Images by Ashley Murphy. Words by Sandy Beitler.

September 14^th & 15^th kicked off 3 weekends of festivals in Louisville, Kentucky. The first ever Hometown Rising is in the books. This was the first time for this Country festival from DWP (Danny Wimmer Presents) and also a first at the new venue location at the Highlands Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Expo Center. I can say I was a little out of my wheelhouse with this one, as I am more of a rock and roll girl, but who doesn’t like to listen to live music with about 70,000 other music fans? The heat was blistering, but artists were all excited and full of energy regardless. The two-day festival had over 30 Country music acts, including such names as Trace Adkins, Dwight Yoakam, Little Big Town, & Tim McGraw for your Saturday night closers and Bret Michaels, Jake Owen, Brett Young, Keith Urban, and Luke Bryan to fill out your Sunday night.

One of the most heartwarming events of Sunday night was when Bret Michaels brought several people who serve our country, including nurses, EMT, firefighters, police, and military, up on stage as a tribute to his father and to say thank you for all they do. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the crowd as he spoke.

Let’s also give it up for the artists that performed during the hottest part of the day for us. They sweated their asses off and rocked us out. On the two main stages there was Imaj, Noah Guthrie, Clare Dunn, The Steel Woods, Lindsay Ell, Jimmie Allen, The Cadillac Three & Frankie Ballard for your Saturday. Sunday afternoon you had Gabby Barrett, The Wild Feathers, Mason Ramsey and LoCash. The Boots & Bourbon stage had appearances from Alice Wallace, Raelyn Nelson Band, The Sisterhood Band, JD Shelburne, Kendall Shaffer, Hannah Ellis, Larry Fleet, Jeffrey East, Dillon Carmichael and Everette. With so many bands to choose from there was something out there for everyone’s tastes.

The venue was long and narrow with two stages at the front (The Barrel and Oak Stages) and one stage all the way in the back (Boots & Bourbon Stage). It was a bit of a hike to get from the front stages to the back one, especially through the sea of people. We certainly got our steps in for the day. The VIP areas were nice, as they provided shade, seating and TV’s so you could see what was happening on stage while you cooled off. Attendance was amazing considering the heat, fans were up dancing and singing regardless. I loved when a song came on that everyone knew and loved and how they all rushed the stage and sang along. Peace and Harmony amongst the masses. It was beautiful to be part of.

As always, it wouldn’t be a festival (at least not in Kentucky) without your Bourbon distillers, local food fair, and they even had line dance lessons for anyone interested.

DWP does a great job with these festivals, and I appreciate that they think Louisville is a city worth having three in! We are up and coming as your music destination. Be sure to stick around for Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life, which are also DWP events.

Bourbon & Beyond – September 20^th – 22^nd

Louder Than Life – September 27^th – 29th

Hometown Rising 2019

52 photos

First Hometown Rising Brings Big Country to Louisville first appeared on Game On Media.

EXIT 111

ANNOUNCES FULL DETAILS FOR

INAUGURAL EVENT

FESTIVAL DEBUTS WITH LINE-UP LED BY

GUNS N’ ROSES, DEF LEPPARD, LYNYRD SKYNYRD,

SLAYER, ZZ TOP, DEFTONES, GHOST, MEGADETH

AND MORE THAN 40 ACTS

OCTOBER 11-13 WEEKEND OF MUSIC

HOSTED BY EDDIE TRUNK

AT THE GREAT STAGE PARK IN MANCHESTER, TN

TO INCLUDE ON SITE ACTIVITES:

PARANORMAL CIRQUE, CAR SHOW,

MOTOCROSS DEMONSTRATIONS, AND A MEGA SPORTS BAR

TICKETS ON SALE

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

EXIT 111 Festival will debut with a heavyweight line-up that celebrates all forms of rock–from hard to classic, alternative to southern–when it debuts October 11-13 at the Great Stage Park in Manchester, TN. The inaugural three-day event hosted by Eddie Trunk will be led by headlining slots from Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a mix of platinum-selling artists including Slayer (in the last Tennessee show of their career), ZZ Top, Deftones, Ghost, Megadeth and more than 40 acts (full line-up below). Tickets for EXIT 111 go on sale Thursday, April 25 at 12:00 PM (ET), with additional ticketing info below.

