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Plan ahead for Bourbon & Beyond + Louder Than Life

Louisville’s two biggest music festivals are still months away, but it pays to be prepared.

A band playing music.

The Lumineers are headlining Bourbon & Beyond 2025.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The one-two punch of Bourbon & Beyond (B&B) and Louder Than Life (LTL) make for the biggest ~2 weeks in Louisville’s music scene.

These festivals are still more than eight months away, but festival organizers are already releasing lineup information and savvy festival-goers know it pays to plan ahead. We’ve rounded up some essential dates + numbers so you can be ahead of the game this year.

When is Bourbon & Beyond?

Bourbon & Beyond 2025 will be held at the Highland Festival Grounds from Thursday, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 14. Passes are available now, including general admission + VIP deals. Here’s some need to know info:

  • General admission passes don’t allow you to bring in a lawn chair — you’ll have to buy a Lawn Chair pass, which will be on sale when the lineup is finalized. All proceeds from the Lawn Chair pass go to local nonprofits.
  • It pays to buy early. Prices increase as more tickets are sold. Prices will rise in five stages, from the current $279.99 for four days of general admission to a final price of $359.99 for the same pass.
  • Avoid buying passes from resellers. Reselling passes at higher price points is prohibited and can result in the pass being voided, so buy directly from the festival.
  • Passes of all levels are available on layaway plans.
  • Camping passes are sold separately from festival passes.

Who is playing at Bourbon & Beyond 2025?

Headliners for this year’s Bourbon & Beyond:

  • Phish
  • Noah Kahan
  • Sturgill Simpson — aka “Johnny Blue Skies”
  • The Lumineers

But we know it’s not just the big names that can groove. Here are some notable other acts taking part:

  • Jack White
  • Alabama Shakes
  • Cage the Elephant
  • Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
  • The Goo Goo Dolls
  • Third Eye Blind
  • Ringo Starr & his All-Starr Band
  • Foreigner
  • Pixies
  • Blues Traveler

Want to see all 109 artists? Here’s the full lineup.

The drummer of Motley Crue behind a fanged bass drum on stage

Motley Crue bit into Louder Than Life in 2024.

Photo by Jake Miller.

When is Louder Than Life?

Louder Than Life 2025, also held at the Highland Festival Ground, will take place Thursday, Sept. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 21. Most of the same ticketing info from Bourbon & Beyond applies, with some exceptions:

  • Louder Than Life has already sold through its first pricing tier, with four-day passes now starting at $299.99.
  • Louder Than Life doesn’t have chair passes — standing room only.

Who is playing at Louder Than Life 2025?

The deathcore band Lorna Shore is the first confirmed artist for this year’s Louder Than Life. It will be the band’s LTL debut, coming off a summer tour of Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden.

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