Bonnaroo's Lineup Secrets, From a Booking Agent Named Keith Richards

We had the chance to sit down with Keith Richards this week. Not that Keith Richards — let's get that out of the way early. Our actual guest is the newly-named Head of Festivals at Ground Control Touring, an independent booking agency representing artists from Waxahatchee to Japanese Breakfast to Manchester Orchestra. He was named to the role this past January, Ground Control's first-ever Head of Festivals, and he joined us to pull back the curtain on how a festival lineup actually comes together.

We get into the questions we've always wanted answered: do artists really make more money at festivals versus arena tours? Is there a "cookie-cutter lineup" problem, or is that a myth? Why is developing a true headliner one of the hardest jobs in the industry right now? Keith also walks us through what it was like being on-site at Bonnaroo 2026 during the storm evacuation, riding it out alongside Bonnaroo's own team, and drops a list of up-and-coming artists he thinks are worth watching heading into next year.

Listen to this week's episode with Keith Richards 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

(02:24) Meet Keith Richards (Not That One)

(07:06) How Booking Actually Works

(24:26) Keith's History with the Booking Industry

(30:16) Cookie-Cutter Lineups & the State of the Industry

(40:20) Bonnaroo Hasn't Gotten Old, You Have

(42:10) Artists to Watch: Who's Next?

(49:18) Not That Keith Richards (The Full Story)

(51:29) Outro

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Shaky Knees 2025 vs. IBMA Chattanooga: Live from the Red Carpet + Bilmuri Interview

Ground Control hires Keith Richards as head of festivals & Joy Hubbard as festival coordinator

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