Next weekend, Lexington will play host to the inaugural Railbird Festival, a 2-day event produced by Tennessee-based festival moguls AC Entertainment in conjunction with local entrepreneur David Helmers and a team of local partners. (Read more about the roots and business angle of the festival in this article for Business Lexington by Tom Wilmes.) On Saturday August 10 and Sunday August 11, the idyllic and historic grounds of Keeneland Racetrack will be host to more than 30 musical acts, including The Raconteurs, Brandi Carlile, Hozier, Tyler Childers, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Mandolin Orange, Mavis Staples, Gary Clark Jr. and others –but the festival is designed to go beyond music, offering a bevy of immersive experiences to satisfy other senses as well. With ticketholders from 29 states and 6 different countries, the festival has seized the opportunity to connect its audience some of Lexington's most popular tourist elements (bourbon, food, horses), in a highly curated, intimate and well-planned way that really showcases the city and the region.
BOURBON
The Rickhouse will offer a curated bourbon experience featuring hand-selected barrels from six regional distilleries. The barrels were hand-chosen by AJ Hochalter, the local filmmaker behind the award-winning bourbon documentary “Neat,” and pours, flights, craft cocktails will be available for attendees to purchase inside The Rickhouse. Get more details on The Rickhouse's offerings here.
FOOD
The festival will also include a handful of special culinary experiences designed to showcase Lexington’s dining scene, including a ticketed dinner reception in the Saddling Paddock on Friday night, morning trackside brunches on Saturday and Sunday, and a full lineup of culinary demonstrations, small bites and cocktails from local and regional culinary purveyors in the Sip and Savor tent throughout the weekend. Sip & Savor events are free to all ticket holders, but have limited “first come first serve” seating, so be sure to formulate your plan of attack in advance. Read more about Railbird's culinary adventures here.
HORSES
Horse farm and Keeneland facility tours, morning workouts are all available as “add-on” adventures, with tours beginning the morning of Thursday, Aug. 8. During the festival weekend, off-track betting / simulcast horse racing from other racing facilities around the country and on-site “BETologists” will be available for all festival attendees inside an air-conditioned lounge called Lucky Day Plaza. Read more about the festival's equine adventures here.
…all of which we think sounds truly great -- but chances are good that you’ll find us bellied up to the rail at any one of the three music stages throughout the weekend, however. Keep an eye out for our Railbird music preview, coming soon!