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The Hot Air Balloon Glow is one of the annual highlights of Berea's Spoonbread Festival.
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Louisville's inaugural Bourbon & Beyond is a celebration of, well, bourbon and beyond, with dozens of heavy hitting classic and roots rock acts complementing a bevy of culinary and bourbon-related experiences.
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Featuring more than 40 local and regional Americana, country, bluegrass and roots acts, Irvine's Kickin' It On the Creek sold out in late August- don't sleep on it next year!
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Louder Than Life's lineup is chock full of heavy hitting heavy music, from Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne to Mastodon and Eagles of Death Metal.
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Broken Social Scene is one of dozens of established and emerging indie acts to be featured at this year's Mid Point Music Festival, taking place in downtown Cincinnati Sept. 23-24.
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From the hand-painted banners to the venue's peeling paint, Louisville's Cropped Out music festival has a distinct and delightful laid back and lo-fi vibe. Photo by Michael Powell.
KENTUCKY BOURBON FESTIVAL
Sept. 11-17, Bardstown, Ky.
With the support of several major bourbon brands and distilleries, what started as a small bourbon dinner in 1992 has grown into a full-blown, weeklong celebration of Kentucky’s bourbon culture, featuring more than 30 events at various locations in the small Kentucky town dubbed the “bourbon capital of the world.” Having drawn more than 53,000 attendees from 44 states and 14 different countries, the festival features premium bourbon tastings, bourbon-themed educational sessions, a car show from Whiskey City Cruisers, a golf tournament and more. Additionally, a variety of musical acts, including Sundy Best, Mississippi Millie, Kaleb Cecil and others, will take the stage during the festival’s Music on the Lawn event, Sept. 15-17. See the website for a full list of events and details.
KICKIN’ IT AT THE CREEK
Sept. 15-17, Irvine, Ky.
www.kickinitonthecreek.com
We won’t delve too deeply into this one because tickets sold out a couple weeks back, but if an intimate farm party-style event chock full of local and regional Americana, bluegrass and back-country rock-n-roll in a scenic eastern Kentucky holler sounds like your bag, this “little laid back music festival in Irvine, Ky.” is one for your radar next year. What started as a small but raucous family birthday party a few years back has blossomed into a full-blown, 1000-capacity festival, with more than 40 bands on this year’s line-up, including rising Kentucky songwriter Tyler Childers, Justin Wells, The Wooks, Born Cross-Eyed, Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons and more.
KENTUCKY SPOONBREAD FESTIVAL
Sept. 15-17, Berea, Ky.
While spoonbread – a traditional southern dish that resembles a cornbread pudding or souffle – is at the heart of this festival, the weekend features an array of events for all tastes, including a 5K run and fun walk, a dog show, a pageant, a parade, hot air balloon rides, and annual spoonbread eating contest and more. One of the festival’s most anticipated signature events, taking place toward the end of Friday evening, is the Hot Air Balloon Glow, where as many as seven hot air balloons light up the evening sky with a rainbow of colors. A family-friendly affair, the festival is produced annually by the Berea Chamber of Commerce and also features a “kiddie land,” where children are welcome to play on an assortment of inflatables for free every day of the festival. Attendees will find rising country star Walker Montgomery, Encore of Lexington, Kristi Miller and more at the music and entertainment tent. The event will feature nearly 200 vendors and – of course – plenty of spoonbread for purchase.
MIDPOINT MUSIC FESTIVAL
Sept. 23-24, Cincinnati, Oh.
This music-lover’s paradise has been embracing emerging artists and contemporary music since 2001, with a multi-venue, multi-genre format that encourages musical exploration as well as exploration of Cincinnati’s music venues and culture. This year for the first time, all stages will be located centrally, within a block of each other in downtown Cincinnati, so that attendees can experience young talent in a unique urban setting without having to trek around the city. From popular indie groups like Walk The Moon, The New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene and Dan Deacon to emerging artists like indie singer-songwriter Rachel Mousie and holler-folk-band Ghost of Paul Revere, this 2-day festival has a little bit of everything. Other performers include modern-day classic country duo The Cactus Blossoms (who performed on an episode of the most recent season of “Twin Peaks”), genre-bending gospel singer Valerie June, Nashville-based songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan and many others. Visit the event’s website to see the full lineup, schedule and purchase tickets.
