New video released by My Morning Jacket on Tuesday, Aug. 24, from the band's forthcoming self-titled album.
As we gear up for this weekend's (sold-out!) Railbird Festival at Keeneland, we are excited, of course, for the bigger name on the festival, which include Kentucky legends My Morning Jacket (who today announced a forthcoming album featuring cover art by prolific Lexington artist Robert Beatty) to two acts that are arguably the kingpins of contemporary soul: Leon Bridges and Black Pumas. But we figure those guys don't need much introduction from us, so we are focusing our preview coverage instead on some of the smaller-name acts you'll find throughout the weekend. Below are four acts we are excited to catch during the early hours of the festival or on the festival's most intimate stage, The Burl Stage.
Click here for more important Railbird details – we've highlighted links to a few particularly important pieces of info below:
- The festival's COVID-19 requirements (physical vaccination card or proof of negative COVID test within 72 hours of first attending the fest are required of all attendees)
- The festival's bag policy (clear bags only!)
- Festival parking details (hint: parking passes are sold out, but the festival is offering two shuttle options from downtown and from the airport, where cars can park for $20. Even though the event will feature a dedicated rideshare pickup point, organizers are discouraging attendees from relying on Uber/Lyft rides due to a widespread shortage of drivers for those apps.)
Sierra Ferrell
The Burl Stage // Saturday, Aug. 28 at 2:45 p.m.
With a style informed by boxcars, truck stops, New Orleans street corners and the West Virginia holler where she was born and raised, this up-and-coming former nomadic busker gave one of the most buzzed performances to hit the stage of the local music venue The Burl back in April. This weekend, she will have the chance to present her uniquely stylized, up-tempo cowgirl croonings to the masses, on the Railbird festival stage presented by The Burl.
Bendigo Fletcher
The Burl Stage, Saturday, Aug. 28 at 5:15 p.m.
Fresh off the release of its debut album "Fits of Laughter," an impressive follow-up to three preceding EPs, the Kentucky-based 5-piece band Bendigo Fletcher will bring their complex, harmony-laden, rootsy dream rock to The Burl stage on Saturday afternoon, with a host of new songs to feed the crowd and a momentous and well-deserved crescendoing energy pushing their sails. Possibiliteis seem high that this will be a breakthrough set for the band in many ways, and one that fans and casual observers alike should plan to catch.
Cha Wa
What better way to expel your early Sunday hangover than to sweat it all out with a polyrhythmic dance party headed up by a Grammy-nominated crew of New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians? Cha Wa brings the funk, the brass and the traditional Mardi Gras Indian costumery – the least we can do is get out of bed early enough to show up for what will surely be an early afternoon dance party of epic proportions.
Limestone Stage // Sunday Aug. 29 at 1:30 p.m.
S.G. Goodman
The daughter of a Kentucky farmer raised in western Kentucky, Goodman reportedly cut her post-punk musical tastes after relocating to Murray for college. She came out of the gates strong with her 2021 debut album, which was produced by My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James and features a blend of blazing electric guitar, pedal steel, tinges of country, folk and alt rock, with Goodman's distinctive vocals – strong and vulnerable at once – at the forefront.
The Burl Stage // Sunday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m.