Twelve Days of Roo Clues: Part 1 (Clues 1-6)
Well folks, it's that time of year again! Rumor season is in full swing for Bonnaroo 2015 and the Roo Gods threw us a real curve ball this year, Roo Clues way earlier than usual! Dubbed "12 Days of #RooClue", the new approach corresponds closely with "The Twelve Days of Christmas", ending on December 23rd with the 12th clue. Bonnaroo is currently posting them around Noon (EST) over on SnapChat @BonnarooSnaps and Instagram, with an audio addition to each clue over Roo Radio. We've had six so far, so let's go over each one and hopefully narrow down the possibilities of who they could be. A few were pretty easy, others not so much...
Clue 1-
For yours truly, this had to have been the easiest one by far. By the end of the day, there was a consensus on this one that it was Glass Animals, an up-and-coming band from England, their debut album was released this past summer and they are currently on a world tour. If it is them, expect some heavy psychedelic and groovy vibes coming from their set. You could compare them to a post Amnesiac Radiohead, but more accessible and laid back. Look for them to be at a Tent during late-night.
Other contenders for this clue were Kid Koala and Iggy Azaela.
Clue 2-
This one people are still divided over. The audio clue was "Welcome to Springfield". The Instagram picture and Snapchat picture were different, with one having the 2014 lunchbox in it, causing a lot of confusion as to if it was even part of the clue or not. Some of the first guesses were Childish Gambino, because of his new album STN MTN (stone mountain). However this did not take into account the audio clue. A similar guess, with a little more pull was Modest Mouse, because the mountain is part of the Teton Mountain Range, hinting at Blame it on the Tetons, a Modest Mouse song. This still did not take the audio clue into account. The final 2 that we narrowed it down to however were Yonder Mountain String Band and Fleet Foxes. For YMSB, it all fit, Springfield related to the festival they host near Springfield Missouri, the lunchbox hinted that it was someone who was there in 2014 (YMSB was one), and the mountain picture, well, over yonder there's a mountain. I had a dissenting opinion though and here was my theory- There was a song written way back in the late 1950's by a man named Walter Vaughn. He lived in Springfield, Missouri. The song was entitled "Blue Ridge Mountain". Blue Ridge Mountain could possibly refer to Blue Ridge Mountains by Fleet Foxes. Hence the mountain picture. The lunchbox could have referred to a line from Blue Ridge Mountains where they "Over near Tennessee". Yeah, typing all that back now I may have been reaching a little far, but a guy can dream. All in all, the consensus after days of debate was Yonder Mountain String Band, although many will still disagree.
Clue 3-
Clue 3: harder than 1, easier than 2. Only a couple artists made the final cut with this one after hearing the audio clue "race car", as well as hearing the "little drummer boy" song playing in the background. While "little drummer boy" may have not been part of the actual clue, many still took it as so. The lead contender was Blink 182, with the explanation as to why here:
Many also looked at Ringo Starr being a possibility. Others included Dopapod and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. The latter I could see as the most likely contender with Blink because Dale Earnhardt drove the #8 car, and octopus has 8 legs. Also out of nowhere it was also mentioned that Deadmau5 owns racecars, has a song entitled Cthulu (octopus creature), and a recent song entitled Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer. Time will tell who was right.
Clue 4-
Audio Clue: "Open Wide". So, dog mouth/nose picture with a doctor reference. That narrows it down quite a bit. Top contenders for this one were: Houndmouth, Sick Puppies, and Dr. Dog. I would rule out Dr. Dog because they were just there last year. (which is why I was skeptical of YMSB from the 2nd clue) Taking into consideration the sound of both Houndmouth and Sick Puppies, I'd have to say the winner for this one is Houndmouth. Once again we shall see.
Clue 5-
The audio clue was "Billy Mays Approves". Alllllrighty. Well clearly these are bottles of bleach. The band most have agreed on here was Bleachers. But does Bill Mays approve? How about The Chemical Brothers or Tool? One poster on the Bonnaroo Facebook page mentioned Tool because Billy Mays sold an item called a Tool Band-It. But then where do the jugs of bleach come in? Other than Bleachers, I don't see a real fit here.
Clue 6-
Audio clue: "Bucket List". This one's most likely contender seems to be John Mayer Trio. They did a song on the movie The Bucket List, 3 straws for the trio, however that is about as far as it goes besides John Mayer having done Christmas songs and Felis Navidad playing in the background during the Snap. It doesn't address the ice, the liquid in the bucket, or the beer. Ice T was another guess but that doesn't address the audio clue! Rubblebucket was another name thrown out there. This one just came out the day this article was written so maybe we are still missing something here...
No matter what any of these turn out to be, we are looking at quite a year for Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Ticket prices are up, Roo Clues are early, and this rumor season has been the craziest I've seen since covering the festival. Who knows who will headline?! Why are the prices higher? Why all the extra hype this year? Time will certainly tell campers! Head back here on December 23rd for my second installment of "Twelve Days of Roo Clues!", where yours truly will sit down again and try to decipher the last half of these brain busters. Until then stay tuned to ConcertHopper.com and go like Forever Bonnaroo for the latest on all things Bonnaroo!
-Zach