Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life brought a record-breaking 450,000-plus fans to the Kentucky Exposition Center for eight days of live music in Louisville.
Nearly 300 artists performed over the two weekends including Bourbon & Beyond headliners The Lumineers, Alabama Shakes, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Khruangbin, Phish, Jack White, Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, Blues Traveler, and Noah Kahan, and Louder Than Life headliners Slayer, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Avenged Sevenfold, Sleep Token, Breaking Benjamin, Deftones, and Bring Me The Horizon.
New this year, fans also had access to Kentucky Kingdom and buildings at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Louisville Tourism estimates that Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life generated nearly $43 million in local economic impact in 2025. The back-to-back festivals also drove some of the highest hotel demand of the year, with overall occupancy reaching more than 80% citywide, according to a news release.
Here’s what to know about the two festivals:
Bourbon & Beyond 2025 recap
The seventh Bourbon & Beyond welcomed fans Sept. 11-14 from over 50 states and around the globe and over 120 music artists on five stages and is called the “World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival.”
Major draws for the festival included headlining sets from Kentucky artists Cage the Elephant and Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, a performance 10 years in the making from the Alabama Shakes, an electrifying set from Jack White, a nostalgic performance from Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, a crowd-favorite performance from Benson Boone, an epic three-hour set from Phish, and more.
More: Bourbon & Beyond recap: Our 7 favorite on-stage and behind-the-scenes moments from 2025
The Fork & Flask curated by Kroger Stage also brought an extraordinary lineup of culinary and spirits programming to the festival, including actress Elizabeth Banks, NFL great Terry Bradshaw, Comedian Jim Gaffigan, plus celebrity chefs including Chris Santos (“Chopped”), Edward Lee (“The Mind of a Chef”), and more.
Bourbon & Beyond, which has flipped weekends with Louder Than Life, will return Sept. 24-27, 2026.
Bourbon & Beyond recently won the Pollstar Global 2025 Festival of the Year, and was also named a Ten Standout Southern Bourbon Festival by “Garden & Gun.”
Louder Than Life 2025 recap
Louder Than Life, dubbed “America’s Loudest Rock & Metal Festival, held its 11th edition Sept. 18-21 and marked the biggest festival in the history of Danny Wimmer Presents, and breaking rock festival records in North America.
Major draws for the festival included a hometown show from Kentucky band Knocked Loose, a return of iconic slash metal band Slayer, a performance by wildly popular band Sleep Token and more.
More: Louder Than Life recap: Our 7 favorite on-stage and behind-the-scenes moments from 2025
During the 2025 festival, Louder Than Life also announced one of its 2026 headliners ― My Chemical Romance. Louder Than Life will return Sept. 17-20 with additional acts to be shared in the coming months. Early bird passes will go on sale later this Fall, fans can sign up to get priority presale access now at louderthanlifefestival.com.
Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bourbon & Beyond, Louder Than Life 2025 record-breaking crowd
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