LouGrass: A Celebration of Kentucky Music

Just like Bourbon, bluegrass music was born in Kentucky, deriving from the hills of Appalachia. Kentuckian Bill Monroe, known as the Father of Bluegrass Music, helped shape the sound we know today as ‘pickin.’ Bluegrass music is full of varied rhythms and is traditionally played only on acoustic instruments. Deriving from a myriad of traditional sounds, including roots, Americana, Afro-Lachen, alt-country, blues, and jazz – Bluegrass truly has its own unique soul.

Louisville has been synonymous with the Bluegrass genre for decades, previously hosting the Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass Trade Show and Fan Fest for eight straight years after it relocated from Owensboro, Kentucky. Louisville was also home to the Bluegrass Hotel, an informal rooming house for Louisville’s ‘grassers’ in the 1970s. The Hotel was a large Victorian-era home in the historic Cherokee Park neighborhood, owned by Harry Bickel who graciously offered rooms to bluegrass musicians in the area, serving as an organic apprenticeship for young, progressive bluegrass pickers. Guests during that period included Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Tony Rice, Curtis Burch, Bill Millet and Courtney Johnson. With a loyal audience for the authentic genre, Bluegrass festivals became commonplace, with fans often traveling long distances to see acts perform, sticking around to catch the impromptu after-party fiddling. This laid a foundation for future events like the Kentucky Fried Chicken Bluegrass Festival held on Louisville’s waterfront Belvedere, ROMP music festival in Owensboro and Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Morehead, KY.

Lougrass, Louisville’s own evolution with the music genre, continues to blossom with frequent performances by local icons, including Grammy award-winner Michael Cleveland, Hickory Vaught, the Bibelhauser Brothers and others who are often seen jammin’ around Bourbon City. To celebrate Kentucky’s roots music, Louisville’s visitors can catch Lougrass seasonally from April through October, where at least two venues each weekend will feature live, free bluegrass and bluegrass adjacement music. You may even hear a rendition of Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (later cut by Elvis Presley) or a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s popular “Wagon Wheel.”