Downtown Hazard Danced The Night Away As They Hosted The North Fork Music Festival
Well, I finished off June at Festival Of The Red just up the road in Slade, so it only seems fitting to close out July with another Kentucky music festival right here in downtown Hazard! Let me ask you, how many music festivals have you been to where someone (Tim Parks) was made an honorary Duke Of Hazard? Zero? Yeah, me too. But that’s just one of the many very cool things that happened at this year’s North Fork Music Festival. You really missed out if you didn’t make either day of this one!
Friday evening started with Ben Fugate and I need to apologize to Ben. I missed his set, didn’t make it to the festival area in time to catch him… heard him as I was parking. I did catch Luke Trimble, Waylon Nelson, Dark Moon Hollow and Rye Davis (with a couple of members of Bourbon Branch) closed out the North Fork Festivals Friday night. (more…)
Our Sunday Guide To The Must-See Artists At The 2021 Railbird Festival In Lexington!
Back in 2019, the grounds at Keeneland were invaded by music lovers from all over the United States. Their pilgrimage led them to the heart of the Bluegrass where Lexington finally hosted the music festival it deserves. You can read our recap and view our photos here. There were many highlights that year, and the momentum heading into 2020 was obvious and mighty. Unfortunately, a pandemic interrupted all of our lives, but I’m happy to say that the Railbird Festival at Keeneland is back! After a year off due to the pandemic, live music is finally returning to the beautiful grounds at Keeneland and we’ve put together a list of the artists that you just have to see.
Now onto Sunday! I hate to break the news, but you’ll be forced to make some hard decisions once again on Sunday, but not as many as Saturday. For what it’s worth, having an amazing lineup is always a plus, but missing favorites will always hurt. We’ll try to help you make some sense of it all, and guide you through the final day at Railbird.
Our Saturday Guide To The Must-See Artists At The 2021 Railbird Festival In Lexington!
Back in 2019, the grounds at Keeneland were invaded by music lovers from all over the United States. Their pilgrimage led them to the heart of the Bluegrass where Lexington finally hosted the music festival it deserves. You can read our recap and view our photos here. There were many highlights that year, and the momentum heading into 2020 was obvious and mighty. Unfortunately, a pandemic interrupted all of our lives, but I’m happy to say that the Railbird Festival at Keeneland is back! After a year off due to the pandemic, live music is finally returning to the beautiful grounds at Keeneland and we’ve put together a list of the artists that you just have to see.
Some tough decisions will definitely have to be made over the two-day festival. There’s just simply too much real estate to cover to see every act on all three stages, but hopefully we can help you sift and sort through the list and help you maximize your dollar.
Railbird is booked and managed by the same production company that is behind The Bonnaroo Festival and the Forecastle Festival in Louisville. AC Entertainment doesn’t have their finger on the pulse of music, they are the pulse. You can trust that any festival or venue that AC Entertainment runs, is worth your efforts to attend. (more…)
Steve Earle Brought His Dukes To The Mountain Arts Center In Prestonsburg!
**Article by James Stamper / Photos by Thomas R. Biggs**
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Guitar Town himself, Steve Earle, made his presence known at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, KY! I was ecstatic to see Steve Earle and The Dukes perform so close to home! I want to give a special shoutout to the Mountain Arts Center and the Mayor of Prestonsburg, Les Stapleton, for bringing these amazing shows into the eastern part of Kentucky. This brings me so much joy to know that I don’t have to drive 100 miles to see an incredible show. I’ve heard people around this area say, “There’s nothing to do” or “It’s boring around here”. Open your eyes!! The local music scene is booming, the MAC along with the Appalachian Wireless Arena is bringing in tremendous shows, so if you’re “bored”, get out and see what amazing talent we truly have coming in this area! With that being said, let’s explain the show in detail!
Now, with all the concerts I’ve been to in my life, I’ve seen a lot of openers, but nothing like this opener for Steve Earle. To my surprise, 2 members of The Dukes opened the show with their side project “The Mastersons”. Relatives of “Bat Masterson”? Who knows? But all kidding aside, these guys did a fabulous performance. The stunning duo of Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore showed the Mountain Arts Center what they were all about! What’s even more impressive is they’re husband and wife! In my mind, when two musicians are together romantically, I believe there is more of a special connection shared on stage. I picked up on it quickly when watching these two. They had a love for what they were doing, and they weren’t going to let up! Performing songs such as “King of the Castle”, “Eyes Open Wide”, “The Devil You Know?” among others! King of the Castle had deep meaning behind it. Eleanor told the story of someone she knew who lost a loved one and that person said the one they lost was the “King of the Castle” and that stuck, so they wrote a song about it. Overall, it was a phenomenal performance, and I was excited I got to witness The Mastersons in person! If you haven’t checked them out, I would fix that in a hurry! (more…)
Slade’s Festival Of The Red Is A Wonderful Event Full Of Great Music And Discovery
FRIDAY
Not all music festivals are created equally, and to prove my point, let’s take a quick look at my experience at Festival of the Red (FOTR) over the weekend. Contributing to Capture Kentucky has helped me discover a lot of local artists that I may not have had an opportunity to see or hear otherwise. I enjoy photography, and I’ll admit I’m a much better photographer than writer, so I’m going to give you an overview of some cool moments, and a couple of discoveries of artists that I hadn’t heard before Festival of the Red ( Friday – Aaron Boyd and Saturday – Cole Chaney).
