Grupo Fantasma Group With Fellow Austin Bands at Bonnaroo

Although it is true that Bonnaroo has a stage this year dedicated solely to music from New Orleans, and the main stage features musicians from around the world, the music tents on Day One had a definite pattern -- with so many bands performing who hail from Austin, TX, it was beginning to look a little bit like Austin's SXSW instead of a summer festival in the middle of Tennessee. What Made Milwaukee Famous, the Sword, Ghostland Observatory (who are scheduled for Day Two) and Latin funk-masters Grupo Fantasma all hail from the little Texan town that could.

"The musical landscape in Austin is definitely changing," Fantasma's Adrian Quesada tells Spinner. "We're glad to be a part of it. The music that has come out of Austin for the past 20 years has been great, but we're really proud to be a part of a class of bands that has been taking it to another place."

Fantasma has had ample opportunity to spread their sound to non-local audiences lately, thanks in part to Prince who tapped their horn section for his Coachella set and booked the band for a Latin-night residency at his club in Las Vegas. At their Bonnaroo set, Fantasma performed for thousands of hippies and hipsters hearing the band for the first time.

"Most of our tours in the summer involve a lot of festivals," says Quasada. "So it's kinda our forte to get up in front of a lot of people and convert them to our music."

As for the Austin contingency, Quasada tells Spinner that they plan on sticking around after their set to catch some of the Sword. And, immediately after our talk with him, Quesada and his bandmates split from the artist lounge to watch What Made Milwaukee Famous. "They're probably one of the worst bands I've heard in my life," jokes Quesada. "And you can tell Jeremy I said that."

A half-hour earlier, Milwaukee drummer Jeremy Buch told Spinner, "Grupo Fantasma is a lovely bunch of ladies." He can get away with saying that -- he was in the band for six years and the two groups remain friends. Obviously.