Is Hulaween Everything Bonnaroo Used to Be?
Is Hulaween everything Bonnaroo used to be? We put the question to John, our EDM and jam-scene correspondent, and his answer says a lot about how both festivals have changed.
John makes the case for Hulaween, String Cheese Incident's own festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, where the daily lineups just dropped. We get into what makes it different from Bonnaroo: the jam-forward lineup with an electronic edge, the six-hour String Cheese / My Morning Jacket / STS9 runs, and the secret sets where anyone might sit in: Goose turning up to play with Cheese, that kind of unplanned magic. It leads to a real conversation about whether Bonnaroo's special moments have started to feel scheduled instead of spontaneous, and John doesn't hold back, including some honest thoughts on this year's very EDM-heavy Thursday.
Plus: John recaps his own Bonnaroo 2026 (great, but different, and quieter than years past), we looks ahead to ShoalsFest October 3-4 in Alabama, CaveFest at The Caverns October 10–11 (get tickets here!), and take a look at the surprisingly free EDM lineup at our own River Games in Chattanooga.
Need Hulaween tickets? Save $20 on GA 4-day passes with code THEWHATPODCAST!
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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00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:24) Festival updates: CaveFest, 420 Fest, ShoalsFest, River Games
(00:09:22) EDM Correspondent John Joins the Show
(00:16:50) Hulaween Drops its Daily Linueps
(00:26:43) Comparing Hulaween to Bonnaroo
(00:35:44) John's Bonnaroo 2026: Great, But Different
(01:02:12) What's Next for The What Podcast
(01:09:01) Outro
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
How Has Bonnaroo Changed? A Festival Photographer's View
Kyle Hollingsworth Interview: String Cheese Incident, New Music & Craft Beer
Okay...We Were Wrong About Geese
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CaveFest at The Caverns, Oct 10-11, 2026 | Get Tickets Here!
$20 off Hulaween 2026 GA 4-day passes with code THEWHATPODCAST
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