Live Nation to take over Superfly’s Bonnaroo share

Live Nation, which has had a controlling interest in Tennessee-based Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival since 2015, has announced its intention to buy out the rest of the festival from its co-founder Superfly.

According to Billboard, Live Nation told Bonnaroo minority owners of its plans to exercise a buyout and purchase the rest of the festival.

The transaction will take place before next year’s festival. Although it is believed that a limited role for Superfly is being considered, the company will no longer have a hand in organising the festival, say reports.

Bonnaroo will now be produced by Live Nation-owned C3 Presents and AC Entertainment, which co-founded the festival along with Superfly in 2002 and was acquired by Live Nation in 2016.

Bonnaroo will now be produced by Live Nation-owned C3 Presents and AC Entertainment

The biggest camping festival in North America, this year’s Bonnaroo festival sold out all 80,000 tickets in its first sell-out since 2013. Childish Gambino, Post Malone and Phish headlined the event, which took place from 13 to 16 June in Great Stage Park, Manchester.

Superfly had been hired to produce this year’s Woodstock 50 event but pulled out of the anniversary festival in May, after the Woodstock team lost the backing of its investor.

In 2018, its Phoenix-based festival Lost Lakes was cancelled and in January, the company announced it was not putting on another edition of Denver’s Grandoozy festival.

Superfly also co-produces Outside Lands festival in San Francisco with promoter Another Planet.

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