Talking To Bunbury Festival’s Bill Donabedian

After officially debuting in 2012 with a lineup featuring Jane’s Addiction, Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie, Bunbury Music Festival is set to return to Sawyer Point & Yeatman’s Cove July 12-14. Along with fun., MGMT and The National, Bunbury 2013 boasts nearly 80 acts including Tegan And Sara, Cake, Divine Fits, Belle & Sebastian and Yo La Tengo.

Donabedian explained to Pollstar how Bunbury picks its lineup along with the similarities between overnight festivals and the Waffle House, and his message for Dave Grohl.

When did Bunbury launch and how long have you been involved with the festival?

Well, I’m the founder of the festival. I did a kickoff event in 2011 – it was nothing more than kind of letting everyone know I was serious, just had a stage with some local bands for the night. It was a preview, if you will. It was just a kickoff. So last year truly was our first year. … We’re a newbie.

So 2011 was more about local bands?

It was really a kickoff. It was an announcement. In other words … You reserve the park every year, you get first right of refusal. So I held an event so I could hold my [2012] date and kind of announce “this event is coming” and then we did it a year later.

Can you describe your role and involvement with the festival?

Well, you know, I oversee it top to bottom. I work with a lot of third-party contractors and manage pretty much every aspect of the event. It’s not easy [laughs]. I have great partners though and they have a lot of autonomy. It’s kind of like, “Here’s the vision, here are the tools that you need, excite me, blow me away.” And I have a great group of people who help bring it all together. And then, of course, the week of the festival it’s a lot of volunteers and contractors and all that kind of stuff.

The festival website’s FAQ section explains what Bunbury means but I wanted to ask if you could say in your own words how you came up with the name.  

There is a story; it’s a funny story. I had been trying to come up with a name unsuccessfully. I knew I wanted it to be whimsical, and maybe nonsensical, but in a perfect world, it would be whimsical and it would have some meaning behind it.

I went to see my niece and nephew in a play called “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. And in that play, there’s a character and he’s constantly referring to his friend Bunbury. What you come to realize during the play is Bunbury is an imaginary friend that he uses to get out of doing things. So he’ll be at a boring event and he’ll be like, “Um, excuse me. I just caught word that Bunbury doing X or Y or Z and I have to leave.” And what the word has come to mean over time is an excuse to get out of doing something boring.

So when I heard it, I immediately pulled out my phone; I Googled it to see what it was about and what it meant. And when I saw it, I loved the way it sounded, and when I saw what it meant, I was like, “That’s the name.” That was it. Decision was made.

I know the festival website says there’s really no explanation behind this, but can you tell readers what’s up with Bunbury’s bee mascot?

[Laughs] It’s kind of funny because I was sitting around with my wife trying to come up with an idea, a logo – what would it look like. And she was the one that was like, “Why not a bee?” I think it was because of the alteration – Bunbury, bee. I think that’s why it stuck. And I always tease her when we talk to people and they ask this question and I’m always like, “Oh, no I came up with that.” And my wife is always like, “No, you didn’t! I did!”

“No, I don’t remember that honey, that’s not the way I remember.”

But I’ll give her props this time.

That’s very sweet of you.

When we came up with the name, I was working on the initial logo and I wasn’t sure what kind of icon or mascot or whatever, and when she said a bee I was like, “Why the hell not?”   

And then I met Tommy Sheehan, a local designer, who nicely told me that the first version of the logo sucked, which it did. I will admit it. I’m a hack when it comes to graphic design. And he came up with the new look and it was perfect, it was just what the brand needed.

What is the process for coming up with the lineup? Are you involved with picking the acts?

The way that works is Nederlander handles my booking. In year one I might have been involved a little more than this past year. … You know, there are certain bands that are touring and certain bands are not. So you have to look at who’s touring, who’s in your budget, who kind of fits your brand in general. Our brand is, what I always say, is an authentic musical escape. That’s what I’m trying to provide. So we want bands that are authentic and are not fabricated. They’ve worked hard, they’re great songwriters, they’re great performers. We want that authentic experience for people who are really into music. And the festival provides an escape for them.

