Music, bourbon, and culinary fans packed the Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville on Friday for a scorching hot Day 2 of Bourbon & Beyond, the world’s largest bourbon and music festival. The dozens of misting and water stations across festival grounds were a blessing on such a hot day where temperatures reached over 90 degrees.
We started our day at the Culinary Stage with Rock & Roll Kitchen featuring Chef Amanda Freitag and musician Melissa Etheridge. Chef Freitag is known for being a judge on competitive cooking shows like Iron Chef and Chopped. Host and Chef Chris Santos and Freitag joined together to introduce Etheridge who came proudly walking onto the stage in her signature cowboy hat, a black and white striped apron with a huge smile on her face. The pair cooked up some snapper fish that Etheridge enjoyed several bites of as samples were passed around to the crowd.
Eleanor “Ellie” Balkcom, Lily Balkcom, and Powell Balkcom of The Castellows opened the Yonder Stage for the day. The country music trio of sisters first gained attention from cover songs on social media and quickly rose up in the industry when they were noticed by Warner Records. As they danced around the stage and played guitar, the girls sang songs from their EP A Little Goes A Long Way. Wyatt Flores also made a surprise appearance with the group to sing their latest radio single “Sober Sundays.”
Over on the Oak Stage, the multi-faceted Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway celebrated their same day release of their EP Into the Wild. In a sheer dress with fluffy yellow flowers and a cowboy hat, Tuttle held her guitar and jammed away to hits from her previous releases including her album Crooked Tree singing the title song and “Dooley’s Farm.”
Singer and pianist Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers brought their bluegrass music to the Barrel Stage around 2:30 p.m.. Since the 1980’s, Hornsby has dabbled in all types of music, like touring with Grateful Dead and winning three Grammy Awards with his first band, Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Hornsby performed tunes on the piano for the packed crowd who gathered to see his liver performance.
At 3:15 p.m., Top Chef winner Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark and musician Charles Wesley Godwin did a culinary demonstration titled Family Ties & Southern Delights. As Godwin peeled bananas and added them to the recipe, Chef Clark mixed together a delicious dessert of Bananas Foster.
After her culinary debut, Melissa Etheridge performed on the Barrel Stage. During her set, Etheridge played through a steady stream of her hits, opening with “If I Wanted To.” She bounced between three different stylish guitars during songs, picking just the right one for the sound she was looking for. During “I Want to Come Over,” Etheridge threw in pieces of pop star Chappell Roan’s hit “Red Wine Supernova.” She closed out her set with “Like the Way I Do.”
Back at the culinary stage fans gathered to watch Cookin’ Up Amore with Chef Marc Murphy and musician Mat Kearney. The men started off their demonstration by sharing a shot of bourbon together, warming them up for their meal ahead. The pair then went on to make a classic Carbonara dish.
Country-folk singer and guitarist Charles Wesley Goodwin took over the Oak Stage right before 5 p.m. as fans started to gather for the night’s headliners. Godwin donned his acoustic guitar and wore all black with a red bandana wrapped around his head. Godwin and his band played songs from his newest 2023 album Family Ties. He even included “Ramblin’ Fever,” a Merle Haggard cover and closed with his cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Just hours after pairing up with Chef Murphy, Mat Kearney was performing on the Yonder Stage. In a blue button down and a baseball cap, strapped up with his acoustic guitar, Kearney sang as the crowd danced along. Kearney is currently on his Headlights Home Tour around the U.S. but made a special stop to play for his fans at Bourbon & Beyond.
On the Oak Stage, psychedelic soul band Black Pumas brought some energy to the crowd as the night went on. Led by singer and songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada, the band opened with their well-loved song “Fire” as fans danced and sang along. After a Crazy Horse cover of “Dirty Dirty” and their own “Oct 33,” the Black Pumas closed with their hit song “Colors.”
Just off their big win as the Emerging Act of the Year at the Americana Awards, The Red Clay Strays closed the Beyonder Stage with an electric show. The country rock band from Alabama brought one of the biggest crowds of the day and proved they are ready for the big stage. Lead singer Brandon Coleman had a slicked back quiff and wore a black dress shirt and light dress pants while his bandmates dressed more casual, despite drummer Hall who just went shirtless. The group played 10 songs in total, many of them off of their most recent album Made by These Moments.
Married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks brought their Tedeschi Trucks Band to Bourbon & Beyond to close out the Barrel Stage on night 2. Tedeschi sang and played guitar in a silky red dress while Trucks played guitar alongside her in an orange plaid shirt. Their setlist consisted of mostly covers like “Statesboro Blues” by Blind Willie McTell and “Sugaree” by Jerry Garcia, which the crowd sang along in unison to.
Longtime singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chris Isaak closed out the Yonder Stage on a great rockabilly note. In a baby blue bedazzled suit, Isaak strummed on the guitar and played off the crowd’s energy. The singer is most well known for his breakthrough 1989 hit “Wicked Games,” which he subsequently opened his set with. He also played the popular “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” both songs showcasing his immense talent and vocal skills.
The Dave Matthews Band headlined night two at the festival. The iconic jam band captivated the crowd with their signature style, delivering fan-favorite hits like “Ants Marching,” “Warehouse,” and “When the World Ends.” Dave cracked jokes between songs more than usual and had the crowd hanging on every word and singing along to all their classic songs.
Check in tomorrow for our Day 3 recap featuring new headliners and even more culinary concoctions.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig