Bonnaroo’s Roo Clue Number 12!

Well, so much for the Roo Clues getting easier. Bonnaroo stumped us once before, with Roo Clue #3, but the latest, Roo Clue #12, might just be the toughest one yet!

It’s a Thursday clue, so it came in three parts: Radio Bonnaroo, the Bonnaroo App, and this video, filmed at The Oliver Hotel in Knoxville:

Here’s the full clue (and, for once, they have apparently broken the haiku format):

Pavement Sticks to Feet,
At Front of Hotel,
Mixed from a Blue Book.

There are obvious guesses that stem from specific words in that clue: Pavement (way too literal), The Eagles (hotel mention – no way, that’s lazy), Neutral Milk Hotel/Jeff Mangum (maaaaybe), and stuff that comes from surface imagery like Hot Hot Heat or Hot Chip (pavement sticks to feet) or R. Kelly (Kelley Blue Book). Of those quick ideas, R. Kelly and Jeff Mangum seem the most plausible, but don’t very well fit the rest of the clue. I’m still not 100% sold on the answer, so I’ll provide my reasoning for my top guesses and I encourage you to weigh in with your opinion (or more evidence to back either of my choices)! The video this week has a more specific imagery than normal- it points out the name of the hotel, features a guy in a panda hood and a guy in a gorilla suit, and focuses on a Diamond Dallas Page doll. Any or all of these details could prove significant.

Here are my top two guesses:

Guess #1: Van Morrison

“At Front of Hotel” – The hotel from the video is The Oliver in Knoxville. At the front of The Oliver is the Tupelo Honey Cafe, which brings to mind Van Morrison (who had a popular hit called “Tupelo Honey”).
Van Morrison also just released his latest album on Blue Note Records, which could tie into the “mixed from a blue book” line.
Van Morrison has the whole month of June free, but will be in Europe before and after. Also, the evidence is minimal at best, so I’m on the fence. The Tupelo thing is what makes it seem plausible.

Guess #2: Machine Gun Kelly

“Mixed from a Blue Book” – The most famous blue book is Kelley Blue Book.
Machine Gun Kelly takes his stage name from a famous Memphis gangster.
“Pavement Sticks to Feet” – Old school gangsters were known for sinking bodies by sticking their feet in concrete.
The Oliver Hotel was originally known as Peter Kern Bakery. Machine Gun Kelly’s real name is Richard Colson Baker.
MGK has a song called “Lace Up,” which could further tie into the first line.
The clue is delivered by a guy in a gorilla suit. MGK is often featured on the site The Masked Gorilla.
Kelly has no dates booked beyond March.

Though more evidence points to Machine Gun Kelly than Van Morrison, he still doesn’t feel like a perfect fit (plus the Tupleo Honey fact is the strongest of any of my rationale). The main hangup is MGK doesn’t make a ton of sense for Bonnaroo- we’ve already had a few rappers hinted who fit the lineup more appropriately, and Kelly would just be an oddball choice. Bonnaroo’s not shy about booking rappers, and he’s popular, they just tend to go with hip hop artists with broader critical appeal. He’s not impossible (nor is Van Morrison), but I just can’t help but feel a better answer to this clue is out there. Let me know if the comments if you have one!

Our previous Roo Clue Solutions: