2024 Bourbon & Beyond Sees Record-Setting Attendance

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2024 Bourbon & Beyond. Photo: Sam Shapiro

The Kentucky bourbon and music festival, Bourbon & Beyond, saw a record-setting attendance of 210,000 people over the course of its four days last week (Sept. 19–22) as well as a record of 60,000 on Saturday (Sept. 21), marking the highest single-day attendance and the largest music festival in the state’s history.

Held on Louisville’s Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the sixth Bourbon & Beyond closed out Thursday (Sept. 19) with headlining performances from Sting and Beck. On Friday (Sept. 20), Dave Matthews Band jammed for nearly two hours while covering David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” and Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower.” Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band, who played a headlining set of their own, joined Dave Matthews Band for “Lie In Our Graves” in addition to accompanying Black Pumas on “Dirty Dirty” and launching his new Ass Pocket Whiskey at the event.

Cody Jinks headlining 2024 Bourbon & Beyond. Photo: Nathan Zucker

Headliner Zach Bryan thanked local fans for supporting him since his very first show in the small town of Pineville, commenting that Bourbon & Beyond is “the greatest festival anywhere,” and Cody Jinks treated fans to a rendition of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” on the historic third day.

Sunday night (Sept. 22) wrapped with back-to-back performances from headlining Kentucky natives Tyler Childers and My Morning Jacket, who covered Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” alongside Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius.

The lineup of more than 100 artists also included Matchbox Twenty, The National, Whiskey Myers, The War On Drugs, The Beach Boys, Mt. Joy, Fleet Foxes, Young the Giant, Maren Morris, The Head And The Heart, Melissa Etheridge and Teddy Swims, among others.

Additionally, The Culinary Atelier and The Bourbon Experience on the festival’s Workshop Stage showcased culinary programming from chefs across the nation and a wide array of bourbon tastings and workshops and featured special guests Etheridge, Trucks, Young the Giant, Mat Kearney, Jim Gaffigan, Charles Wesley Godwin, Molly Tuttle and more.

Liza Anderson
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