Bonnaroo’s Roo Clue Number 3!

Alright Bonnaroo, you finally might have stumped me. I’m positive Clue #1 is Japandroids. I’m pretty sure Clue #2 is Animal Collective. Clue #3, released yesterday, however, has me a bit stumped. If this was The Hobbit, Gollum would be allowed to eat me now (shoutout to my nerds!). (UPDATE: Andrew has a guess that just might be the answer! I’ve added it below)

Here’s the latest haiku (hai-clue?), which was taped to a tree in an Iowa cemetery (Bonnaroo, you’re weird):

Here are the first few bands that come to mind, but I’m not completely sold on any of them yet:

• Sleigh Bells – I think this is my best guess, but it feels like a little bit of a stretch. “Joy on the north end” and “But does one believe?” both could strongly indicate Santa- North Pole, believing in Santa, etc. “Spiritual shaking abounds,” could be a reference to his sleigh and, thusly, his Sleigh Bells. I feel like it’s both too obvious and too much of a stretch at the same time, so I’m not willing to call this one a sure-thing just yet.
• The Civil Wars – “Joy” makes me think of Joy from the band. “North” conjures up Civil War imagery. The last line could allude to their recent internal turmoil.
• The Joy Formidable – Again with the “Joy.” Not sure how to make the rest of it apply, but I feel like I could be missing something.
• Alabama Shakes – The “shaking” conjures this one up, but otherwise it doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.
• Goodspeed You! Black Emperor – “North” could be a reference to their home of Canada. The “spiritual” part could be a reference to their name and their new record Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!. The last line could also be in reference to ascension. I feel like this one is close, but not quite right.

If I was forced to make a bet, my money would be on Sleigh Bells this time, but I’m much less sure than I was for the first two. Regardless, I’d love to see Sleigh Bells play ‘Roo this year, so let’s just go with them for now.

I’m sure I’ll have an “aha!” moment and shoot awake in the middle of the night, realizing the the all-too-obvious piece I’m missing, but, for now, I’m stumped. I’ll be sure to update if I figure it out! What’s YOUR guess?

UPDATE: Our own Andrew has a different theory, and I think he just might be on to something:

• “North End” just screams Boston reference. The Pixies are from Boston
• “Spiritual Shaking” sounds a lot like their song “Levitate Me.”
• “Does one believe?” – In the song “Mr. Grieves,” the Pixies state “Oh I believe.”
• “But does one believe?” also begs the question of believing in mythical beings, like Pixies. Also, it rings similar to the line “Do you believe in fairies?”
• The “spiritual” part could also be a reference to Pixies.

I think Andrew’s guess is the strongest one we’ve got so far! It’s also been a couple of years since the band has been active, so the timing feels right! So, what do you think? Will the Pixies be making their ‘roo debut?

As always, keep checking our official Bonnaroo 2013 Lineup Rumors post, updated frequently with all of the latest news!