Superfly and Bonnaroo Co-Founder Jonathan Mayers Dead At 51

Just days before 2025’s Bonnaroo is set to take place, festival co-founder Jonathan Mayers has died at age 51. His cause of death is unknown.

The festival wrote in a statement posted to social media, “Our hearts are extremely heavy as we mourn the loss of one of our Co-Founders, Jonathan Mayers. For more than a decade Jonathan was a creative force behind this festival that so many of us have held near and dear to our hearts now for more than twenty years. As a very small token of our appreciation for what he contributed to Bonnaroo, we will plant a tree in his honor on The Farm. Our thoughts are with Jonathan’s family and friends during this very difficult time. This weekend we celebrate Jonathan by doing the two things we know best to do in our favorite place on the planet. Spreading love and radiating positivity. Thank you, Jonathan. This one’s for you.”

In 1996, Mayers co-founded Superfly alongside Rick Farman, Richard Goodstone and Kerry Black. In 2002, they partnered with Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment, Chip Hooper at Paradigm and Red Light Management’s Coran Capshaw to launch Bonnaroo. The 70,000-person festival, which sold a controlling stake to Live Nation in 2015 and the rest in 2019, is slated to start tomorrow in Manchester, TN June 12-15.

With Superfly, Mayers also had a hand in the launch of a number of other festivals including most prominently, Outside Lands, a landmark music festival located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park which launched in 2008 and saw Superfly partner with local promoter Another Planet Entertainment.

Other festivals Superfly worked on with less staying power included Vegoose in Las Vegas from 2005-8, The Great Googamooga Festival with food and music in Brooklyn in 2012-13, the Grandoozy Festival in Denver in 2018 and Clusterfest, a comedy festival in partnership with Viacom San Francisco that ran 2017-19.

Mayers is originally from New York and graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans. He worked at the latter city’s legendary Tipitina’s and the long-running Jazz Fest celebration co-founded by the legendary George Wein. That festival would help inform the Superfly team’s approach to producing larges scale festivals

Mayers and Superfly parted ways in August 2021 with subsequent litigation. More recently,  Mayers was working with Core City Detroit on a mixed-use music and arts hub.

Tributes to Mayers from across the poured in from across the live industry from the many people and events he touched.

“We are heartbroken to share the passing of one of our beloved Co-Founders, Jonathan Mayers,” Outside Lands posted on their Instagram page. “Jonathan was the creative force behind so much of what makes Outside Lands feel magical. He had a gift for dreaming up the surprise-and-delight moments that turned ordinary spaces into unforgettable experiences. From the Ranger Dave statue and Choco Lands to the whimsical bridge facade on top of the Lands End stage, all Jon. His imagination knew no bounds, and his commitment to joy and wonder shaped the spirit of this festival in ways too numerous to count. More than anything, we will miss his unwavering dedication to bringing people together, his passion for pushing boundaries, his infectious laugh, and his ability to tap into the inner child in all of us. Thank you for your vision, your heart, and the magic you brought into this world. We will miss you dearly.”

“I’m at a loss for words. So heartbreaking, so sad. Remembering Jonathan Mayers – gone far too young, may he rest in peace,” wrote Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment of Facebook. “Here, at Bonnaroo #1 in 2002, so many years ago, wIth Jonathan Levine, the also sadly departed Chip Hooper, Buck Williams, and Tom Chauncey.

“I always admired your vision—and your uncanny sense for what was next. Before anyone saw it – you saw it!,” wrote Jonathan Azu, founder and CEO of Culture Collective on his Facebook page. “Thank you for allowing me to have a seat at the Superfly, Bonnaroo and Outside Lands family table. Your legacy will live on brother, rest well”

“We lost a truly special one, Jonathan Mayers,” Ben Baruch, of 11E1even Group posted on Facebook. “I honestly don’t know if I’d be doing what I do today if it weren’t for you and what you helped build. You weren’t just a big reason I chose this path, you were woven into some of the best memories of my life. From that very first year at Bonnaroo, you helped shape the soundtrack of my journey. We never missed a year. It felt like home, side stage at THIS Tent or THAT Tent until sunrise, always surrounded by the same family. It was the one thing we all looked forward to, year after year. Your generosity, your hospitality, and the way you welcomed me into the magic behind the scenes that gave me a glimpse into a world Ill never forget.
Thank you for the memories. And thank you for showing all of us what a music festival could and should be. The Farm hasn’t quite been the same over the last decade, but this year… it will definitely hit different but promise you, we’ll celebrate you and your vision in the biggest way possible. Rest easy, brother.

“It was really tough news to hear that Jonathan passed earlier this week,” wrote Doug Roundtree of Pioneer Coach. “He was a true visionary that understood how to curate a festival unlike few I’ve ever seen. He was always so gracious and supportive to us here at Pioneer in the early years of our company which started the same time as Bonnaroo. I remember early on knowing I wanted to work with Jonathan Mayers and the festival so I went up to New York with Wayne to see how we could collaborate together. Jonathan was always thinking of ways to engage fans and he said here’s an idea ‘let’s park some tour buses in the woods and offer them as an option.’ We of course said yes and after 23 years the rest is history. He believed in us when we were new to the ‘scene’ and I’ll always appreciate that. I have countless Jonathan stories and he will be missed. It doesn’t fall short on me as I’m packing for Bonnaroo … How I wish, how I wish you were here.”