David Byrne booking the stage at Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee

By Cory Doctorow at 1:53 pm Monday, Apr 20

David Byrne is in charge of booking acts for the stage at the The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee this June -- he's packing it with the heavy rotation acts from his personal playlist, like a four-day trip through Byrne's musical influences. Yee-haw!

David Byrne has assembled a number of performers for the first artist-curated stage in the eight-year history of the Bonnaroo Music and Art Festival. On the evening of Friday, June 12 Byrne, who is performing the "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno," will host his recent collaborators Santigold and the Dirty Projectors, singer/songwriter and founder of Righteous Babe Records Ani DiFranco, former Polyphonic Spree member and Beggar's Banquet recording artist St. Vincent and up-and-coming multi-instrumental all-female Norwegian alt/folk band Katzenjammer.

"We've been interested in inviting artists to play a curatorial role in Bonnaroo for some time now," according to Bonnaroo co-founder and producer Ashley Capps. "David was the logical choice for us and we were thrilled that he agreed. His love for music of all kinds and his passion for sharing that music make him the ultimate musical guide."

Byrne adds "this was an easy one. I basically reeled off a list of what I was listening too recently or who I had seen live recently and Ashley and Co did the rest. It's not like these folks need me to introduce them to a wider audience, at least I don't think they do...I'm just thrilled they'll be added to the festival lineup"

David Byrne First Artist to Curate Stage! (Thanks, Krista!)