Music notes from Bourbon and Beyond 2022

[TcSoup]

HT should be proud his City hosts this now 4 day Music Festival every September.  And Danny Wimmer Promotions runs such a fun great weekend without much of a hitch unless your a Ken or Karen its everything a outdoor Music Festival should be about. 

And next weekend they will host the 4 day Louder than Live Festival with over 90 Bands headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot and Kiss . 

Music we seen or heard : ( I'll get to the Bourbon later) 

We didn't have tickets for Thursday or Friday mainly because we had seen most of the Headliners and sub bands before .

We got there early Friday afternoon and about 5pm we wandered down to the closest hotel to the venue who also had a Bar / Restaurant . Had dinner and a Eagle Rare double . After dinner we decided to walk back to our hotel grab our Chairs and fill our cooler with beer and of course grabbed my flask of Angels Envy . On our way met a group of people who had upgraded from GM to VIP and they offered us their weekend GM wrist bands . We declined because we already had VIP for Sat. and Sunday and as mentioned had seen most of the Friday night Bands. Told them to give them to someone who didn't have wrist bands at all. 

So we set up camp Friday at the Park Plaza Hotel directly behind the 2 side by side main stages right in between the 2. We couldn't see the Bands but we certainly could hear them. By the end of the night we had a small group of new friends who decided to join us after seeing our sweet set up.  ( The hotel was cool on letting you use the restrooms and if needed selling you drinks to bring outside.)  All in All great time. 

The Music Friday :

The Lukas Nelson Band ( Willies son ) seen him before and he is really good.  A Southern Blues vibe and him and his band are very polished.  Recommend seeing him
Jason Isabell : More of a true Country sound i like the old Country guys but i can see why the younger generation likes him .
Brandie Carlisle : Great set and did two of the best covers of the weekend ( Creep by Radiohead. and Major Tom by Elton John. ) 
Headliner : Kings of Leon : Seen them twice before they put on a very good show but it wasn't for the pro country Friday night crowd. As they were heading back to their hotels they were complaining their light show was to much. Huh ? 

The Music Saturday : Note it was the biggest single day crowd Bourbon and Beyond ever had Headliner Pearl Jam .
Rumor was crowd may have exceeded 100,000 . It certainly felt like it. 

List of Bands we seen Saturday and if we ( Wife and I ) recommend seeing them based off their live performance. 
Front to back :

The National Parks : Recommend , They are coming to Columbus Friday and seriously thinking of seeing them. 

Robert Randolph Band :  Recommend , Seen them open for Clapton years ago. Good Southern Blues Jam Band 

Reignwolf : Not Recommended : They were out of place here and by far the loudest band of the weekend. Belonged at Louder than Life next weekend. Seen them before and even got pictures with them at a much better performance 5 years ago. 

Drive by Truckers: Recommended , Southern Rock and there was a positive vibe by the crowd after their set. 

St Paul and the Broken Bones: Recommended , Been telling people for 8 years see them if you can. Paul Janney their lead singer is awesome. From Birmingham , Ala.  Southern Sound that incorporates a tasty Brass section to their sound. 

Elle King: Recommended , If she's sober and she was. For sure had the crowd buzzing. This is Rob Schneider daughter and she has a wild side and can sing like a muther.  Country / Rock vibe.  Great with the crowd . 

Cold War Kids: Not Recommended , Alternative Band who has had a Left leaning agenda.  Other than that not very entertaining.

Crowded House minus their recently passed drummer: Recommended , A highlight . Despite their recent loss they have pushed on with their tour.  Great set made better by Eddie Vedder joining them for a couple of Songs. 

St Vincent: Not Recommended ( Its a Man Baby! ) No one was sure at first what we were seeing. Female lead singer was i guess Female. Not that they were terrible but no one here wants to see them . Take my word. 

Greata Van Fleet:  Not Recommended, Others would say they are great . Seen them twice up close and personal save your hard earned money.  Afterwards they were roasted for giving a uninspired to long set . Worse they played over causing Pearl Jam to start late. 

