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Prob not why anyone follows me on here anyway, but 2019 was the last 80/35 that I helped book (They DID have a 2020 lineup mostly done, which I wasn't a part of - and it was good!). Since I was on the booking team every year (2008-2019), I thought it would be fun to give ...
... some behind the scenes info and whatnot. For instance, there were many artists who were targeted from the onset who we were never able to land. Two that Amedeo ALWAYS had his eye on from year one were Beck and The Beastie Boys (keep in mind, 2008).
Beastie Boys is obviously no longer doable, and Beck is no longer within the stratosphere of the booking budget.
Fun fact: Black Keys were all but confirmed for the very first 80/35. When you are booking bands, "confirmed" is the magic word. Came as close to the magic word without it coming to fruition. By 2009, Black Keys would have cost the budget for a headliner, but with an extra 0
Girl Talk WAS confirmed for the original 80/35. I don't remember the reason, but they had to cancel before the lineup was ever announced. Andrew Bird is what wound up getting confirmed in place. Girl Talk went on to play another 80/35 at a later date.
The only other artist that I can think of who was confirmed but canceled before an announce was GZA. Action Bronson, Yungblud and Noname are (I think) the only artists who were on a poster, but never actually played due to cancelation (for various reasons).
In 2015, there was an artist who was supposed to go on the stage in the early afternoon. We got a call from their agent about 2 hours before they were supposed to go on saying that they missed their flight to DSM from LA. Wound up getting a later flight ...
and we shuffled some things around to get them on a stage at the end of the night. They still wanted to play, so we were happy we could make something work.
It's kind of not cool to reveal what an artist was paid, so the only thing I'll mention in that regard is more of a "fun fact" type thing: The highest paid headliner in the history of the fest is Ben Harper & The Relentless 7 in its second year.
You're prob thinking I'm wrong given that we had Wu-Tang, Kesha, Weezer, etc., but them's the facts.
You only make an offer if there is at least a remote possibility of it working. You don't offer Radiohead 2% of what they usually get and waste everyone's time. You also aren't going to make an offer on a band that is already playing in Spain the day before your date.
With that in mind, some of the bands that 80/35 offered MULTIPLE times in the early days that never happened: Janelle Monae, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Snoop, Local Natives, TV on the Radio, Tegan & Sara, Trampled By Turtles, moe. ...
Some bands we would check in on almost every year, and they would never be avail. Beck is in that category. My Morning Jacket is another one from the early days that we always envisioned working well.
More recent acts that have had offers on multiple years: The National, Angel Olsen. Hasn't panned out yet, but who knows, those could work in the future.
