Iconic Bonnaroo Joins Live Nation Entertainment's World Leading Festival Business

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Apr 28, 2015, 08:30 ET

MANCHESTER, Tenn., and LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) and Bonnaroo's founding partners, Superfly and AC Entertainment, announced today the completion of a new partnership, through which Live Nation assumes a controlling interest in the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

"The addition of Bonnaroo builds on Live Nation Entertainment's world leading festival portfolio of over 60 marquee festivals such as: Austin City Limits Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Reading, Leeds, T in the Park, Electric Daisy Carnival, Rock Werchter, and Watershed Music Festival to name a few," said Michael Rapino, Live Nation CEO and president. "We continue to expand the industry's most unparalleled and scalable festival platform all while driving strong revenue and growth for Live Nation on a global basis. Bonnaroo is another crown jewel in this festival channel strategy, one that appeals to both fans and artists in uniqueness and experience."

"We are strengthening our commitment to create the best possible experience at Bonnaroo," said Rick Farman, co-founder, Superfly. "Through this partnership with Live Nation, we're even more empowered to enhance the festival while preserving the integrity of the event that we've thoughtfully built over the past 14 years."

"Partnering with Live Nation is a milestone for Bonnaroo. It opens up tremendous opportunities for us to continue to evolve the Bonnaroo experience in an exciting, powerful way," said Ashley Capps, founder, AC Entertainment.

Additionally, Live Nation now also owns a share of the Bonnaroo property, Great Stage Park, also known as "the Farm." With Live Nation on board, significant investment in the site and enhancements to the festival experience are planned. Superfly and AC Entertainment will continue to plan and execute the day-to-day operations of the festival and signature Bonnaroo initiatives, such as sustainability efforts and involvement with the Manchester community. Bonnaroo's non-profit arm, the Bonnaroo Works Fund, will continue to be a priority.

Founded in 2002 in Manchester, Tennessee, Bonnaroo is globally recognized as an iconic cultural landmark of the festival scene, heralded for its peaceful vibes, flawless operations and once-in-a-lifetime musical collaborations.

Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world's leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Held on a sprawling 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day immersive experience, celebrating the best in live music entertainment from timeless legends to emerging artists in rock, hip hop, electronic, jazz and Americana. Since 2002, Bonnaroo has been a staple of the American music festival scene, bringing together hundreds of thousands of attendees in a one of a kind camping environment, to experience more than 100 artists perform across multiple stages. In addition to live music, Bonnaroo features a variety of curated experiences including a 24 hour cinema, comedy club, beer festival, theater performers, classic arcade and more. Co-founded by Superfly and AC Entertainment, Bonnaroo is a once in a lifetime experience that takes place every June. Learn more at www.bonnaroo.com, @bonnaroo and on Facebook.

Superfly

Superfly is passionately driven by creating and curating culture through experiences and immersive live events and creating award-winning campaigns for some of the most recognized brands in the world. Founded in 1996, Superfly's expertise is building hand crafted cultural experiences with a distinct identity, such as the iconic Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and Outside Lands that are equally desired by brands and destinations for fans. In 2009, Superfly extended its creative offering to strategically help brands establish and raise their profile and navigate the cultural marketing landscape through programming, design, digital, content, social and experiential platforms. Superfly is headquartered in New York, with offices in Chicago and San Francisco. Learn more at http://superf.ly/, and follow Twitter @Superfly, Facebook www.facebook.com/superfly and Instagram @superflypresents.

AC Entertainment

One of the top independent promoters in the world, AC Entertainment is internationally recognized as co-founders / producers of the renowned Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival®, cited as "One of the 50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll" by Rolling Stone magazine. AC also created and produces the widely acclaimed Big Ears Festival (Knoxville, TN) and produces Louisville's longstanding signature Forecastle Festival. In 2015, ACE co-founded and launched the WayHome Music & Arts Festival in Ontario, Canada, the Sloss Music & Arts Festival in Birmingham, AL, and AFROPUNK in Atlanta, GA. AC Entertainments also presents more than 1,000 concerts annually, including exclusive booking of top-ranking Southeastern venues (Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Marathon Music Works and Exit/In in Nashville, Tenn.; The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC; Track 29 in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Minglewood Hall and Live at the Garden in Memphis, Tenn.; and South Carolina's Music Farm clubs in Charleston and Columbia). The company has offices in Knoxville and Nashville and manages two of Knoxville, Tenn.'s landmark venues: the Historic Tennessee Theatre and Bijou Theatre. Client services include event and venue consulting, production, and management as well as booking and marketing.