So initially, the first year it was kind of like, “Well, what are your musical tastes?” And I kind of laid it out – this is what I like, this is what I see, you know. It’s kind of that lineage of Beatles to U2 to Coldplay and everything that kind of like goes from there. [laughs] We kind of work on the headliners first and then it all flows from there. Once you really know who your headliners and undercards are you kind of build from that. And what you’re trying to do is find bands … that maybe don’t share the same audience, but there’s some overlap. You know, we can assume that if you saw Youngblood Hawk, you probably like 21 Pilots, even if you didn’t know about the other band. Really, once we kind of pick the headliners they [Nederlander] just book the bands. I don’t even … I will sometimes throw out some bands. Like this year, I heard Youngblood Hawk on the radio and I called Ian, one of the guys at Nederlander, and said, “Ian, I just heard this band Youngblood Hawk on the radio and we have got to book them.” And he’s like, “I just did.” [laughs].

So I think what’s happening is we kind of understand what we’re looking for. Sometimes I don’t know the bands and I’m just like, “Whatever, guys. I trust you,” you know. It makes sense with the lineup and everything. They can do their jobs a lot faster and be much more aggressive if they can move quickly. And only when they are also kind of like, “We’re not quite sure about this band” – which might happen a handful of times – they’ll say, “What do you think about this band, what do you think about that band?” Other than that, … they’re the ones, they have all the data, they have all the knowledge, they’ve been doing this. I figure I should just stay out of the stuff I don’t know.

When you started the festival, did you know that bands like fun., MGMT, Cake and Belle & Sebastian were the kind of acts you wanted to feature at your festival?

Well, the way it happened was, fun., came about because Steve [of Nederlander] actually … I kind of knew fun., you know they had their one big song, “We Are Young.” And he’s like, “Bill. I really think we should look at booking fun.” This is in September, right after [the 2012 festival]. And I said, “Well, yeah, I could see that.” And he’s like, “I just saw them at something. They have all the signs of becoming a huge band.” He’s been in this business forever – 30 years. I’m like, “OK.” And it’s like maybe we just go ahead and book them and if they don’t really develop, they can be an undercard. [laughs] He was right, you know – they got huge. I couldn’t believe it.

MGMT was all them [Nederlander]. I was actually initially like, “No, I don’t think so.” I wasn’t that familiar with them, I really didn’t know them. … And then I saw their Facebook page had 3 million “likes” and I was like, “Well, maybe.” [laughs] Sometimes you have to separate your musical preferences. You have to say, “Look, this festival isn’t for me. I’m not the only one attending.” I think that the brand is coming from me, you know. And what I want to see, and by consequence … there are some bands that I’m going to be just nuts over. But it’s OK if I don’t like every band. I’m not going to.

But The National, that was me. We were looking for something Sunday, we knew we had like a Belle & Sebastian kind of thing going on. Sunday should be a little toned down, I think. Not that The National are a bunch of shoegazers – but let’s face it, they’ve got a more melancholy, serious kind of a … I think it will be a great vibe for Sunday. And I was the one who said, “What about The National?” And everyone kind of looked around the room and kind of went, “Yeah, why didn’t we think of that?” A few weeks later, we had them signed.
 

A press release I was sent calls Bunbury “one of the country’s most fan-friendly multi-day events.” What makes your event so fan-friendly?

A lot of things. I think it’s not too crowded, I mean it’s a very open park, but it is a park – which has lots of vignettes and shade and things like that, and beautiful settings, beautiful scene of the river … of the city skyline. Plenty of restrooms [laughs], you know. And free water stations, free phone charging stations, in-and-out privileges, kids 10 and under free. I’ve taken some things from other events and some things we just decided to do on our own. I think our price point is very reasonable.

I think the volunteers and people in our city are generally very nice to people from out of town. … I like the fact that we card you and your wristband is your ID as well so you don’t have to deal with another line or getting a wristband if you want to drink. … And [Bunbury has] plenty of food options, great beer options.

Can you talk about what you’ve learned since the first year of putting on Bunbury and any examples of things you’re doing different this year or things that worked out so well that you’re sticking with the same plan.  

