Bourbon & Beyond is here, plus an apology 🥃

Welcome back to The Louisville Plug.

This week Louisville goes all out. We've got Bourbon & Beyond taking over the Highland Festival Grounds for four days, the season finale of Waterfront Wednesday, the circus rolling into Lynn Family Stadium, and live racing continuing at Churchill Downs.

First though, I owe you an update and an apology about last week, plus some news about something new I've been building.

Inside this issue:

Okay, now let's get into this week. 👇

I am pulling this week’s local rec to first apologize for last week's mishap. I ran into issues with the publishing software I use and accidentally shipped out the previous weeks issue. I hope you all had a great week last week and I want to double down on my promise to provide meaningful information in a fun and compact way here.

I also want to let you all know I have been cooking up an extension of this newsletter in what I will call “Neighbors”. My goal with Neighbors is to introduce local leaders and businesses in a more casual and friendly way through long form conversation. You can expect the first conversation to be sent out October 1st from this same email. More details to come!

Thank you all again for continuing to open and read this newsletter. I can’t say enough about how thankful I am to even have someone to write these things to and a community that is always so supportive. As always feel free to reply and let me know what we can do better, what you want to see added or changed, or just what you ate for breakfast today, I’m here for it.

-Joey

🗓️ Thursday, September 24th – Sunday, September 27th
📍 Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center
💸 Daily GA from $130 / 4-Day GA and VIP tiers available

The World's Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival returns for four days across five stages, and the headliners speak for themselves: Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Chris Stapleton, and Dave Matthews Band. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Queens of the Stone Age, Gary Clark Jr., and Hootie & The Blowfish round out a lineup that brought 210,000 fans through the gates last year.

The music is only half of it. Full culinary and spirits pavilions let you taste your way through the Kentucky Bourbon Trail without leaving the grounds, and the Fork & Flask stage curated by Kroger runs cooking demos and whiskey pairings from touring and Louisville chefs all weekend. Mumford & Sons, Kacey Musgraves, and Foo Fighters all get special effects sets this year. Rain or shine, with lockers at four locations and paved parking right at the I-65 and I-264 junction.

👉 Grab your Bourbon & Beyond tickets HERE

🗓️ Wednesday, September 23rd | Lawn opens 5pm, music from 6pm
📍 Big Four Lawn at Waterfront Park
💸 Free

This is the last one until spring. Waterfront Wednesday closes out its 24th season with Houseplant headlining at 8:30pm, DOOM GONG at 6:30pm, and LPM Young Artist Showcase winner Dustin Jackson kicking things off at 6pm. It doubles as an official Bourbon & Beyond pre-game, so the energy should be high.

The lawn opens at 5pm and proceeds benefit Louisville Public Media and Waterfront Park. One parking note: River Road near the event closes to through traffic at 5pm, but street parking stays open between Preston and the Lincoln Lot, and the Green and Orange lots are available with entry from Preston.

👉 See the season finale lineup HERE

🗓️ Thursday, September 24th – Sunday, September 27th
📍 Lynn Family Stadium
💸 Ticketed

The circus rolls into Lynn Family Stadium for four days of acrobatics, comedy, and classic carnival food. Multiple showtimes across the run make it easy to fit into a busy weekend, whether that's a Thursday evening or a Sunday afternoon.

If Bourbon & Beyond isn't your plan this weekend, this is the family pick. The kids will be talking about it for a while, and it's a solid alternative to fighting the festival crowds out at the Expo Center.

👉 Get your circus tickets HERE

🗓️ Wednesday through Sunday | Racing September 23rd, 25th, and 26th
📍 Churchill Downs
💸 General admission, with reserved seating and dining packages available

Live Thoroughbred racing continues at Churchill Downs through late September, and these races are the qualifying road to the 2027 Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Gates open at 11:30am with first post at 12:45pm, and a Chef's Table option is available if you want to make a full afternoon of it.

This is the Twin Spires without Derby season crowds or Derby season prices. If you've lived here a while and somehow never made it out for a regular race day, this is the easiest time of year to fix that.

👉 Check the September race schedule HERE

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— The Louisville Plug