Latest news with #Mayers
Boston Globe
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Jonathan Mayers, a founder of the Bonnaroo music festival, dies at 51
Mr. Mayers grew up outside New York City, and after graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1995 got his start in that city's storied music scene. He worked with Tipitina's, the nationally famous music venue, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, known as Jazz Fest. In 1996, he joined Rick Farman, Kerry Black and Richard Goodstone to found Superfly, a music promotion company. Their first concert, in New Orleans, featured the Meters, a venerable funk band; saxophonist Maceo Parker; and the Rebirth Brass Band. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Bonnaroo started in 2002, the result of Superfly's partnership with Ashley Capps, of concert promotion company AC Entertainment, and Coran Capshaw, founder of Red Light, a music management and promotion company. The festival's name was inspired by the Dr. John 'Desitively Bonnaroo,' meaning roughly 'a really good time' or 'good stuff' in Louisiana slang. Advertisement Without the help of newspaper, television or radio advertising, the Bonnaroo organizers sold some 70,000 tickets to the three-day event (it later expanded to four), held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn. Bonnaroo was a virtual Woodstock for the jam-band set, with performances by the likes of Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, the band Widespread Panic and Trey Anastasio of Phish. Advertisement The following year's festival expanded the offerings, with appearances by James Brown, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Jamaican reggae group Toots and the Maytals, and New York noise-rockers Sonic Youth. With most festivalgoers camping on-site in the remote location about an hour from Nashville, the vibes were good. 'Music fans at rock festivals are, by and large, abused by sound, security, visibility, parking, aggressive advertising and ugly surroundings,' music critic Ben Ratliff wrote of that year's event in The New York Times. 'But the organizers of the Bonnaroo festival -- built on jam-band rock and expanding that genre beyond recognition -- are aiming much higher.' Ratliff added, 'This is mostly a festival of backpackers: the world of peaceful collegiate rebellion.' Bonnaroo was an 'escape from reality,' Mr. Mayers said in a 2014 interview with Tastemakers Music Magazine: 'You're not going back home; you're totally immersed in the experience. It kind of feels like summer camp to me.' It has since become an institution, with recent incarnations featuring Post Malone, Stevie Nicks, Tool and Kendrick Lamar. (This year's gathering was canceled midway through because of heavy rains and flooding.) For three years, starting in 2005, Superfly and AC Entertainment also ran a Las Vegas variation called Vegoose, held over Halloween weekend. The festival, which had its own wedding chapel and lured an array of bands including Daft Punk, Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, drew 35,000 or so spectators to various locations in the city. In 2008, Mr. Mayers and Superfly partnered with Another Planet Entertainment, based in Berkeley, Calif., to create a new festival called Outside Lands. Advertisement Radiohead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Jack Johnson headlined the first year's gathering, which sold more than 130,000 tickets and grossed $11.1 million, according to a 2023 article posted by concert data company Pollstar. 'When you're enveloped in the fog, it feels like you're a million miles away from everything,' Lars Ulrich, the drummer of Metallica, which headlined the festival in 2012 and 2017, was quoted as saying in the article. Headliners in recent years have included Tame Impala, Lizzo, Green Day and Sabrina Carpenter. Mr. Mayers also ventured into comedy. He and the Superfly team partnered with Comedy Central in 2017 to produce Clusterfest, an indoor-outdoor comedy and music festival in San Francisco featuring heavyweights like Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman and Kevin Hart. The event was held again in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, Mr. Mayers left Superfly. The next year, he sued his ex-partners, accusing them of breach of contract and fraud. His lawsuit was dismissed in 2023. No information about his upbringing or survivors was immediately available. 'When we launched Bonnaroo in 2002, almost no one thought a rock festival was a smart thing to do in the United States,' Capps said in an interview. 'There had been some great festivals, like Woodstock, and of course a history of jazz and bluegrass festivals, but rock festivals had a mostly checkered past. 'The fact that it sold out in 10 days by word of mouth -- it was a game changer.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Mayers, Concert Promoter and Bonnaroo Co-Founder, Dies at 51
Jonathan Mayers, a concert promoter who co-founded the music festivals Bonnaroo and helped create Outside Lands as a principal at Superfly Entertainment, has died. He was 51. The cause of death is as yet unknown. The news arrives as the three-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is set to kick off Thursday with headliner Luke Combs. More from The Hollywood Reporter Doechii Calls Out Trump's "Ruthless Attacks" Amid L.A. Protests in BET Speech: "What Type of Government Is That?" Thank You, Sly Stone Diddy's Ex Passed Out After Reading Cassie's Lawsuit Describing "Freak-Off" Orgies The New York City native founded Superfly Presents as a marketing and event company in 1996 with partners Kerry Black, Rick Farman and Richard Goodstone, co-creating events such as the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival with Another Planet Entertainment and Bonnaroo, held since 2002 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Mayers' first job was working with New Orleans' legendary Tipitina's and the city's Jazz