Pearl Jam: Of course Recommended , Rumor they won't be leaving California for anymore Festivals . As left as they lean Eddie keeps it out of their shows. He sounded great and his banter with the crowd was entertaining and spot on. Around a 20 song set that left everyone wanting more. 

I'll get to Sunday in a bit.

[Beastdog]

Thanks for the great write up, tc!

I saw Robert Randolph open for KWS about 8 years ago and he was really good. He jammed one tune with Kenny at the end, if I'm not mistaken it was Voodoo Child, which was, of course, awesome.

Maize is gonna give you crap over your GVF review. But you're probably correct. My daughter got me a CD from them a few Xmas's ago, thinking I'd love them. But I really didn't. Nothing original about them, which to me is a required component to be considered great.

Semi-surprised Pearl Jam sounds good at this point. 25 or so years ago, I was completely into them, but it didn't last too long. Glad you liked them. 

Thanks again and looking forward to the other day's review.

[TcSoup]

Thanks for the great write up, tc!

I saw Robert Randolph open for KWS about 8 years ago and he was really good. He jammed one tune with Kenny at the end, if I'm not mistaken it was Voodoo Child, which was, of course, awesome.

Maize is gonna give you crap over your GVF review. But you're probably correct. My daughter got me a CD from them a few Xmas's ago, thinking I'd love them. But I really didn't. Nothing original about them, which to me is a required component to be considered great.

Semi-surprised Pearl Jam sounds good at this point. 25 or so years ago, I was completely into them, but it didn't last too long. Glad you liked them. 

Thanks again and looking forward to the other day's review.

Thanks, I was hoping you would like it.

[davebucknut]

Thanks for the great write up, tc!

I saw Robert Randolph open for KWS about 8 years ago and he was really good. He jammed one tune with Kenny at the end, if I'm not mistaken it was Voodoo Child, which was, of course, awesome.

Maize is gonna give you crap over your GVF review. But you're probably correct. My daughter got me a CD from them a few Xmas's ago, thinking I'd love them. But I really didn't. Nothing original about them, which to me is a required component to be considered great.

Semi-surprised Pearl Jam sounds good at this point. 25 or so years ago, I was completely into them, but it didn't last too long. Glad you liked them. 

Thanks again and looking forward to the other day's review.

I was not been a pearl jam fan when they were popular, but I like them more now and would enjoy seeing them live

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Hightop77]

Glad you had a good time Tc.   

[3rdgensooner]

Pearl Jam is one of the few bands currently playing I would want to see live. Those guys can play.

[TcSoup]

Day 3 Sunday :

Hannah Wickland, Madison Cunningham, Gin Wigmore 3 Young ladies filled the 1st 3 time slots on the big stages on Sunday.
We caught a bit of each as we were hitting all the Bourbon Tents, Speakeasy's, Merchandise tents and taking pictures.

Hannah Wickland i watched the most. Her voice was as beautiful as she was. Recommend.

Jukebox and the Ghost: Not Recommended for the NH gang. Alternative band out of Louisville who has had minor success on Alt. airwaves. I knew off them before . Think they will always be a opening act for bigger names .

Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs: RECOMMEND , Tom Petty's Guitarist deserved a later slot and longer set. Him and his Band stand alone on their own merits. However he paid honor to Tom singing 4 of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs. VERY emotional set with him paying his respects . Seen tears running down the faces of many people including my wife who loved him more than she does me. That alone teared me up. He played their own stuff including a song him and Chris Stapleton wrote together that should be the Nuthouse National Anthem. " ***** That Guy"

Yola: Recommend Had no idea who this was. Black girl from England with a great set of pipes. Had the 2nd best cover song of the Weekend , Elton Johns Goodby Yellow brick road.

Needtobreath : Recommend , Nice surprise Country / Rock Band that got the afternoon crowd up dancing in the hot Sun.

I'll get to the evening acts after dinner.

