The sixth annual Bourbon & Beyond, the world’s largest bourbon and music festival kicked off at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center In Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday. The four day festival runs from Sept. 19-22. The gathering featured over 100 artists across five stages and demonstrations of culinary and bourbon cocktail making. Thursday’s headliners included Sting, Beck, and Koe Wetzel.
Like many other well-known festivals, fans at Bourbon & Beyond can now plan their experience with a new online app presented by Lyte. Through the app, festival-goers can personalize their daily schedules, learn more about the musical artists, watch culinary talent, view festival maps, and more. This app made it super easy to plan out my day and decide which music or culinary expertise I wanted to go see next site there were so many amazing choices.
Over on the Culinary Stage, K-Town Kings chef Edward Lee and his “brother from another mother,” chef Danny Lee cooked up some food and made a “cocktail.” Just days ago, Netflix aired a new show “Culinary Class Wars,” which features Louisville-based Edward Lee.
Danny Lee demonstrated how to make his mother’s recipe of mandu or Korean dumplings. He also showed the audience how to make both beef and pork filling and the proper technique for folding dumplings. In the meantime, Edward Lee decided to make his “favorite bourbon cocktail,” which was ice and straight bourbon in a glass.
Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall opened the Oak Stage for the afternoon. Playing a black and white acoustic guitar, Tunstall sang some of her most popular songs from the early 2000’s like “Suddenly I See” and “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” It was the perfect throwback to start the weekend.
Over on the Barrel Stage, Arlo Parks, a 24-year-old English singer/songwriter made the stage her own. The artist’s music embodies a soulful pop sound accompanied by Parks’ soft angelic voice. Parks performed songs off of her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams and her sophomore album My Soft Machine.
Country music singer songwriter Breland took over the Yonder Stage, performing in Kentucky for the first time ever. The 29-year-old rose to fame with his TikTok viral single “My Truck” from his self-titled debut EP BRELAND. In a white Chevy t-shirt and dark jeans, Breland got the crowd singing as the sun began to set on Day 1 of Bourbon and Beyond. We always love when he performs his hit he wrote with Nelly “High Horse” and the crowd dances along to the beat and Thursday was no exception.
One of the highlights of Day 1 was seeing Matchbox Twenty perform on the Oak Stage. Rob Thomas delivered smooth vocals as his band jammed along, still sounding just as amazing as they did during their heyday. The group sang 12 songs including hits “3 A.M.,” “Unwell,” and “Real World.” As their encore, the band performed a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” that had the crowd singing along.
Award winning singer/songwriter Maren Morris sang her blend of pop, R&B, and hip hop to fans on the Barrel Stage. In a black mesh tank top and tight leather pants, Morris effortlessly played guitar while singing. She opened with “RSVP” from her album GIRL and followed up with popular songs “The Bones,” “My Church,” and closing with the upbeat “80s Mercedes.”
Dressed to the nines in a steel blue suit and white button-down, long time country singer Lyle Lovett and His Large Band turned the class up a notch on the Oak Stage. The group played classics like “She’s No Lady” and “If I Had a Boat,” as well as newer songs. Before performing his song “Pants is Overrated,” Lovett explained its origins to fans in the crowd. He mentioned touring and making a song with his seven-year-old-twins. “My daughter said there had to be a verse about unicorns. My son said we also needed a verse about dinosaurs,” he told the crowd.
Koe Wetzel had a pyro filled set as the final act on the Yonder Stage. This performance was different from the usual indoor show he puts on during his Damn Near Normal World Tour with the added fire and smoke. Koe looks like the next big headliner country music has been waiting for. His unique mix of country and rock is the perfect sound to hit mainstream country right now and his outlaw country fans who call themselves “the convicts” are ready for it and show up for him in Louisville.
Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting and former frontman and bassist for the band The Police, closed out the Oak Stage with his best hits. His set started with The Police song “Message in a Bottle,” peppering in other Police tunes like “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “Every Breath You Take” between some of his own original music. As an encore, Sting belted out the classic “Roxanne.” With his wireless mic and base guitar the iconic singer moved across the whole stage as he entertained the crowd for his 17-song set.
Overall it was a hot one in Louisville but the music melted all the cares away with a great kickoff the festival on Day 1. Stay tuned for our daily happenings on Day 2 tomorrow of Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig