This year’s Louisville Kentucky’s Bourbon and Beyond Festival is being held September 23rd to 24th combines the best of music, drink and food. What better place to have a music festival revolving around Bourbon than Louisville Kentucky? The early forecast of upper 70 degrees for the weekend looks to be a beautiful one and the perfect time of year.

It is being held on the banks of the Ohio River in Champions Park, a total of three primary music stages, there are two main stages on one side of the park and a Bluegrass stage curated by the Bluegrass Situation located elsewhere on the grounds. Across the park there will be the Mash Stage powered by GE Appliances where there will be chefs doing cooking demos and seminars. There is also a spot for those who like to camp and plenty of onsite parking for those who like to drive. The festival is also partnering with bus.com offering a shuttle service from nearby cities, Lexington, KY, Indianapolis, IN and Cincinnati, OH.

While music is one of the main attractions for this festival, there’s also plenty of food involved with celebrity chefs signed on like Tom Colicchio and Carla Hill amongst many others. They will be hosting some private parties throughout the weekend as well. Love and Fire presented by Larceny Bourbon, which involves cooking over live fire. Southern Soul hosted by Maker’s Mark, a BBQ and Asian influenced sides with tunes by Derby City Soul Club with the winners of the 2016 Louisville Music Award best Live DJ’s Matt Anthony & Kim Sorise. The third party is the Big Easy Boil hosted by Southern Comfort. Bringing the spirit of New Orleans with delicious Cajun cooking and SoCo cocktails.

If you’re a local Louisville foodie you may be familiar with Edward Lee who has also signed on many restaurants to provide food for festival goers all weekend featuring tacos, grilled cheeses and more. If you are vegetarian and/or looking for gluten free options they’ll have you covered there too. There are also going to be celebrity bourbon masters hosting tastings and workshops. F.Y.E. will also be on site selling music with chances to meet & greet some of the artists, there will also be plenty of merchandise stands to buy Bourbon and Beyond gear as well as artist vendors. Cambridge Massachusetts technology company iZotope will be there showcasing its latest professional quality products in their RV turned mobile recording studio. There will also be an area dubbed the Music Experience tent that will feature an interactive exhibit with instruments used by popular bands.

With a stellar lineup including Seattle Washington’s mighty Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has been touring solo much of this year, and the multigenerational American rock band led by Steve Miller, aka Steve Miller Band are headlining their respective stages the first night. The Queen of Rock and Roll, Ms. Stevie Nicks and guitar extraordinaire singer songwriter Joe Bonamassa are headlining Sunday night. Other artists on Saturday will be blues legend Buddy Guy, Band of Horses, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, ZZ Ward, and newcomer but must-see Fantastic Negrito. On Sunday it doesn’t stop, Jonny Lang, Philadelphia’s G Love and Special Sauce, and New Orleans' Jazz collective Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, just to name a few. Don’t forget the Bluegrass stage featuring acts like NewTown (Saturday and Sunday), Mipso (Saturday), and Town Mountain and The Steel Wheels (Sunday.) Needless to say there will be plenty of music to keep everyone dancing throughout the weekend no matter where they are around Champions Park!

For those who are still on the fence, this is bound to be one of the best blues/rock festivals this year. There are tickets still available including certain VIP/Mint upgrades. More information can be found at Bourbonandbeyond.com including all the parties and more details about all the wonderful music to be had. Stay tuned as Grateful Web will be covering all the action throughout the weekend. Hope to see you down at the park!