[3rdgensooner]

I've always been a fan of Mike Campbell. Not a flashy guitarist but always seems to have the perfect sound to accentuate and improve the song he's playing.

[Erhino]

Interesting your mention of leftyism with CWK, when Drive By Truckers are super lefties too. Still like DBT tho.

I love Isbell, and one of my favorite shows ever, but he still did DBT and his own earlier stuff. With or without the 400 unit?

Lukas is another I have seen and enjoyed a ton.

[ScarletHayes]

I've always been a fan of Mike Campbell. Not a flashy guitarist but always seems to have the perfect sound to accentuate and improve the song he's playing.

Very George Harrisonesque in that way

[TcSoup]

The Bourbon
As you may have inferred from the title, Bourbon has a little something to do with this festival. Good lord does it ever! Kentucky-produced bourbon (as well as some other states†offerings) was on full display.

Representing the bourbon industry was the Team Kentucky Bourbon Stage, hosted by bourbon expert Chris Blandford and lifestyle guru, Emmy winner and Kentucky native Trish Suhr, and featured workshops from giants of the industry such as author Fred Minnick, Wes Henderson (Angelâ€s Envy), Rob Dietrich (Blackened Whiskey), Linda Ruffenach (Whiskey Chicks), Marianne Eaves (Eaves Blind), Jennifer Vernia (Rabbit Hole), Heather Wibbels (Bourbon Women), Julian and Preston Van Winkle (Old Rip Van Winkle), Rob Samuels (Makerâ€s Mark), Campbell Brown (Brown-Forman), Dan Callaway (Bardstown Bourbon Company), Samara B. Davis (Black Bourbon Society), Caleb Kilburn (Peerless), Shaylyn Gammon (Blue Run Spirits), Carrie Van Winkle Greener (Pappy & Co) and Ian Sulkowski (Old Forester).

[TcSoup]

The Silver Dollar Hunterâ€s Club was an absolute must do for the bourbon aficionado, featuring an absolutely staggering collection of rare, vintage and experimental bourbons from around the area. Not easy on the wallet by any means, but more than a few checks on the bourbon bucket list!

Another fan favorite making its return was the Jim Beam Tiki Barrel Bar, mixing bourbon and rum-based island cocktails in a much-needed shaded seating area designed to look like its name.

Bulleit Bourbon brought back one of my favorite features of the festival, free play arcade games! It made me nostalgic for those weekend nights spent at Aladdinâ€s Castle at the Jefferson Mall in my youth.

[TcSoup]

Also featured was the Louisville Cocktail Competition on Friday where judges Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer; Fred Minnick, (author and bourbon critic) Samara B. Davis, (Black Bourbon Society), Chris Santos (Chopped, The Food Network) and Peggy Noe Stevens (Bourbon Women) decided the winner of a cocktail to be known as “The Louisville.” Combining Knob Creek bourbon, cinnamon syrup, Cynar (an Italian bitter aperitif), lime juice and dry curacao, Expo bartender SC Baker took home the honors with what she calls “A really approachable cocktail, despite being seemingly complex.”

And the bourbon tents! The many, many bourbon tents! King among them, the fan favorite and aptly named Kroger Big Bourbon Bar. In a nutshell, this is basically the entire KY Bourbon Trail centralized in one big-ass tent with selections from pretty much every bourbon distillery in the state.

[TcSoup]

Kentucky Distillerâ€s Association handpicked a handful of new and up-and-coming bourbon distillers for their Craft Bourbon Bar.

George Dickel brought a whole new experience to Bourbon & Beyond with their Flight School, which gave guests a chance to pair a flight of bourbons with a 15-minute interactive educational session on bourbon. Master Distiller Nicole Austin was also on hand to chat and answer questions.

Jack Danielâ€s was there, which being owned by Brown-Forman kinda sorta makes them a KY bourbon in a round-about way. Anyway, their huge Char House tent, situated dead center with both main stages and far enough back to have a great seat for either stage, proved the place to be if you could find a seat.

[TcSoup]

Stole that article on the Bourbon Experience.