Interview with Brad Parker, Festival Director of Bonnaroo (C3 Presents)

Bradley Parker currently serves as Festival Director at C3 Presents, and oversees the day to day business operations of multiple festivals in the C3 portfolio including Bonnaroo, which celebrates it's 22nd iteration in 2025. Brad joined Knoxville, TN based AC Entertainment in 2013 (more on that below) and cut his teeth working on AC's festival portfolio with a focus on Government relations and community-based engagement strategy. In 2019 Bradley founded Nashville based boutique artist management firm TBD Management where he currently manages developing artists Riley Whittaker and In Color. When he is not moonlighting as an artist manager or on site at a festival, he enjoys a good mountain view and an ice cold Diet Coke Mini.

Our conversation is below:

AvA: How did you get your start in the Music Industry, and how did it shape the way you work today?

Parker: I was working in country radio during college and got connected to the team at AC Entertainment (Co-Founders of Bonnaroo) and eventually worked my way in to a part time job there working the front desk and taking calls (and lots of them, the pre-Zoom era of the biz). Those types of jobs can often be looked down upon, but I saw it as a great networking opportunity to get to engage with all of the different departments across the company to really help me hone in on what I might gravitate to more as a long-term career opportunity (ie; Booking, Marketing, Sponsorship, etc).

AvA: How did the opportunity with AC come about? We heard you were a fan of Bonnaroo first long before running the show..

Parker: I lied to my mom in 2009 when I was in high school and told her I was going to a friends house for the weekend. In reality - I was sneaking away with my best friend to Bonnaroo. It changed me forever. Fast forward to my junior year at University of Tennessee (Go Vols) and I started having a few run-ins with the AC Entertainment team who had co-founded the festival with Superfly.

AC was based in Knoxville and within a few short months I had simultaneously had Ashley Capps (Founder of AC Entertainment) speak at one of my classes at school and also been connected with some of their team through a radio job I was working at the time because AC was buying ads on our stations for their shows they were promoting locally. Eventually I shot my shot and the rest is history. 

AvA: You started from the ground floor and rose to lead one of the most iconic festivals in the world. What do you credit most for that climb?

Parker: I think always staying curious. I constantly wanted to understand what everyone else was doing in the room and how, if at all, it related to my job. I think this helped with two things: 1.) helping me maintain and grow a well-rounded skill set and 2.) affirming the path I needed to be on to get where I needed to go. And most importantly identifying the jobs I DIDN’T want. 

AvA: Looking back on your career so far, what’s one moment you consider to be the biggest hurdle you had to overcome? What did you learn from that experience that you still carry with you today?

Parker: The 2021 Bonnaroo hurricane cancellation. It was one of those moments that truly galvanizes a team. At the moment it felt like the end of the world but looking back it was a real moment of resilience which people need a lot of in this industry. 

AvA: Bonnaroo isn’t just a lineup, it’s a culture. How do you balance nostalgia and history of Bonnaroo with the pressure to stay relevant in today's market? 

Parker: I would say this is the biggest challenge of navigating a brand like Bonnaroo that has so much deep history that is core to its identity but in some instances needs to be shed skin to be able to evolve. I think really, it’s all in the community building we do with the fans that is separate from the artists on the lineup.

Of course, we will always look to offer the the best talent on our stages that is available in each year but the fans are something really special at Bonnaroo and really make the brand what it is. Whether you’re running in the Roo Run 5k, eating a farm to table meal (quite literally at our BonnaRoots Dinners) or watching a wedding be officiated in the middle of Centeroo - there are millions of these tiny moments throughout the weekend that can only happen in one place: The Farm. 

AvA: What are the most iconic Bonnaroo moments you've been a part of? What's going to be the iconic moment of Bonnaroo 2025? 

Parker: The three sets that will always be burned in my head: Nine Inch Nails (2009), Paramore (2023) and Tom Petty (2013). Sleeper picks for 2025…don’t miss the Remi Wolf Super Jam or Luke Combs on Thursday night (our first country headliner). Also make sure to stop by our new Infinity Stage - you won’t regret it. 

AvA: What are 3 of the most important qualities you see in your peers who have risen through the ranks quickly in their professional roles? 

Parker: Curiosity, good communication, and great relationship building. 

AvA: What is one piece of advice you have for someone just starting out in their careers?

Parker: Be great to others, be great to yourself, and show up on as many of the bad days as you do on the good days and you’ll be just fine. 

AvA: If money was no object, what would your job/career be (outside of the Entertainment Industry)?

Parker: I would be an Ad Man (Don Draper from Mad Men style).

AvA: What are you binging on TV right now? 

Parker: Andor (I am a Star Wars nerd for life).

AvA: Favorite festival (outside of Bonnaroo of course)?

Parker: Tie between High Water (Charleston, SC) and Outside Lands (San Francisco).

AvA: Least favorite corporate word? 

Parker: Synergy.

AvA: Book or podcast recommendation?  

Parker: Chop Wood Carry Water: How To Fall In Love With The Process of Becoming Great by Joshua Medcalf.

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