Entertainers for Fortnight Festival announced

Entertainers including Little Feat, a band that has mixed blues, rhythm and blues, country, and rock and roll styles since 1969, plus the Beach Boys and singer Tony Bennett will appear in Kentucky during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, all part of Alltech's Fortnight Festival, Sept. 23 through Oct. 9.

The Festival already has announced its marquee performer: hotshot conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who will conduct the Vienna Philharmonic at the Norton Center for the Arts on Sept. 27 in Danville.

The performers, who cover a wide range of genres and styles, will celebrate "Kentucky's defining moment," as described by Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, the title sponsor of the Games. Lyons originally said he had hoped to bring groups such as U2 or the Rolling Stones to the Festival.

"We believe a first-class celebration is in order and that is why our Alltech Fortnight Festival will blanket the state with nightly entertainment," he said in a statement. Many of the acts will perform in Lexington simultaneously with Spotlight Lexington, which will feature free entertainment downtown.

Other acts will play elsewhere in the state. The Temptations will play in Frankfort on Sept. 25 and 26, and Chubby Checker will be at the Kentucky Theater in downtown Lexington two nights later.

Tony Bennett will be at the Norton Center in Danville on Oct. 4, and Appalshop in Whitesburg will host a String Band Day on Oct. 2. The Lexington Opera House will stay busy, hosting the opera La Boheme on Oct. 1, 2 and 3, actor John Lithgow performing his one-man show, Stories by Heart, on Oct. 5, and country singers Kenny Rogers on Oct. 7 and Charlie Daniels on Oct. 8.

Tickets for all the shows will be on sale starting June 24 at www.AlltechFortnightFestival.com.

Alltech officials said some additional performers have yet to be announced.

The lineup includes:

Sept. 23 — Little Feat, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Sept. 24 — Wynonna Judd, Paramount Arts Center, Ashland

Sept. 24 — Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, a bluegrass group, at Christ the King Oktoberfest, Lexington

Sept. 25 — The Temptations, The Grand Theatre, Frankfort

Sept. 25 — Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band and Johnson Brothers Band, Christ the King Oktoberfest, Lexington

Sept. 26 — The Temptations, The Grand Theatre, Frankfort

Sept. 27 — American Spiritual Ensemble, Downtown Lexington

Sept. 27 — Vienna Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel, Norton Center for the Arts, Danville

Sept. 28 — Chubby Checker, The Kentucky Theater, Lexington

Sept. 28 — Bo Skovhus, a Danish operatic baritone, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

Sept. 29 — American Spiritual Ensemble, Downtown Lexington

Sept. 29 — Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, Downtown Lexington

Sept. 30 — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

Oct. 1 — La Boheme, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 1 — Arnett Hollow, Glassworks, Louisville

Oct. 1 — Louisville Trolley Hop, Louisville

Oct. 2 — La Boheme, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 2 — Marvin Hamlisch and UK Symphony Orchestra, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

Oct. 2 — String Band Day, Appalshop, Whitesburg

Oct. 3 — La Boheme, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 4 — Tony Bennett, Norton Center for the Arts, Danville

Oct. 4 — Lexington Bach Choir, Downtown Lexington

Oct. 5 — John Lithgow, performing his one-man show, Stories by Heart, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 6 — Lexington Bach Choir, Downtown Lexington

Oct. 6 — Beach Boys, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

Oct. 7 — Bluegrass Express Live, Appalshop, Whitesburg

Oct. 7— Kenny Rogers, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 8 — Charlie Daniels, The Lexington Opera House, Lexington

Oct. 9 — David Sanborn, jazz saxophonist, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

This story was originally published June 17, 2010 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Entertainers for Fortnight Festival announced."