Why music fans flock to this festival at ‘Kentucky’s Red Rocks’
Like the word-of-mouth holler hootenanny Kickin’ It On The Creek that hosted Tyler Childers near Irvine several times in the late 2010s, another Kentucky festival just north of the Cumberland Gap has become a launchpad for up-and-coming Appalachian musicians like Sierra Ferrell, Charles Wesley Godwin, Morgan Wade and The Red Clay Strays.
Founded in 2019, the Laurel Cove Music Festival has quickly become a bucket list gathering for the 1,500 lucky fans who gobble up tickets before a single band is announced. And much like Kickin’ It being nestled in a holler along the Kentucky River, the views inside Pine Mountain State Resort Park for the festival are just as good as the music. The natural amphitheater amid an expanse of hemlock trees and mountain laurel blooms has a crystal clear pond stageside that conjures up a one of a kind concert experience that’s led to many of the event’s loyalists calling it “Kentucky’s Red Rocks” — a reference to the ironic Colorado-based venue.
Festival co-founder and Bell County tourism director Jon Grace says the idea for Laurel Cove was conceived while attending Kickin’ It in 2018.
“I remember sitting there with some buddies at 2 p.m. watching John R. Miller play while having a Country Boy beer and being in awe of everything about it, from the vibe of the music to how friendly everybody was,” recalls Grace. “When we started looking for places to host something similar in Bell County Laurel Cove Amphitheater immediately came to mind since I’d seen a handful of shows there like the ‘Book Of Job’ and during the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival when I was really young.”
The first Laurel Cove in 2019 featured headlining performances from red dirt road warrior John Moreland and Cincinnati songsmith Arlo McKinley, drawing a modest crowd of 400 people. Following a year off in 2020 due to COVID-19, the festival returned in 2021 to an explosion of interest that shows no signs of waning.
“When COVID restrictions got lifted was the same day our 2021 festival began,” said Grace. “That was a huge boost for us since everyone was yearning for a bit of normalcy, and we haven’t looked back since.”
Laurel Cove Music Festival becomes springboard for musicians
Although COVID cabin fever did give an assist, the main attribution to Laurel Cove’s success has always been the knack of Grace and his team of co-organizers to find the best rising musical talent from Kentucky and beyond before they become household names. That’s included everyone from Sierra Ferrell (2022) — who just won four GRAMMY Awards earlier this year with her album “Trail Of Flowers” — to Morgan Wade (2021), the Virginia native that on May 2 opened for rock band Shinedown at Rupp Arena; and Alabama outfit The Red Clay Strays (2023, 2024), which in April won New Duo or Group of the Year ahead of the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards.
“We aren’t gonna be able to get the Tyler (Childers’), the Sturgill (Simpsons’) and people like that so it makes us lean on our own fandom even more,” said Grace. “All of us who put this on are fans first and foremost, which I think is also why others — from the fans to the performers themselves — love it so much.”
Another of those future stars who Laurel Cove booked before they hit the bigtime was Wyatt Flores, an Oklahoma native who first attended the event as a fan in 2022 before making his headlining festival debut there in 2024 — a moment that he capped off with an acoustic cover of Tyler Childers’ “Shake The Frost.” Now currently on the road opening up stadiums for Post Malone and Jelly Roll’s “BIG ASS Stadium Tour,” Flores says that his music wouldn’t be what it is if he’d never attended it as a fan on a whim.
“The talent and culture that Laurel Cove and Jon Grace have built is one of the most special things I’ve ever gotten to witness as a fan,” says Flores. “Getting to say my first festival headline was there in 2024 — especially not being from Appalachia but respecting that scene so much — is one of the biggest honors of my career so far. There’s a love and respect for the music there that I haven’t seen anywhere else.”
Another performer who can’t get enough of the festival’s mystique is Prestonsburg based singer Emily Jamerson, who made her debut at Laurel Cove in 2024 and will be back to perform this weekend on June 14 alongside names like Hawesville country rock band Ole 60, Zach Bryan collaborator Noeline Hofmann, England’s Jack Browning, Australia’s Tori Forsyth, and Okie cowgirl Kaitlin Butts — who’s currently having a viral moment with her song “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me).”
There’s something magical in those mountains,” says Jamerson. “Maybe it’s the spirit, maybe it’s the people, or a beautiful combination of the two. Whatever it is, you feel it deep in your soul. There’s a longing to keep coming back and I’m so grateful to be heading back for the second year in a row.
Laurel Cove Music Festival moves to three days
After five years and fan feedback, this year’s Laurel Cove Music Festival will grow from a two-day celebration to three. Grace says it’s that constructive dialogue that makes the festival and the community around it so special.
“We want people to feel ownership in this, like we don’t just want it to be a festival,” said Grace. “If it’s something we can do and it makes sense it doesn’t matter where the idea comes from. We’re always going to try to do what’s best for our fans because without them none of this would be possible.”
Laurel Cove Music Festival
Where: Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Pineville
When: June 12-14
Tickets: Sold out
Online: LaurelCoveMusicFestival.com
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM.