T
he SuperJam has long been one of the Bonnaroo
Music & Arts Festival’s signature offerings, but the all-star gathering’s history actually predates the
event itself. For many years, festival co-founders Superfly hosted eye-opening collaborations in New Orleans during Jazz Fest and brought the concept to The Farm for the inaugural Roo on June 23, 2002. That loose, celebratory session featured Béla Fleck, Robert Randolph, The String Cheese Incident’s Michael Kang and Galactic guitarist Jeff Raines, who all welcomed several members of their respective bands for a sprawling set that ended with an extended version of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and set the stage for the many incredible musician mashups that would follow in its path. Bonnaroo’s SuperJam is truly the epitome of the festival’s singular spirit. No one knows this more than Robin McNicol and Josh Roth, this year’s SuperJam co-producers. McNicol joined the Bonnaroo family with Superfly back in 2007 and produced the Jams in both 2016 and ‘17, before Roth took over last year, leading to this year’s collaborative effort. “For fans that have never been to the festival before, the SuperJam is
something that makes Bonnaroo really unique and differentiates it from a lot of the other festivals in the country,” says McNicol, who cites her experience booking Chance the Rapper for the 2017 SuperJam—a last-minute addition that resulted in the Chicago artist leading the SuperJam artists and fans in a rousing sing-along of OutKast’s “Hey Ya”—as “one of the coolest things I’ve done in my professional career.” Roth, who first attended Bonnaroo as a fan in 2003, experienced his first SuperJam in 2014 and also produced the DapKings-led SuperJam at Arizona’s Lost Lake in 2017 before taking his talents to The Farm. His most memorable moment at the Roo was when he helped bring last year’s Tom Petty tribute SuperJam—led in part by members of My Morning Jacket and Wilco—to life. 47