Mike Comite

There's this video. I've watched it more times than I'd like to admit in the last decade and a half. Kind of like a retired football player watching old game tapes from his glory days, who pauses and rewinds that one play where he tore his ACL over and over to see where his career went sideways. It happened at Bonnaroo, this music festival with some of the biggest acts in the world.

There's this video. I've watched it more times than I'd like to admit in the last decade and a half. Kind of like a retired football player watching old game tapes from his glory days, who pauses and rewinds that one play where he tore his ACL over and over to see where his career went sideways. It happened at Bonnaroo, this music festival with some of the biggest acts in the world.

That year Dave Matthews' band and Jay-Z were playing. It was 2010. The band I was in was invited to play on one of the medium-sized stages, which is a huge deal for us. There'd be over 2,000 people watching. It'd be the biggest stage we'd ever played on. But then I saw that Weezer was also playing Bonnaroo. It felt like some kind of fated opportunity.

That year Dave Matthews' band and Jay-Z were playing. It was 2010. The band I was in was invited to play on one of the medium-sized stages, which is a huge deal for us. There'd be over 2,000 people watching. It'd be the biggest stage we'd ever played on. But then I saw that Weezer was also playing Bonnaroo. It felt like some kind of fated opportunity.

We were actually covering a Weezer song in our set. And so I had this big idea. Our front person, Julia, was a musician who had blown up on YouTube. She had thousands of followers on social media. What if we got them all to tweet at Weezer's lead singer, Rivers Cuomo, to see if he'd come sing with us? I asked Julia, and she was game for it.

We were actually covering a Weezer song in our set. And so I had this big idea. Our front person, Julia, was a musician who had blown up on YouTube. She had thousands of followers on social media. What if we got them all to tweet at Weezer's lead singer, Rivers Cuomo, to see if he'd come sing with us? I asked Julia, and she was game for it.

And shockingly, it worked, better than we could have hoped. Rivers didn't come sing with us. Instead, he invited Julia to come play her ukulele and sing with Weezer during one of their songs on the main stage. Julia's visibility at Bonnaroo would be multiplied tenfold. If this went well, who knows where it could lead. Maybe Weezer would bring us on tour with them as their opener.

And shockingly, it worked, better than we could have hoped. Rivers didn't come sing with us. Instead, he invited Julia to come play her ukulele and sing with Weezer during one of their songs on the main stage. Julia's visibility at Bonnaroo would be multiplied tenfold. If this went well, who knows where it could lead. Maybe Weezer would bring us on tour with them as their opener.

Our agent immediately submitted us to their team for some of their upcoming shows. Or maybe Rivers would write a song with Julia, play on our record, or she'd play on theirs. The possibilities kept me up at night. I was 22. I'd only been playing music professionally for a year at that point. But I was convinced this would be the moment that would transform our careers.

Our agent immediately submitted us to their team for some of their upcoming shows. Or maybe Rivers would write a song with Julia, play on our record, or she'd play on theirs. The possibilities kept me up at night. I was 22. I'd only been playing music professionally for a year at that point. But I was convinced this would be the moment that would transform our careers.

The day of the show, Julia split off from our group to rehearse with Weezer on their tour bus. I felt a little sting finding out I wasn't gonna meet them too. Weezer went on a little before sunset. Me and the rest of the band sat way back in the crowd on some bleachers while Julia was somewhere backstage. There had to be at least 20,000 people between us and Weezer.

The day of the show, Julia split off from our group to rehearse with Weezer on their tour bus. I felt a little sting finding out I wasn't gonna meet them too. Weezer went on a little before sunset. Me and the rest of the band sat way back in the crowd on some bleachers while Julia was somewhere backstage. There had to be at least 20,000 people between us and Weezer.

I couldn't believe that a dumb idea I'd cooked up in rehearsal had led to this. The song Julia was going to play on was called Trippin' Down the Freeway. Weezer started it a few songs into their set. Julia's offstage for the first half of the song, but after the guitar solo, Rivers brings the band down to a vamp and has Julia come out, kind of dramatically.

I couldn't believe that a dumb idea I'd cooked up in rehearsal had led to this. The song Julia was going to play on was called Trippin' Down the Freeway. Weezer started it a few songs into their set. Julia's offstage for the first half of the song, but after the guitar solo, Rivers brings the band down to a vamp and has Julia come out, kind of dramatically.

Julia walks onstage strumming her uke, but something sounds off. They are not in the right tuning.

Julia walks onstage strumming her uke, but something sounds off. They are not in the right tuning.

For a split second, I'm convinced I'm having a nightmare. I try telling myself to wake up. Nope. Weezer is still on stage, having a conversation mid-song about Julia's tuning through the PA system. Rivers pivots. He turns to the crowd and starts talking about how Julia had ended up on stage with them that day. About Twitter, about Julia's fans.

For a split second, I'm convinced I'm having a nightmare. I try telling myself to wake up. Nope. Weezer is still on stage, having a conversation mid-song about Julia's tuning through the PA system. Rivers pivots. He turns to the crowd and starts talking about how Julia had ended up on stage with them that day. About Twitter, about Julia's fans.

He's making fun of her? I start clenching my jaw from the stands.

He's making fun of her? I start clenching my jaw from the stands.