The What Podcast

Is Bluegrass getting younger? We walked the IBMA red carpet in Chattanooga and asked the players who would know: James Kee of East Nash Grass, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull. The same theme kept coming up: a new generation is stepping in, and the people who came up before them are passing the torch.Barry Courter, Bryan Stone and Russ also look back at last week's Billy Strings reopening of the Tivoli and what it says about where the music is headed.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!______(00:00) Intro: IBMA in Chattanooga(05:01) Live from the Red Carpet(14:06) James Kee, East Nash Grass(20:12) Darin & Brooke Aldridge(23:34) Molly Tuttle(26:50) Sierra Hull(32:19) Wrap-up(35:46) OutroLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODECaveFest 2026 Recap: Live From The CavernsBilly Strings Reopens Chattanooga's Restored Tivoli TheatreBilly Strings 10/20/26 Tivoli Theatre, Chattanooga, TN______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast 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 [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.

Billy Strings is reopening the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, a 105-year-old landmark that just finished a $75 million restoration. We sat down with Nick Wilkinson of the Tivoli Foundation to find out how it happened, why a city spends that kind of money on a theater, and how the live music business really works.Billy plays two nights at the Tivoli (Oct. 20 and 21) in a room of about 1,600 seats, during IBMA week. Nick explains how the reopening came together, how the ticket lottery works, why tickets can't be transferred, and how the free block party outside works, with the show projected on giant LED screens outside the venue.Then we get into the bigger picture: why it took so long, who paid for it, why touring is now how artists make a living, the "no runny eggs" rule that keeps big acts coming back, how Live Nation and Ticketmaster fit in, where ticket fees actually go, and what's next for concerts in Chattanooga.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!______(00:00) Intro(03:07) Interview: Nick Wilkinson, Tivoli Foundation(04:12) Billy Strings and the Tivoli reopening(11:28) Why the renovation took so long(23:52) The music industry, no runny eggs and Live Nation(44:44) Takeaways and festival newsLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODECaveFest 2026 Recap: Live From The CavernsTivoli Theatre FoundationSaving Moon River: How the Festival Overcame a Sunday Rainout______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast 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 [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.

Live from The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, we recap CaveFest 2026 with our ticket winner, plus the venue, the music, and the camping.Barry and Russ are joined by Bryan, back on the show after a couple of months, our bicoastal correspondent Elizabeth Thorpe, who flew in from Washington State for her third CaveFest, and Abby, the fan who won our ticket giveaway and is at her very first CaveFest!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!______(00:00) Hurricane Weekend at CaveFest(03:37) Our Ticket Winner's First CaveFest(06:03) The Caverns: Storm, Grounds & Vibe(15:21) The Music, the Crowd & Camp Spirit(23:00) Up Next: IBMA World of Bluegrass & Wrap-UpLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEHow The Caverns Became Tennessee's Premier Music DestinationInstagram: @ethorpephotoThe Musician Who Plays Mushrooms______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast 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 [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.

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 bandsListen 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!______(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______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast 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 [email protected] 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!______(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) OutroLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEModern Biology LIVE @ Indian Summer Festival@modernbiology101 on InstagramGet Tickets to CaveFest HereFripp & Eno - A Radical Representative Of Pinsnip - Paris (1975)______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic 📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast 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 [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.