It’s the final day of Bourbon & Beyond, the world’s largest bourbon and music festival at the Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville.
The four-day event was back for its seventh year in Louisville, and this year introduced a greatly expanded footprint at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Over the festival weekend, more than 120 artists entertained the crowds across five stages, including headliners The Lumineers, Alabama Shakes, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Khruangbin, Phish, Jack White, Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, and more.
After some overnight and early morning showers, large crowds again flocked to the festival grounds to see Sunday headliners Blues Traveler, Goo Goo Dolls, and Noah Kahan.
On the culinary side, celebrity chefs Damaris Phillips, Chris Santos and Amanda Freitag took to the stage and comedian Jim Gaffigan talked his new venture into bourbon.
The new layout, twice the size as last year, also included access to over a dozen rides at Kentucky Kingdom, added activations and a merchandise shop inside the air-conditioned West Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane.
Here are some highlights from Sunday, the final day of Bourbon & Beyond 2025:
British singer-songwriter Myles Smith: ‘Such an honor’ to perform
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Myles Smith at Bourbon and Beyond 2025: Hear from the singer-songwriter
British singer-songwriter Myles Smith prepared for his 4 p.m. set on the Barrel Stage at Bourbon and Beyond 2025. It’s his first time at the music festival
British singer-songwriter Myles Smith took to one of the Bourbon & Beyond stages late Sunday afternoon, marking his first performance at the music, culinary and spirits festival, and his first visit to Louisville.
“The lineup from top-to-bottom is just full of amazing artists who will offer different stories and different perspectives, and to be just a small name in such a big pond is such an honor,” he told the Courier Journal on Sunday.
The massive popularity of his single “Stargazing” last year has made for a whirlwind last two years. His new EP, “A Minute, A Moment…” dropped in May.
“You spend so many years playing to pubs and clubs with one or two people in them, seeing the old man in the corner drinking a Guinness just annoyed that you’re in here this Saturday,” he said. “For me, being able to play these festivals and sort of play bigger stages has been awesome … you have an opportunity to create choirs out of crowds, create mosh pits out of people.”
His rising star has brought with it a busy international tour schedule, a spot on the TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and a desire to soak in the moment.
“I spent a lot of the last two years just sort of living in a tornado, and you know, everything’s thrown at me. You’re on the road every single day, and you’re in this country, then this continent,” he said. “I think I missed a lot of enjoyment last year, just because it was all happening so fast. And I think now moving forward, it’s about just taking that time and really appreciating sort of the journey that I’m on.”
He planned to play a FIFA video game before his 40-minute set, then after performing, enjoy some of the acts that followed him, including the Goo Goo Dolls and Noah Kahan.
“I just want to take the chance to be a fan of music,” he said. “And I think that’s the best part about my job. It’s like, I do it, and it’s great, but I’m still a fan at heart, and I love watching live performances.”
Noah Kahan fans camped out early for prime spots
Eight hours before Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Noah Kahan would take the stage Sunday, a slew of fans were already camped out along the front row.
Jack Burkle, of Roanoke, Virginia, sat on the blacktop holding his spot, though a friend was buying a blanket to help pass the hours with a bit more comfort.
“I’ve been following him since he was young, so it was kind of surreal seeing him here,” he said.
Sunday marked his first Kahan concert and first-ever music festival.
“We had a plan coming into this,” he said. “We’re gonna camp out all day so we can get as close as we can. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I’m definitely taking advantage of it.”
If clothing was any indication, many in the crowd Sunday were excited to see Kahan, the festival’s closing act. Camouflage clothing was the official dress theme of the day, an homage to Kahan’s 2022 album “Stick Season.”
Burkle made quick friends along the front row fencing with fellow Kahan fans Debby Jones, from Jeffersonville, Indiana, and Ashleigh Wethington, from Indianapolis. They had large water bottles, sunscreen and portable fans at the ready to help them through a long afternoon in the sun.
Wethington attended the entire festival weekend with a general admission ticket but upgraded to VIP for the final day to get closer to the stage for Kahan.
Attending more than 30 concerts last year, the first-time Bourbon & Beyond attendee spoke highly of Louisville’s music festival.
“Bourbon & Beyond has a great vibe,” she said. “I feel like everyone’s here for the same reason, like everyone here is kind of a community. I’m walking in the campgrounds and everyone’s like, ‘Good morning. How are you today.’”
Both women were also excited for Foreigner, who took the stage mid-afternoon and performed with a choir of Ballard High School alumni.
“I mean, I’m 50, so I’ve known them for a long time,” Jones said, laughing. “I just love the idea of all the different types of bands and music, and just to meet so many people and get to talk about music all day. It’s just fabulous.”
Kentucky Kingdom open for business
There was one rule for festival attendees who entered Kentucky Kingdom, the theme park on site at the Fairgrounds — “I’ve got to see a smile to enter,” staff at the doors joked with people in line.
(OK, there were two rules, outside alcohol was also not permitted. You get the idea though.)
Unlike previous years, the popular Kentucky Kingdom theme park was open at this year’s Bourbon & Beyond, with park employees operating some rides during the shows. Rides were operational from 2-9 p.m. each day, with the Ferris wheel remaining open a little later.
Sara Martin came from Nashville with two friends to check out the four-day concert series. She was cooling off near Kentucky Kingdom’s Dippin’ Dots booth, near the Himalaya ride. It’s been hot, she said, but “the lineup is great.”
“The rides are an extra kind of perk,” she said.
The line to enter the park was quick and easy by about 4 p.m., with a few hundred people wandering the grounds. Total attendance for the full four days had not yet been released on the final afternoon of the shows, but last year more than 200,000 people came out.
Jim Gaffigan talks bourbon, ‘the official drink of Jesus’
Comedian Jim Gaffigan likes bourbon. He likes it so much he started his own brand, Fathertime.
He likes Bourbon & Beyond, too. His Sept. 14 set at the event was not the first time he’s performed at the festival, but like his drink of choice, he gets better as time passes.
Gaffigan was definitely in Louisville for the “Beyond” portion of Bourbon & Beyond — “can someone stop that music?” he joked during his performance. “I mean, I know it’s Bourbon & Beyond, but like, does it have to be? Do we need the music?”
Gaffigan had a lot to talk about. In recent years, he told The Courier Journal in a summer interview, he’s been “completely sucked into the bourbon world.” On stage on Sept. 14, he recalled how a bottle of Buffalo Trace’s single barrel Colonel E.H. Taylor “changed my life” and enjoys Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon as well.
“If you are married to someone with a bourbon obsession, that is OK. That’s better than having an affair, right?” he joked. “And that’s why bourbon is the official drink of Jesus. … Fathertime has been anointed by the father, son and the holy spirit. By the way, attending this event counts as going to church, and if you went before you came here, you don’t have to go the rest of the year.
“Have I alienated everyone?” he asked afterward. The crowd didn’t seem to think so — they laughed along.
Louder Than Life ready to rock next weekend
The sister concert to Bourbon & Beyond, Louder Than Life, will bring another four-day lineup of music to the festival grounds next weekend, Sept. 18-21.
The festival will return for an 11th year, set to include more than 175 bands across seven stages. Headliners include Slayer, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Avenged Sevenfold, Sleep Token, Breaking Benjamin, Deftones and Bring Me The Horizon.
Louder than Life will also have a VIP area that’s 35% larger than last year, including a three-story elevated viewing platform of the main stages and a newly added seventh stage.
Last year the two festivals drew more than 300,000 attendees.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4000.