Produced by C3 Presents and AC Entertainment, the massive footprint of the festival site–known to millions as the home of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival–will be transformed into a rock and roll playground with the all-star line-up appearing on three stages with 12 hours of music daily, camping and a variety of activities tailored specifically to concert-goers. This marks the first-ever event, beyond Bonnaroo, to utilize the 700-plus acre farm. On site adventures include Paranormal Cirque (an R-rated crazy yet fun fusion between circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream…and when we had nightmares and fantasies), the first annual EXIT 111 car show, Red Bull motocross demonstrations and a mega sports bar airing full sports coverage throughout the weekend, with more activities announced soon.

The EXIT 111 line-up (as of 4-23) is as follows:

Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slayer, ZZ Top, Deftones, Ghost, Megadeth, Coheed & Cambria, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Seether, Alter Bridge, Gojira, Cheap Trick, Blackberry Smoke, Black Label Society, Ministry, Skillet, Nothing More, Sleeping With Sirens, Of Mice and Men, Thrice, White Chapel, Power Trip, Black Stone Cherry, Fever 333, Graveyard, The Cadillac Three, 10 Years, From Ashes to New, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, New Years Day, Alien Weaponry, Bishop Gunn, Dead Sara, Plague Vendor, Dirty Honey, Tetrarch, Watermox, Kyle Shutt, and O’Brother.

For EXIT 111, festival promoters have teamed with Seether frontman Shaun Morgan‘s Rise Above charity. Beyond having one of the festival stages named as the Rise Above Stage, EXIT 111 will donate $1.00 from every ticket sold to Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE). These efforts will assist in raising funds for the charity’s life-saving suicide awareness efforts which started at Rise Above Festival.

EXIT 111 weekend passes and single day tickets go on sale Thursday, April 25 at 12:00 PM (ET). A special pre-sale launches Tuesday, April 23 at 9:00 AM (ET)-Wednesday, April 24 at 11:59 PM (ET) via the festival’s website. A variety of ticketing options (GA, VIP, four-pack, military discounts, and payment plans), add-ons, camping and parking options, can be found here. Children under 10 are free with paid accompanied adult.

https://www.exit111festival.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Exit111Fest/

https://www.instagram.com/exit111fest/

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About Rise Above

 

“I started this cause as a tribute to anyone who has lost someone. If Rise Above does something to help one person reconsider the tragic choice of suicide, then it will be the greatest success of my career.”

–Shaun Morgan

Shaun Morgan, founder and frontman of the multi-platinum selling rock band Seether, founded Rise Above in 2012 in honor of his brother who died by suicide. The Rise Above Festival which ran for 5 years in Bangor, ME was the largest suicide prevention event in the world. Morgan was honored in 2016 with the “Artistic Expression” Award from the National Council for Behavioral Health at the Awards of Excellence in Las Vegas.

About SAVE

SAVE is the leading national nonprofit suicide prevention organization working to prevent suicide through public awareness, education and training. They develop best-practice-endorsed materials used around the world and are the only national suicide prevention organization to have developed an evidence-based program for schools. They also work with suicide survivors left behind after a suicide. Led by Executive Director Dr. Dan Reidenberg, SAVE has been certified by Best Charities of America as meeting the highest standards of accountability and responsibility for nonprofits. Of the 1 million charities in the country, only 5% meet the standards and less than 2,000 have been awarded the certification seal. Shaun Morgan’s dear brother Eugene lost his life to suicide in 2007. This cause means the world to him. SAVE representatives will be on site at Exit 111 with reading materials and exclusive SAVE merchandise available to purchase, with proceeds going directly back to the life-saving work they do.

RISE ABOVE

https://www.facebook.com/riseabovefest/

https://twitter.com/Rise_Above_Fest

https://www.instagram.com/rise_above_fest/

SAVE

https://twitter.com/SAVEvoicesofedu

https://www.facebook.com/www.save.org/?ref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/savevoicesofedu/

New Exit 111 Festival Will Rock Tennessee with Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slayer first appeared on Game On Media.