BOURBON & BEYOND
Sept. 23-24, American Champions Park, Louisville, Ky.
This inaugural bourbon, food and music festival taking place on Louisville’s waterfront aims to please all the senses, with a heavy-hitting music lineup full of classic rock, folk, Americana and roots bands setting out to complement a variety of immersive bourbon and culinary experiences.
The event is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, a company that bills itself as the largest independent festival producer, with 14 annual festivals in more than a dozen cities, including Louisville’s Louder Than Life. According to company founder Danny Wimmer, the event was born out of a conversation he had with Louisville mayor Greg Fischer a couple years ago, in which he was inspired by Mayor Fischer’s “vision of Bourbonism” and the growth of the city.
“As I’ve spent time here, I’ve come to see that bourbon is much more than just a spirit,” wrote Wimmer in a letter announcing the festival earlier this year. “It’s a spirit of life that permeates almost every aspect of Kentucky living and culture, including food, music, architecture and art.”
The music lineup for the ambitious inaugural event includes Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Steve Miller Band, Band of Horses, Nikki Lane, Trombone Shorty and many others, including a bluegrass stage curated by The Bluegrass Situation. Dozens of local restaurants will be on hand to dish up tasty meals all weekend, and featured chefs and culinary celebrities who will lead workshops and demos include Edward Lee (chef and owner of Louisville restaurants 610 Magnolia, Milkwood and others), Tom Colicchio (head judge on “Top Chef”), Amanda Freitag (co-star of Food Network’s “Chopped”) and others. Bourbon-centric experiences include educational sessions from guest masters and distillers, “secret speakeasies” and a variety of pop-up specialty bourbon bars.
CROPPED OUT
Sept. 22-23, Turners on River Road Louisville, Ky.
Taking place at the unique Louisville riverfront venue Turners on River Road – a quaint (if slightly ramshackle) facility that also happens to house a dated cocktail lounge, bowling alley and swimming pool, in addition to hosting regular karaoke sessions and aerial gymnastic classes for adults – Cropped Out is a staunchly anti-establishment celebration of experimental, under-the-radar music and other art forms, from local artisans to comedy to “sh*tty tattoos” (which are provided on-site at your your own risk).
Featuring a bevy of cult favorite acts in genres ranging from outsider jazz and garage psych to experimental hip hop and scuzzy folk, this year’s line-up includes low-fi indie pioneers Royal Trux, left-field comedian Neil Hamburger, German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brontzmann, melodic and experimental songwriter Tara Jane O’Neil and more than 30 other acts. Aptly described as “rock-n-roll summer camp,” the festival also features riverfront camping, bonfires, “craft ‘n crap beer” and an intimate, field party vibe that can be hard to find in modern-day music festivals.
LOUDER THAN LIFE
Sept. 30-Oct. 1, Champions Park in Louisville, Ky.
www.louderthanlifefestival.com
Music, bourbon, and grub all come together for this 2-day festival, located in the heart of Louisville and started by national production company Danny Wimmer Presents in 2014. With an emphasis on the “heavy” as well as the “loud,” music acts from Ozzy Osbourne, Prophets of Rage and Rob Zombie to Incubus, Mastodon and Eagles of Death Metal will grace (if not defile) the festival’s three stages during the weekend. Other festival experiences include camping; a “Big Easy” seafood boil; a “Heavy Tiki Bar” featuring “Scorpion Bowls and Zombie cocktails;” 20-plus food vendors; a “Bourbon World” tent with a bevy of bourbon options; and more. Visit the event’s website for full lineup, details and tickets.