SENSATIONAL SOUNDS

LOUDER THAN LIFE AND BOURBON & BEYOND FESTS ARE BACK

Writer / Gavin LaPaille Photography Provided

Eight big days of music are coming to Louisville this summer. Outdoor festivals Louder Than Life and Bourbon & Beyond are back on the Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center this September, showcasing some of today’s top artists from a range of genres.

“We are really excited this year because both of our lineups are spectacular,” says Chamie McCurry, chief marketing officer for Danny Wimmer Presents, the producer of both fests. “They are the biggest lineups we’ve ever had for each festival. It truly is the eight biggest days of music in the United States. You will not find eight bigger days back to back with this kind of fire power and affordability.”

Known as a “love letter” to Louisville, Bourbon & Beyond is September 14 through 17 and features more than 65 musical acts across rock, pop, folk, blues and country. Each day has different headliners while emphasizing the Kentucky bourbon and culinary scene throughout the festival.

After receiving high praise for her performance last year, Brandi Carlile returns to Bourbon & Beyond on opening day, joining Billy Strings and Train. The Killers, Duran Duran and Hozier take over for the second day, while the Black Keys, the Black Crowes and the Avett Brothers follow on day three. Fifteen-time Grammy Award winner Bruno Mars will help close out Bourbon & Beyond, along with Blondie, Jon Batiste and Ryan Bingham.

“We are excited to end the weekend with Bruno Mars,” McCurry says. “He’s one of the best live performers of the last 20 years. This is one of the only places outside Las Vegas that fans are able to see him in the United States. We know he will put on an unbelievable show, to put a cap on a magical weekend.”

Living up to its name as the world’s biggest bourbon and music festival, Bourbon & Beyond will host daily workshops and demonstrations at the Team Kentucky Bourbon Stage Presented by Kentucky Proud, and the Kentucky Venue Culinary Stage Presented by GE Appliances. Amanda Freitag, Chris Santos, Ed Lee and Chris Blandford will lead the programming featuring world-renowned master distillers and celebrity chefs, including Blind Bourbon Live with Fred Minnick. The Kroger Big Bourbon Bar returns with bluegrass music, line dancing and a menu of the nation’s top whiskey, while fans can stop by a number of other experiences that feature cocktails curated specifically for the event.

“Beyond the music, the festival has so many great experiences,” McCurry says. “There is something for everyone there. We will have some special programming and great partnership activations throughout the event. It’s an amazing festival experience from beginning to end.”

Louder Than Life, a hard rock and metal festival, follows with more than 100 acts on five stages, and Louisville’s finest spirits and cuisine, from September 21 through 24. Foo Fighters, Weezer and Rancid open the festival, with Tool, Godsmack and Limp Bizkit headlining the following day. The weekend lineup sees Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera and Falling in Reverse on Saturday, with the final day featuring Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age and Turnstile.

Last year, Louder Than Life set the record as the biggest rock festival in the U.S. with more than 170,000 in attendance over the four-day event. McCurry says this year should be even bigger.

“We’re going to beat that record,” McCurry says. “Everything points to this remaining the biggest rock festival in the United States and then some. It’s such a great festival experience with so many things to do. It’s a wonderful weekend.”

Tickets for both festivals can be purchased online, including a specially priced Exacta offer unique experiences.

“They’re very different, genre-wise,” McCurry says. “Both festivals are uniquely curated to that festival’s brand. Bourbon & Beyond is rooted in the bourbon and local Kentucky scene. Louder Than Life has several more stages and is very musically driven with multiple performers playing at the same time. The layout is the same but we customize each within the grounds to be unique for each festival.”

Pass package that includes all eight days. While the layout is similar, McCurry says Louder Than Life and Bourbon & Beyond

They are two of eight music festivals produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) this year. With a history in Louisville dating back to 2014, both festivals have seen rapid growth and continue to attract some of the biggest acts in music. The festivals moved to the Exposition Center in 2019 after initially taking place in Champions Park.