Fest. Superfly then went on to stage its first concert with the Meters, Maceo Parker and Rebirth Brass Band during Mardi Gras. Mayers partnered with AC Entertainment's Ashley Caps, Paradigm agent Chip Hooper and Red Light manager Coran Capshaw to launch Bonnaroo. Featuring headliners like Phish's Trey Anastasio and members of the Grateful Dead and annually drawing crowds of more than 70,000, it has become the model for the modern music festival. Superfly launched Vegoose festival in Las Vegas in 2005, then partnered with Another Planet to launch Outside Lands in San Francisco's fabled Golden Gate Park. In 2017, Mayers partnered with Viacom and Comedy Central to produce a comedy festival dubbed Clusterfest, which included the likes of Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah. Mayers' innovative promotion approach included re-creating sets from iconic TV shows like Seinfeld, The Office and The Daily Show offering immersive fan experiences, including a Friends pop-up of one of its sets in New York, Boston and Atlanta. Mayers left Superfly in August 2021 and sued his ex-partners in early 2022, accusing them of breach of contract and fraud for underestimating the value of his ownership in the company. The lawsuit was dismissed in January 2023. Since leaving Superfly, Mayers worked on Core City Detroit, a project which sought funds to invest in the inner city, creating a music campus with entertainment experiences for the public. His longtime friend, Dayglo Presents and Brooklyn Bowl founder Peter Shapiro, told The Hollywood Reporter: 'People use the word visionary a lot in our business, but Jonathan Mayers was the real deal when it came to imagining what something new could be. It takes courage to lean into doing something that could crash and fail. And that is how Jonathan Mayers broke down real barriers and created some next level music festivals that impacted a generation of fans, bands and promoters.' Another Planet Entertainment issued a statement describing Mayers as 'a bright light, always pushing new and creative ideas in the entertainment space. Everyone in the Another Planet family will miss him dearly.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)
Newsweek
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Longtime Cardinals Pitcher Announces Sudden Retirement From MLB
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Mike Mayers, a relief pitcher who appeared in parts of eight seasons (2016-23) with the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals, announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday in a post to his LinkedIn account. "After 12 incredible years in professional baseball, including parts of 8 seasons in the big leagues with the Cardinals, Angels, and Royals, I'm officially hanging up the cleats," Mayers wrote. More news: Former Phillies, Mets, Red Sox Pitcher Announces Retirement Mayers had spent the 2024 season with the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate. He made 31 appearances for the Buffalo Bisons, including three starts, going 2-5 with a 6.10 ERA. Mike Mayers #59 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kevin Newman #27 came around to score on an RBI single by Starling Marte #6 in the... Mike Mayers #59 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kevin Newman #27 came around to score on an RBI single by Starling Marte #6 in the eighth inning during the game at PNC Park on September 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh. MoreMayers was released from his minor league contract by the Blue Jays on Aug. 2, 2024, and did not land a contract for the 2025 season with an affiliated team. More news: Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara Scandal Closer to Becoming Scripted Series In his last big-league season, Mayers made six appearances for the Kansas City Royals in 2023, going 1-2 with a 6.15 ERA. He allowed 19 runs (18 earned) and 34 hits in 26.1 innings. Mayers was designated for assignment by the Royals in June 2023, and traded to the Chicago White Sox a month later. He finished the season with Chicago's Triple-A affiliate. More news: MLB News: Former First-Round Pick to Retire With Team That Drafted Him Mayers' return to Missouri came 10 years after he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2013 draft out of the University of Mississippi. From 2016-19, Mayers shuttled back and forth between the majors and the minors. He appeared in 73 MLB games with the Cardinals — 72 in relief. Mayers went 3-3 with a 7.03 ERA as a Cardinal, then was placed on waivers in November 2019 and claimed by the Los Angeles Angels. More news: Baseball Team Sues Disney For Trademark Infringement Mayers was the Angels' most reliable relief pitcher during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He made 29 appearances across 30 innings out of the bullpen, both team-highs, and posted a sterling 2.10 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 30 innings. The 2021 season saw Mayers make a career-best 72 appearances, posting a solid 3.84 ERA (117 ERA+) and striking out 90 batters in 75 innings. More news: Viral Clip Shows Pope Leo XIV On Camera During the 2005 World Series But Mayers struggled to follow up that performance in 2022. He went 1-1 with a 5.68 ERA in 24 games, including three starts. His strikeout rate dipped below one per inning, and the Angels designated him for assignment twice during the season. Mayers elected free agency after the 2023 season and signed with the Royals in December. He retires with a career record of 12-11 with a 5.21 ERA. For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Recap: LSU baseball falls as Little Rock forces a winner-take-all game on Monday
