Jack Johnson Replaces Mumford & Sons at Bonnaroo
Jack Johnson has been announced as the new Saturday night headliner at Bonnaroo, replacing Mumford & Sons, whose bassist Ted Dwane is recovering from brain surgery earlier this week.
In a statement released by festival organizers on Friday,
Johnson said he got the call yesterday to play the show and immediately
summoned his band.
"I've got a lot of lyrics and chords to relearn by
Saturday night," he admitted. " I was here to play the first Bonnaroo
and it is a very special festival to my band. We are excited to hit the
stage again."
To fill Mumford's shoes, Billboard has learned that
simultaneous requests were made to Johnson and Darius Rucker. Johnson
was already on the grounds for surprise press appearances in support of
his upcoming album "From Here To Now To You," while Rucker's tour
schedule had him playing in Baltimore on Saturday night.
On Thusday, Mumford & Sons said on Facebook that
Dwane's surgery for a blood clot on the surface of his brain went well
and he's "on the road to a full recovery," but in order to give him time
to recover, the four-piece has nixed its appearance at the festival, as
well as a set at Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival next week.
"If we could've we would've, you know that about us," the
post read. "We trust that you can respect our collective desire to
encourage Ted to make a full recovery, and that this is based purely on
the medical advice we have received."
