The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival bring some of the biggest music performers to Tennessee every year in June. They offer a variety of music from rock and roll, jazz, hip-hop, bluegrass, and much more. Rob Heller, associate professor of journalism and electronic media at UT, and his band members offered their own style with Klezmer music.

Heller plays the clarinet and the washtub bass for Tennessee Shmaltz. His homemade washtub bass makes the Tennessee Shmaltz the only known band in the world with such an instrument. He said there was no other band like them at the festival.

"We stick out a little," he said.

Tennessee Shmaltz has opened for Nickel Creek, played at other festivals, and held their own concerts, but they were still excited to perform at Bonnaroo.

"I believe we all kept saying ‘We can't believe we are here. We are doing this,'" Heller said. He was nervous before they performed, but he said he started to get into and have a lot of fun.

He has attended Bonnaroo for the past three years as a photographer and decided to ask Ashley Capps, founder of AC Entertainment, a co-producer of the festival, about having a Klezmer band play at Bonnaroo.

"I kept asking, and eventually he said yes about a month beforehand," Heller said.

Tennessee Shmaltz played in a small tent on the morning of Sunday, June 15, but they still had a good audience.

"Being on stage as a musician and seeing an audience – not just our friends – and they choose to come see us and clap and smile ... it's great," he said.

Few local type bands get the opportunity to play at Bonnaroo. Heller said Capps tries to support these bands, but people come to see the big names.

"We'd love to, but we don't expect to play again," Heller said.