The Caverns, and cows.

Headed to Hulaween? Use code THEWHATPODCAST for $20 off a four-day pass. https://thewhat.co/hulaween

Listen to this week's 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!

Thumbnail photo: Charles Reagan for Shaky Knees 2026

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(00:00) Intro

(10:19) Shaky Knees Day 1: Checking In From Atlanta

(22:36) Full Shaky Knees 2026 Recap: Heat, Rain & the Lineup

(26:33) Scott Miller Talks Songwriting and Cows

(43:37) Outro

📱 SOCIAL LINKS
Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/
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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 comments@thewhatpodcast.com or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.