We’ve made very few changes to the festival. We got a lot of it right last year. What I think I learned [laughs], the hardest lesson I learned is – not that I hadn’t done events and I knew this was going to be hard – the execution of the event was flawless. We had a lot of people who thought we had been around a lot longer than our first year. But I really thought we’d have an easier time convincing people in year one to buy tickets. We did fine, we did fine – but we did not meet my expectation on ticket sales. It takes a while for people to really understand what an event is about and if they’re willing to risk spending that money [for] that experience. It took the first tens of thousands of people that came and shared things on their Facebook page and if they tweeted about it and [shared] pictures to get people talking about it and excited.

And you know, in that first year I’d run into even people that I knew and say, “Hey, I’m really excited about my new job!” And they’d say to me, “Well, what are you doing?”

“Like are you serious? You know me! I told you I’m starting a festival.”

“Oh yeah, a festival. Yeah, when is it again? Oh, I think I’m going to be out of town. I’m going to the Reds game that night.”

I was amazed at that kind of indifference about it or that kind of lack of awareness. And I was like, “Wow. I really thought that this would just catch fire – a brand-new festival, 6 stages, over 80 acts, big headliners. I thought we would just tear through the city and everyone would be like, “We have got to go to this event!” and it was more like “Eh.” [laughs]

I didn’t have to do much this year because the people who came [in 2012] had done it for me. We know this year that people, you know  – “Oh, I was out of town, I didn’t get to go. I didn’t know about it. But my friend went last year and they had an awesome time so I’m going this year.”

I only ask people two questions: Why did you buy a ticket? And what was the deciding factor? And the overwhelming reason why they buy it is because of word of mouth, social media – that’s how they heard about it. And the overall lineup is actually what most people care about. The headliners are a close second. … I think we book deep. We book in that alternative space that’s pretty melodic. Although we dabble in a few other genres like there’s a little bit of hip hop, there’s a little bit of alt-country. It gets a little twang-y. Some of these artists get a little dance-y, but there’s songwriting at the core of what they do. I just think that those things all combined have really helped get the word out, get people excited this year.

Can you comment about how many fans attended last year or how many fans you’re expecting this year?

We know we had over 40,000 people there (last year). We say 50,000 because when you start throwing in media, comps, staff, crew. The fire department is the one that said this many people. They don’t know that someone is a journalist or whether someone bought a ticket or whether someone is on crew.

I expect we’ll do over 60,000 this year. That’s my goal – 60, 65. I mean ticket sales right now are twice, more than twice what they were last year. I honestly almost don’t want it to be that big. We want good, steady growth … Maybe you shouldn’t print that. [laughs]

I guess what I’m saying is we’re expecting so many people, we’re planning for that. If it really goes crazy, we’ll move hell and high water to accommodate everyone, and make sure they’re happy. But … it’s like when you’re in a restaurant and you try to control the rush of people coming through the door. And if you loose control and you just have a messy event site and people don’t have a good time – you don’t want that. So, we’ll see. We have a pretty good formula, we’ll know a couple days prior where we stand, so if we have to make adjustments we will. But it’s hard to staff up, again. We’ll see.

I know you talked about this a little bit when I asked what makes Bunbury so fan-friendly, but is there anything else you wanted to add about the location, the festival grounds?

Being in this park, as I said, it develops as you move through, it changes. So it’s not like some festivals that I’ve been where it’s just an open field or some city block or something like that. You can find some shade, you can cool off, and there’re places to sit. You can get away from the festival for a little while, which is important, I think. If you’re spending a day at the fest, you can burn out fast if you don’t pace yourself. And sometimes that means, “You know what? This band just finished up. I’m going to sit in the shade over here for a little while and catch this quieter act or whatever. Or I’m going to get something to drink and sit under one of the bridges.” Or whatever it may be. And I think that we’ve done so many things so you can come and enjoy the whole day and the whole weekend and not get burnt out. And have a really great time.

And I know we’re the new kid on the block and I think a lot of people get like, “Why go to this festival every year?” – but come on, check us out! I think we’ve impressed a lot of people and we’ve got a really great event. … People go to a lot of different festivals every year and it’s just another option and I hope they try and check us out. I know we’re … in Cincinnati, Ohio, we’re not L.A., we’re not New York, we’re not Chicago, but I think if they come out they’ll be really pleasantly surprised.