LSU entered Sunday night's game against the Little Rock Trojans with one goal in mind: a trip to the Super Regionals. All they had to do was beat a team that they defeated 7-0 in the first game of the regional on Friday. The Trojans put up six runs in the first three innings, and LSU could not rally, and the Tigers lost 10-4. LSU was the visiting team in this game (that is a rant for another day). In the top of the first inning, LSU got out to a 3-0 lead as Danny Dickinson hit an RBI single and Steven Milam hit a two-RBI single. Jaden Noot got the start on the mound for the Tigers. In the first two games of the Regional, LSU did not give up any runs. That all changed at the bottom of the second inning when Little Rock hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 3-2. In the top of the third inning, LSU loaded the bases for Michael Braswell, but he flew out to Center Field to end the inning. Chase Shores entered the game to pitch in the bottom of the third inning. Advertisement After recording a groundout, he walked the bases loaded, and then a double cleared the bases and gave Little Rock a 6-3 lead. Cooper Williams would then enter to pitch. In the top of the fourth inning, LSU once again loaded the bases. This time, Ethan Frey was the one up to bat. Frey popped out to the shortstop to end the inning, and the Tigers left the runners stranded for the second inning in a row. In the top of the fifth inning, LSU cut into the lead as a wild pitch scored Luis Hernandez to make it 6-4 Little Rock. Both teams were retired three up, three down in the sixth and seventh innings. Jacob Mayers entered to pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He retired all three batters he faced, and we headed to the top of the eighth inning with LSU still trailing by two runs. Once again, LSU was retired without getting anyone on base, and the Tigers were down to their final three outs. Mayers trotted back out onto the mound in the eighth inning and walked the first three batters to load the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly got the first out, but it increased the Trojans' lead to 7-4. Mayers walked another hitter, and the bases were loaded once again. Advertisement Mavrick Rizy was then brought in to pitch. An RBI groundout scored another run to make it 8-4. A wild pitch scored another run to make it 9-4. An RBI single would increase the lead to 10-4. Tonight's loss marked the first time in LSU history that the Tigers lost to a No. 4 seed in a Baton Rouge Regional. It sets up a winner-take-all game against Little Rock tomorrow. I do not know who the Trojans will have pitching, but I have a really good idea of who we will see from LSU. We are going to see some combination of Casan Evans and Zac Cowan. We have not seen either of those guys in this regional, and now is the time for those guys to slam the door on Little Rock and send us to a Super Regional against West Virginia. Tomorrow's game will be played at a time to be announced. This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Recap: LSU falls, Little Rock forces a winner-take-all game on Monday
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Recap: LSU baseball falls as Little Rock forces a winner-take-all game on Monday
Recap: LSU baseball falls as Little Rock forces a winner-take-all game on Monday LSU entered Sunday night's game against the Little Rock Trojans with one goal in mind: a trip to the Super Regionals. All they had to do was beat a team that they defeated 7-0 in the first game of the regional on Friday. The Trojans put up six runs in the first three innings, and LSU could not rally, and the Tigers lost 10-4. LSU was the visiting team in this game (that is a rant for another day). In the top of the first inning, LSU got out to a 3-0 lead as Danny Dickinson hit an RBI single and Steven Milam hit a two-RBI single. Jaden Noot got the start on the mound for the Tigers. In the first two games of the Regional, LSU did not give up any runs. That all changed at the bottom of the second inning when Little Rock hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 3-2. In the top of the third inning, LSU loaded the bases for Michael Braswell, but he flew out to Center Field to end the inning. Chase Shores entered the game to pitch in the bottom of the third inning. After recording a groundout, he walked the bases loaded, and then a double cleared the bases and gave Little Rock a 6-3 lead. Cooper Williams would then enter to pitch. In the top of the fourth inning, LSU once again loaded the bases. This time, Ethan Frey was the one up to bat. Frey popped out to the shortstop to end the inning, and the Tigers left the runners stranded for the second inning in a row. In the top of the fifth inning, LSU cut into the lead as a wild pitch scored Luis Hernandez to make it 6-4 Little Rock. Both teams were retired three up, three down in the sixth and seventh innings. Jacob Mayers entered to pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He retired all three batters he faced, and we headed to the top of the eighth inning with LSU still trailing by two runs. Once again, LSU was retired without getting anyone on base, and the Tigers were down to their final three outs. Mayers trotted back out onto the mound in the eighth inning and walked the first three batters to load the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly got the first out, but it increased the Trojans' lead to 7-4. Mayers walked another hitter, and the bases were loaded once again. Mavrick Rizy was then brought in to pitch. An RBI groundout scored another run to make it 8-4. A wild pitch scored another run to make it 9-4. An RBI single would increase the lead to 10-4. Tonight's loss marked the first time in LSU history that the Tigers lost to a No. 4 seed in a Baton Rouge Regional. It sets up a winner-take-all game against Little Rock tomorrow. I do not know who the Trojans will have pitching, but I have a really good idea of who we will see from LSU. We are going to see some combination of Casan Evans and Zac Cowan. We have not seen either of those guys in this regional, and now is the time for those guys to slam the door on Little Rock and send us to a Super Regional against West Virginia. Tomorrow's game will be played at a time to be announced.
