Derby week music a good bet from Louisville to Renfro Valley
What’s better than a two minute horse race heard around the world? How about a week’s worth of prime rock, roots and Americana music that takes over six different venues here and in Louisville leading up to — and, in a few cases, after — the Kentucky Derby.
For once, Lexington has the upper hand in Derby Week fun, although the win is kind of coincidental. Tuesday marks the rescheduled date of what was anticipated as the arena rock event of 2017, the return of Foo Fighters. With that as your kickoff, you know you’re in for a fine Derby Week run.
Here are six critic’s pick concert events to add some electricity to your Derby celebrations.
May 1:Foo Fighters and The Struts (7:30 p.m. at Rupp Arena, 430 W Vine. $51.50). It’s Take Two time for Dave Grohl and perhaps the merriest rock band on the arena circuit. The Foos were set to play Rupp on a Saturday night last October in what was promising to be the rock ‘n’ roll event of the fall. But with just a few hours to go before showtime, the performance, along with subsequent dates in Nashville and Memphis, was postponed due to a still-undisclosed “family emergency.” The disappointment was huge, but the band’s rescheduled date is now the biggest Derby week party in the state. Let’s just hope there are no additional surprises so that the first local Foo Fighters show in 17 years (and what will only be the band’s second Lexington outing period) gets to rock out as planned. All tickets for the original Oct. 21 date will be honored. Otherwise, only upper arena seats remain for the concert. 859-233- 3535, Rupparena.com.
May 2:The Lone Bellow and Billy Raffoul (9 p.m.,Waterfront Park, 401 River Rd. in Louisville. Free) The parade of Kentucky Derby Festival concerts staged at Waterfront Park, duly dubbed Waterfront Jam, will include contemporary Christian artist Jason Gray (April 29), soul/funk empress Sheila E. (May 1), Nashville folk/rock/jam troupe Judah and the Lion (May 3) and dance party DJ duo Lost Kings (May 4). But the pick of the pack comes midweek with a May 2 outing by The Lone Below, the immensely arresting Americana trio out of Brooklyn that has been a favorite of Kentucky audiences thanks to an opening set for a 2015 Rupp Arena concert by Eric Church and a solo show at The Burl by Bellow guitarist Brian Elmquist in 2017. The trio is currently touring behind its third and finest album, “Walk into a Storm.” Admission is free to all Waterfront Jam shows with a 2018 Pegasus Pin. 1-800-928- 3378. Kdf.org.
May 3-5: On the Rails Roots Festival (9 p.m. each evening at The Burl, 375 Thompson Road.; $12-15 on May3, $20-$25 on May 4 and 5) Feel like celebrating Derby Week with an evening of expert Americana-and- more music? How about three nights? That’s premise of the On the Rails Roots Festival, a summit of modern bluegrass, string music mutation, progressive honky tonk and more. On May 3, The Tillers headline with rustic, Cincinnati-bred folk songs from a new, self-titled recording. Trout Streak Revival and Small Time Napoleon complete the bill. Lexington bluegrass upstarts The Wooks lead off a Derby Eve bill on May 4 with Kentucky roots country fave Kelsey Waldon and John R. Miller and the Engine Lights opening (9 p.m.; $20-$25). Saturday marks the return of bluegrass breakneck guitar sensation Billy Strings with songstress fiddler/Jack White alum Lillie Mae and local heroes the Blind Corn Liquor Pickers kicking off the evening (9 p.m.; $20-$25). 859-447-8166 Theburlky.com.
May 4: Dwight Yoakam (8 p.m. Iroquois Ampitheater, 1080 Amphitheater Rd. in Louisville. $50-$70). Pikeville native Yoakam has been one of the most inventive country stylists of the last three decades, an artist reared on the famed Bakersfield country sound pioneered by the great Buck Owens but learned enough to incorporate Roy Orbison-esque rock ‘n’ roll, Brook Benton-level soul and even a touch of Johnny Cash-inspired mariachi into his music. How appropriate it is that Yoakam is back to perform in his home state on Derby Eve. Need more Dwight in your musical diet? Then head to the PNC Pavalion on June 20 when Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and fellow Derby week performer Steve Earle will perform a triple bill show as part of a concert trek titled (and I’m not making this up) The LSD Tour. 502-368- 5955. Iroquoisamphitheater.com.
May 4: The Old 97s, Jericho Woods, Dave Ernst and the Early Favorites (9 p.m. Headliners Music Hall, 1386 Lexington Road in Louisville. $17-$20). The Old 97s helped lead the charge of a groundbreaking alt-country movement during the mid 1990s although its music was always more roots-driven rock ‘n’ roll at heart. The quartet has been busting things up at Kentucky clubs ever since, from frequent stops at the long defunct Lynagh’s Music Club in its early days to dates in recent years at Headiners in Louisville. With a lineup — Rhett Miller, Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea and Philip Peeples — that has not changed since day one, the band sounds typically invigorating on its fine 2017 album “Graveyard Whistling.” 502-584- 8088. Headlinerslouisville.com.
May 6: Steve Earle and the Dukes, The Mastersons (5 p.m., Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, 2380 Richmond St. in Mount Vernon. $40-$50) Still enough fuel in the tank for a day-after- Derby show on Sunday? Then head to Renfro Valley where Steve Earle performs with his longrunning band The Dukes. This is a new performance locale for the Americana renegade following numerous summer shows at the Opera House and the Kentucky Theatre. While Earle remains a prolific recording artist (as shown by the release of the splendid 2017 album “So You Wannabe An Outlaw”), the Renfro Valley date is part of a tour designed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his most popular and enduring recording, “Copperhead Road.” The concert is slated to include an entire performance of the album. “God knows what happens after that,” states Earle’s website. 800-765- 7464. Renfrovalley.com.
This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Derby week music a good bet from Louisville to Renfro Valley."