Jonathan Mayers, co-founder of Outside Lands and Bonnaroo, dead at 51

Jonathan Mayers, the live-music enforcement who co-founded the groundbreaking festivals Outside Lands and Bonnaroo and the promoter Superfly Entertainment, has died. He was 51.

Mayers’ erstwhile partners astatine Superfly released a connection to Billboard: “We are heartbroken with the passing of Jonathan. He was a cherished portion of Superfly’s story, woven into its past and legacy. In summation to the relation he’s played successful bringing joyousness to millions, we volition miss his razor crisp wit, infectious grin and contagious laugh. No 1 could airy up a country similar Jon.”

They did not springiness a origin of death.

Mayers’ flagship events helped usher successful the modern epoch of American euphony festivals. Pairing a chiseled jam-band sensibility with wide-ranging tastes successful pop, electronic, hip-hop and rock, these loose-vibed, meticulously curated events built connected the legacies of shows similar Woodstock and Lollapalooza to go taste fixtures successful the recently ascendant U.S. festival country of the 2000s.

After attending Tulane University and falling successful emotion with New Orleans’ jazz scene, Mayers co-founded the promotion institution Superfly Entertainment successful 1996. Six years later, the institution produced the archetypal installment of Bonnaroo, connected a workplace tract an hr extracurricular of Nashville, with headliners similar Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead to acceptable their psychedelic, freewheeling reputation.

The fest sold retired its archetypal twelvemonth and became a cardinal halt connected the seasonal festival circuit, celebrated for its collaborative “superjams” betwixt apical acts and drafting one-of-a-kind sets that incldued D’Angelo’s long-awaited instrumentality to unrecorded stages and the last amusement from the Beastie Boys. Headliners included Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and countless more. In 2015, Live Nation acquired a controlling involvement successful the festival.

In 2008, helium worked with section promoter Another Planet to recovered Outside Lands successful San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, different ambitiously mixed-genre fest that grew to go a adjacent of Coachella’s successful Northern California. Representatives for Another Planet told Billboard that “Jonathan was a agleam light, ever pushing caller and originative ideas successful the amusement space,” they said. “He was a visionary who was integral successful the founding and the tone of Outside Lands. Everyone successful the Another Planet household volition miss him dearly.”

Mayers’ different large festivals included Vegoose successful Las Vegas and Clusterfest, a drama and movie festival.

Mayers’ tenure astatine Superfly ended successful 2021, aft a contentious play with its co-founders. In aboriginal 2022, Mayers sued the company’s executives, accusing them of civilian misrepresentation, breach of declaration and fraud. A justice dismissed the suit successful 2023.

His past task was Core City Detroit, which sought to put successful lodging and taste facilities successful the metropolis beloved for its R&B and physics music.