“Largest Rock Festival in America” Adds Fourth Day to 2020 Show

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 24, 2020) – Louder Than Life – billed as the “The Largest Rock Festival in America” – will be louder and larger than ever when it expands to four days for the 2020 show.

In addition, one of the most iconic rock bands on the planet is back on the bill.

The music festival kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 17 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 20. Metallica will headline the newly added Thursday date when they take the stage at Louisville’s Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

The metal legends were previously announced in the Fall to lead the Louder Than Life lineup, but in February the group had to cancel their performance to allow frontman James Hetfield to continue his road to recovery.

“Metallica is back! We simply couldn’t accept that after all we’ve gone through together this year that there would be no Metallica performance East of the Mississippi. And Metallica agrees,” according to a statement from Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP), presenters of the festival.

The announcement comes amid news that DWP had to cancel several Spring festivals in other cities due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

“Because we were not able to reschedule the Spring festivals, we want Louder Than Life to be an inclusive celebration of all of those festivals,” the Los Angeles-based festival promoter said. “It’s not a perfect solution, but these are imperfect times. It is our sincere hope that we are all able to heal together with massive celebrations this fall.”

All current passholders for Louder Than Life are being offered the fourth day for free. DWP is also deferring the next installment on its layaway plan for a month. Those who want to purchase a pass can reserve it for $1 down. Payments will not start until May 3 and will be split up evenly between May, June, July and August.

In addition to Louder Than Life, Louisville will play host to several marquee events in September, including the Kentucky Derby, which was rescheduled last week to take place on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs. Two other DWP festivals will also be under way – country music festival Hometown Rising (Sept. 12 and 13) and rock and bourbon festival Bourbon & Beyond (Sept. 25-27).

“Louisville is going to be the place to be in September,” says Karen Williams, President & CEO of Louisville Tourism. “The calendar is packed with a strong line-up of leisure events – from the legendary Kentucky Derby to a trio of music festivals drawing some of the biggest names in the music industry to the city, all in the middle of National Bourbon Heritage Month. We look forward to tourism rebounding and having a robust September.”

For more info, visit: LouderThanLifeFestival.com

Louisville Tourism provides several planning resources, including suggested itineraries at https://www.gotolouisville.com/myexperience as well as a monthly Lookin’ at Louisville video series, a searchable list events at www.gotolouisville.com, a free Louisville Visitors Guide and complimentary hotel booking service via 1-888-LOUISVILLE.