Your website points out that the venue was never designed for camping. Do you have any plans to either change the venue site one day to allow for camping or do you think Bunbury will just stick to a non-overnight event?

It will probably be a non-overnight event. It will be interesting to see what happens over time as far as –can the park accommodate growing crowds? We’ve already been talking about other options. We could put a barge in the river and there’s a huge serpentine wall with staggered steps that creates a natural amphitheater. We have options. And we’ll have to balance those. Because I live downtown and I like the city and I like the atmosphere and I want to keep it there.

I think camping changes the brand. I don’t think it fits our brand. What I would rather do is if I truly decide that I think we should do a festival and allow that, I would probably start over. I would do something else.

That makes sense. Because it’s just not what Bunbury is about. And I can appreciate that. Because if I was going to go to a festival, I wouldn’t necessarily want to camp. I would rather just come back the next day. That’s me.

It’s a different customer, it’s a different vibe. There are some people who will go to Bonnaroo and who will come to Bunbury – but it’s such a different animal. And you’re going to attract a different type of client. I’m not saying that’s good or bad. They’re just going to want a different experience and [have different] expectations. And when you’re taking care of somebody and they’re lodging with you – it doesn’t matter if they’re in a campground – you’ve got to take care of them. And that’s a 24/7 responsibility and experience. There’s something really nice to know that we usher everyone out of the park and by midnight it’s clear and I can go home. And then we come back, we reset. It’s like being able to clear the table in a restaurant, clean up the place. … I don’t want to be like a Waffle House. Those places are not the cleanest places. [laughs] They can’t keep them clean because they’re always feeding people. I want to be able to close the doors, clean up and [then] say, “Welcome back, we’re ready for you again.” [laughs]

It’s a totally different … Really, my hat is off to the people at Bonnaroo and the people who put on those type of events. That’s a tough event to do.

I like that Bunbury’s website already has dates listed for 2014 through 2021.

[laughs]

So it sounds like you’re pretty confident that Bunbury is here to stay. What are your goals for Bunbury down the line?

I want this to be one of the best music festivals in the world. And I know, we’re small … But people don’t scoff at the idea at Austin having one of the best music scenes in the world and they’re not the biggest city in the country.

Yeah, why not?

Pound for pound, I’d like to be one of the best. I’d love for people to be like, “You have to go to Glastonbury, you have to go to Lolla, you have to go to Bunbury.” You know, it’s … I want it to be we are a must go-to, must-visit event. You have to make this pilgrimage if you’re serious about festivals because they do things so well. And they’ve always got a really good lineup and it’s a great atmosphere. It’s a reasonable price and the city is a great city. That’s really the goal. And hopefully one day be able to book the Foo Fighters [laughs].

I’m not there yet. We’re not big enough yet. It’s not in my budget yet. But that’s a band I would really love. I think if you check back in a few years and you see our Saturday headliner is the Foo Fighters, you’ll know I’m a very, very happy man.

Not to discount … I’m very happy with my [2013] headliners. We’ve got some bands, I mean fun. is just blowing up like nobody’s business. It’s an amazing journey they’ve had. It’s good to see MGMT back. And The National – aren’t they like the most consistently growing band ever? They just keep a little bit, a little bit, they just get bigger and bigger, and they do it subtly. And that’s the way their music is. And I think that’s it – people have to listen and listen to them and then they’re like “Ohhhh!” And I’m so glad they had a CD come out this year. It’s a great disc. Listen to me – disc! I’m showing my age. It’s a great play on my iPod. [laughs] I actually do have it on my iPod. I don’t have it on CD. But yeah, that’s when you’ll know I’m as happy as can be – when Dave Grohl gets out on stage and says, “Hey, Cincinnati! I love being at Bunbury!” And I’ll be like, “OK, I’m done. I’ve done what I needed to do.”

Well, thanks so much for your time today. Was there anything you wanted to add?

I don’t think so. Just let Dave Grohl know we’ll be calling him in a couple years [laughs]

I’ll let him know when I talk to him. [laughs]

I appreciate it.

For more information about Bunbury Music Festival visit BunburyFestival.com. Tickets are still available for this weekend’s fest. Single-day tickets are $65 and three-day passes are $130.