The Barnyard Has Officially Been Rocked! Sawyer Brown, Tyler Booth, Drew Parker, and George Molton Christe Kentucky’s Newest Outdoor Concert Venue In Sharpsburg
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed towards Sharpsburg, Kentucky. The Barnyard Entertainment Venue is a new outdoor venue there, and on Saturday, they hosted their first official concert. The first show had two Kentuckians, an up-and-coming artist, and a legendary band. That would be George Molton, Tyler Booth, Drew Parker, and Sawyer Brown. I highly doubt there would ever be a more perfect weather scenario than what we had on Saturday. The high was around 80, there was a nice breeze, there were fireworks, there were cold beverages, sno-cones, tacos and bbq. The only thing missing was some hot apple pie. I mean, that’s America at it’s finest.
Attack Of The Mothra…Day Two Of The Laurel Cove Music Festival in Pineville!
Friday night was fantastic, but Saturday was just as stacked with incredible artists, and judging by the size of the early crowd, everyone knew what they were in for. I can’t tell you how incredibly happy that sentence made me as I typed it. I’ve been fearful that the pandemic would push folks to find something else to do and the music might suffer a drop off in the numbers. ALL of these reservations have been washed away over the past few weeks, and the parade of familiar faces that just kept coming at me on Saturday, was exactly what my heart needed to lift the black clouds of the pandemic. Or as Jeff Cox would say, the BANDemic. I feel ya, Jeff. I feel ya.
I also want to preface this article, as I did in the recap of Friday, that I had thrown my back out a bit the previous weekend, and I thought I was fine after a chiropractor visit, but I tweaked it again on our way to the main stage, so I didn’t get to cover many folks on the Campfire Stage. So this is my apology to them.
We spent Friday night in Corbin, so after a small delay and our short trip to Pineville, Walter DeBarr was the first act we were able to enjoy on Saturday. Walter is a very intriguing artist. He can drop a song written in any style, about any subject, on any stage, but as soon as he opens his mouth, you immediately know who he is. That’s not something you can teach. That’s a God-given talent and often times a distinct voice is what sets weekend warriors apart from a true artist. (more…)
Rain Ain’t No Thang…Day One Of The Laurel Cove Music Festival in Pineville!
If you’ve never heard of Laurel Cove, I beg of you to make a trip to this hidden gem nestled in the hills of Pineville, Kentucky. It’s truly a Kentucky treasure. Also, if you see a festival in Bell County or a show at the Bell Theater, I don’t care who it is, just buy the ticket and take the ride. Your conductor is Mr. Jon Grace and he will not let you down. I make you that promise, whole-heartedly.
I work the night shift at the real job, so our day started a bit later than I wanted, but hopefully the acts I did catch, I’m able to shine a light on their talent and efforts. And if ya missed em, hopefully I can kindly nudge ya into catching a future show. That’s what we’re all about here.
I also want to preface this article, as well as the recap for Saturday, that I had thrown my back out a bit the previous weekend, and I thought I was fine after a chiropractor visit, but I tweaked it again on our way to the main stage, so I didn’t get to cover many folks on the Campfire Stage. So this is my apology to them. (more…)
SATURDAY: 10 Must-See Artists Performing At The Laurel Cove Music Festival!
Here at Capture Kentucky, we do our best to shine a spotlight on as many Kentucky artists as we can. We do occasionally step outside the borders of our great Commonwealth, and this weekends Laurel Cove Music Festival is a prime example of why that is an exception.
The majority of the artists performing on Friday and Saturday reside here with us in Kentucky, but there are a few folks that we’re gonna make honorary Kentuckians for the weekend.
(more…)FRIDAY: 10 Must-See Artists Performing At The Laurel Cove Music Festival!
Here at Capture Kentucky, we do our best to shine a spotlight on as many Kentucky artists as we can. We do occasionally step outside the borders of our great Commonwealth, and this weekends Laurel Cove Music Festival is a prime example of why that is an exception.
The majority of the artists performing on Friday and Saturday reside here with us in Kentucky, but there are a few folks that we’re gonna make honorary Kentuckians for the weekend.
(more…)