“We have a great partnership with Kentucky venues,” McCurry says. “They have allowed us to find a long-term home that isn’t quite as vulnerable to weather. That has also given us the ability to grow the festival’s footprint. As these festivals have brought in fans from all over the country, the grounds have allowed us to scale the experience. They have amazing infrastructure that lets us have camping right there. There are a lot of hotels and the site is airport adjacent. Without the great support we have gotten, this would be a much different festival.”

Fans have come to expect Louder Than Life and Bourbon & Beyond on back-to-back weekends. The condensed schedule reduces the costs of putting on the events, resulting in lower ticket prices. Many attendees stay for both, generating an estimated $43 million in economic impact for the city in 2022.

“Ever since Bourbon joined Louder they have been on consecutive weekends,” McCurry says. “What that allows us to do is reduce the very real costs of producing live events. We’re able to keep our tickets affordable for fans. Producing eight days of music in 11 isn’t easy, but with the infrastructure already being there, it makes it much more accommodating.”

Already, DWP is working on finding the right mix of talent for 2024. McCurry says while pausing the festivals during the COVID pandemic was difficult, the group was able to better understand their fans and what they value.

“Our talent team prides itself on putting out the best lineup every year and being better than the year before,” McCurry says. “They have a lot of pride in curating that lineup specifically for the fans. We want to provide something new and something they love so people want to come back and experience it again.”

Fans shouldn’t expect these festivals to leave the local community any time soon. McCurry says DWP sees Louisville as a second home and hopes to continue putting on great events that highlight the city.

“People are discovering Louisville for the first time and falling in love with it, like we did back in 2012 when we first started scouting,” McCurry says. “Louisville has been an amazing host city, which makes it easier for people to come back when they have a good experience. People feel at home there. That’s a true testament to what we love about Louisville, which is the people and the community. That’s what makes us the proudest, when people come from all over the country and see Louisville the way we see it. Our long-term goal is to continue that and showcase the people, and put Louisville on the national spotlight for having great entertainment and festivals.” For more info, go to dannywimmerpresents.com.

Brendan Kelly, owner of Archadeck of Louisville, is a man of many talents. Though he holds a degree in graphic design and fine arts, he was eager to find a way to create what he calls “usable art.”

“I wanted to create a place you can use, but that is also beautiful,” says Kelly, who became an owner in the 40-year-old national franchise in 2016. When Kelly was looking into starting a franchise, he considered what was important to him, and outdoor living topped the list. This endeavor was the perfect fit for his passion, ambitions and diverse skill set.

“I never thought of this work as construction,” he says. “Designing and building decks enabled me to be outdoors and utilize my degree in a unique way.”

Kelly’s crew is skilled and seasoned, having built hundreds of decks over the last 15 to 20 years. For Kelly, maintaining the structural integrity of the product is of paramount importance, and frankly, it’s what sets him apart from other outdoor deck and porch builders. Instead of doing the minimum, he and his crew go above and beyond. For example, local building code states that decks are only supposed to meet 40 pounds per square foot at a minimal. Kelly and his crew try to hit 60, which means they do one and a half times what is required. This is important because decks that are built incorrectly simply won’t last.

“I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of decks that have not been built correctly,” says Kelly, who estimates that 80 to 90% of them are not built in accordance with modern code.

“The biggest faux pas is when you have a column and there’s a beam on top of it, you really should notch the top of the column that’s holding the deck up - the big 6”x6" posts,” Kelly says. “A lot of times they are bolted or nailed to the side of post, so the entire deck is basically held up by six bolts. You should notch it so the beams are sitting on top of the post. That way the whole post would have to disintegrate for the deck to fail.”

In addition, his carpentry crew is stellar at framing and trim work.

“A deck is structural yet it has to look nice, with finishing touches,” Kelly says.

Specializing in custom decks, open porches, screened patios, paver patios, and sunrooms, they also do pergolas and fire features, which have become popular this year.

Prior to owning Archadeck, Kelly was a religion teacher, having earned a theology degree and attended seminary. He married his wife, Leah, and now has four children. He decided to switch gears and try something new, which he admits was a bit nerve wracking, but he’s been pleased with the result.

502-309-9891 archadeck.com