Kenny Rogers Discusses Singing With Phish At Bonnaroo

On June 10, 2012 Phish closed out the 2012 installment of Bonnaroo will a full, two-set performance in Manchester, Tennessee. Coming into the festival, there were all sorts of rumors of who Phish would bring up for a guest spot. With a lineup featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Iver, Radiohead, The Roots, The Word and many others the options were endless. Surprisingly, the Vermonters settled on an artist well outside of their wheelhouse -country great Kenny Rogers.

Rogers discussed his guest spot leading Phish through “The Gambler” at Bonnaroo ’12 in a new interview with the Asbury Park Press. “It was so much fun, they were so receptive. (Phish) came in my dressing room and said, ‘We really want to do this, would you mind doing it?’ and I said, ‘No, I don’t mind doing it.’ And, when I performed at Bonnaroo, the first thing I said was, ‘What’s wrong with this picture, Kenny Rogers and Bonnaroo?’ And it was fun. The people loved it,” Kenny said about the experience. “Phish was one of those groups that I had heard but didn’t really know, and I think from that date on I realized how big they were.”

Watch pro-shot footage of Phish and Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler”: