Don’t want to go big? Here are Kentucky’s best intimate music festivals

From Railbird in Lexington to Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life in Louisville, it’s safe to say Kentucky is well represented with premier music festivals in 2023.

Unfortunately for some, massive audiences can make these events feel claustrophobic or overwhelming and less enjoyable.

Fortunately, the Commonwealth is loaded with countless smaller, boutique-style gatherings that offer just as good of music in a much more intimate environment, acting as a respite from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and endless food, beer, merch and bathroom lines.

Whether it’s Spirit in the Bluegrass carrying on Festival of the Bluegrass’ legacy at the Kentucky Horse Park or London’s World Chicken Festival,this guide and list to Kentucky’s best boutique and intimate music festivals will help you find live country, bluegrass, blues, folk, funk and soul concerts.

Sleeping In The Woods Songwriter Festival

Organized by singer-songwriter Nicholas Jamerson, the inaugural Sleeping In The Woods Songwriter Festival (May 19-20) looks to be an intimate gathering stressing the importance of the song. Located at Hidden Ridge on the banks of Lake Cumberland, the event looks to pair an intimate musical experience with plentiful outdoor recreation, and all for a good cause.

Proceeds from the event, which includes performances from Jim Lauderdale, Bella White, Grayson Jenkins and Rachel Baiman, will benefit the Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company in Hindman.

“I wanted to create an event that celebrates the song writer,” says Jamerson. “I am part of a lot of different circles and wanted to bring them all together with the mission of building friendships and stronger communities in an intimate outdoor setting. Hidden Ridge is a peaceful, low key environment immersed in nature. I want people to walk away from the event feeling nourished and rested and felt like John and Ginger Smithwick were the perfect people to help cultivate that sort of experience.”

Fallsburg Summer Stage

Now heading into its third year, the Fallsburg Summer Stage (May 19-20) is the first music festival to plant roots in Lawrence County, the birthplace of Tyler Childers. Located on property adjacent to longtime Halloween attraction the Fallsburg Fearplex along the banks of Blaine Creek, the event site is bustling with recreational activities in addition to a wide range of music echoing from its stage.

In 2022 one of those artists performing was Childers himself, who surprised a crowd of around 300 with an impromptu set following a last minute COVID cancellation from North Carolina’s Town Mountain. While Childers isn’t expected back in 2023, many of his bandmates in the Food Stamps are with El Dorodo, CJ Cain & Jesse Wells & Friends all set to perform. Others scheduled to appear include Arlo McKinley, Magnolia Boulevard, Cody Lee Meece & The Poor Excuses and Sydney Adams.

“We are fortunate enough to be from an area that has no shortage of talent,” says co-Founder Jimmie Lockridge. “Finding a way to shine a light on that will forever be at the forefront of our mission.”

Spirit In The Bluegrass

It’s been since 2019 that the Festival of the Bluegrass took place at the Kentucky Horse Park. With the Cornett family moving on from the festival, a new player has stepped in to launch a new festival that will continue its legacy on the second weekend in June.

Sammy Karr and Rick Greene, overseers of the SamJam Bluegrass Festival in Ohio, have taken over the reins of the new event, Spirit In The Bluegrass. The move is one that Karr cherishes, having grown up at Festival of the Bluegrass since he was 10.

The gathering will retain much of the old festival’s spirit with bands like The Travelin’ McCourys, The Seldom Scene, Wolfpen Branch and of course, the community of Ragheads and other misfits that fuel campfire pickin’ parties. According to Karr, when he found out Festival of the Bluegrass wouldn’t return he reached out to the Cornett family to receive their blessing prior to approaching the Horse Park to pitch the event.

“I’ve always had so much respect and admiration for (the Cornetts). It means the world to have their support,” says Karr. “Festival Of The Bluegrass is where I first fell in love with bluegrass music. Every year felt like a family reunion that only grew with each time back. I hope that one day Spirit In The Bluegrass will feel the same.”

Laurel Cove Music Festival

Located just north of the Cumberland Gap, you won’t find a more pristine piece of the land in Kentucky hosting a music festival than the Laurel Cove Amphitheater. Home annually to the Mountain Laurel Coronation, in recent years the wooded enclave has also hosted some of Appalachia’s brightest musical talent during the Laurel Cove Music Festival. This year’s event will be June 9-10.

The event has hosted everyone from Charles Wesley Godwin to Sierra Ferrell, 49 Winchester and others before they broke out. Musical director and Bell County Tourism Director Jon Grace looks to continue that trend in 2023 with Logan Halstead, Brit Taylor, S.G. Goodman, Adeem The Artist and more all set to take the stage by storm.

“The beauty of the cove is unparalleled,” says Grace. “Many of our visitors there, especially for the festival, remark that it reminds them of (Colorado’s) Red Rocks. Even though it’s much smaller and located in a completely different part of the country, people tend to feel the same energy and aura when they visit the cove for a show.”

Mountain Grrl Experience / Hollergirl Music Festival

To combat the often male-dominated festival lineups throughout Kentucky and beyond, two festivals have organized around the mission of giving the region’s female artists a voice and stage to shine on. Pikeville’s Mountain Grrl Experience (June 15-17) and Livingston’s Hollergirl Music Festival (Aug. 11-13) are doing just that.

“I had seen what Senora May did in Irvine with her Sweet Thing Jamboree and just loved the idea of giving more females the opportunity to showcase their talent in music and the arts,” says Mountain Grrl Experience co-founder Kris Preston. “As a member of the all-female bluegrass band, Coaltown Dixie, I have witnessed the limited opportunities that women have to perform in our area and wanted to do something to change that.”

However, both organizers stress that their events aren’t about a battle of the sexes. They’ve worked hard to foster environments where everyone feels welcome whether they’re on stage, in the crowd. Each will also feature a variety of female-focused vendors and other engagements including an appearance from Kelley Tenille, assistant distiller at Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Frankfort, at HollerGirl. The event will also have several installations focused around domestic violence and promoting Lexington non-profit Greenhouse17.

“This is not going to be women only, but it is going to be a female-focused event,” says HollerGirl Founder Kristin Murphy. “There are so many talented women musicians in Appalachia who don’t always get the same opportunities as their male counterparts, so we wanted to give them a moment to shine at HollerGirl.”

Festival Of The Red

Since 2018, the Festival of the Red (June 22-24) has recruited the region’s best bands and songwriters to the Red River Gorge’s Daniel Boone Campground at the end of June for an epic weekend getaway. Along the banks of the winding Red River artists like Nicholas Jamerson, The Josephines and others have gathered for three days of music and reflection.

The event has a strong emphasis on singer-songwriters with numerous songwriter rounds taking place throughout and giving fans a chance to hear players from some of their favorite bands share their songs in a stripped back, acoustic environment, placing more emphasis on the lyrics and stories than ever before. That intimacy is only exacerbated by the majestic surroundings of the gorge, which co-organizer L.G. Richardson says has become one of the festival’s main selling points.

“It’s a beautiful holler in the gorge that you feel like you’re a million miles from home when you’re there even though it’s less than an hour from Lexington,” says Richardson. “We want our festival to always serve the song, and the location is a big part of that.”

ROMP Fest

Celebrating its 20th year in 2023, Owensboro’s ROMP Fest (June 21-24) has long been a crown jewel for the Western Kentucky river town. Organized annually by the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum, the festival has never strayed from booking bluegrass all-stars along some of the genre’s brightest up-and-coming talent as it celebrates both the roots and evolution of the music.

According to the Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director Chris Joslin, all festival goers also receive admission to the downtown museum during the festival, with shuttles regularly traveling to and from the event grounds. There attendees will be able to browse the various exhibits and take in a handful of specially curated performances taking place throughout the weekend.

“We don’t want folks’ experience to be limited to just the festival site,” says Joslin. “We’re hearing more and more about people traveling to Owensboro, Kentucky just for ROMP or for the museum and discovering something completely different to travel back for. That’s part of the long game we’re trying to play too. We want to be an attractive music destination for folks, not just at the end of June, but throughout the year.”

Master Musicians Festival

Another well established gathering, Somerset’s Master Musicians Festival will celebrate 30 years July 13-15 with an eclectic lineup featuring everyone from Wynonna Judd to Nappy Roots and a pre-festival performance from the Louisville Orchestra. Founded in 1994, the event has ballooned all the way to 7,500 attendees in 2021 with plenty of room still to grow on the grounds of Somerset Community College.

Its 2023 iteration will also include an MMF30 tribute set honoring past festival performers from Nicholas Jamerson and Brother Smith along with a moment honoring all past board members and festival volunteers from the past three decades. It’s also welcoming all graduating high school seniors from Pulaski and neighboring Wayne and McCreary Counties free of admission as it looks to continue fostering a welcoming festival environment for years to come.

“When the festival first began, the closest place to see live music was up in Lexington,” says festival President Julie Nelson Harris. “For that reason, our goal was and continues to be bringing quality music to the people of southeastern Kentucky at an affordable price. Thanks to the support from the community and our sponsors we’ve been able to do that for 30 years, and hopefully many more to come.”

World Chicken Festival

There may not be a festival in Kentucky more unique than London’s World Chicken Festival (Sept. 21-24). Taking place every September since 1990, the event pays homage to fast food chains KFC and Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken’s southeastern Kentucky roots with activities like a Colonel Sanders look-a-like competition, the world’s largest stainless steel skillet, a parade, carnival rides, a mustache and beard contest and of course, live music galore.

Over the past three decades the event has grown from a humble hometown gathering to one of the biggest festivals in the state. According to Kelly Burton, festival coordinator and executive director of the London-Laurel County Tourism Commission, all the hard work put in preparing for the event is made worth it when she sees thousands of attendees enjoying themselves in the quaint Kentucky town.

“The crisp air in September is my favorite time of year to be outdoors,” says Burton. “After hundreds of hours of planning and organizing the festival, seeing people from across the country partake in the four-day event, smiling, taking selfies, sharing memories with friends and family is second to none.”

The Moonshiner’s Ball

Now nearly a decade in, The Moonshiner’s Ball (Oct. 12-15) continues to set the bar for music discovery around the state. The festival that began as a quaint gathering for friends and family of the Blind Corn Liquor Pickers has since transformed into a devout community of music lovers that has stuck with the event through venue changes from Homegrown Hideaways in Berea to a one year stint in Irvine and now it’s new home of Rockcastle Riverside, where it’s been grounded since 2018.

The community’s persistence is largely thanks to the year-round effort by Travis Young and the festival board to turn over every stone in search of the best under the radar talent in hopes of transforming them into your favorite new artists by the weekend’s conclusion. That formula for success will continue in 2023 with performances from Kelsey Waldon, Adia Victoria, Sunny War and The Rumble, among others.

“We sell almost half our tickets before we announce a single band because people are coming more for the festival community and experience than they are for any one specific artist,” says Young. “They’ve quickly become our greatest asset and single biggest attraction that the Moonshiner’s Ball has to offer.”

Other Kentucky music festivals for a smaller, intimate experience

Mountain Mushroom Festival: Irvine, Estill County. April 29-30.

Carter County Shrine Club Bluegrass Festival: Olive Hill, Carter County. June 13-15.

Stringbean Memorial Bluegrass Festival: Tyner, Jackson County. June 15-17.

Rudy Fest: Morehead, Rowan County. June 17-24.

Paint Creek Freedom Fest: Paintsville, Johnson County. June 30-July 1.

Sweet Land Of Liberty Festival: Livingston, Rockcastle County. July 7-8.

Elliott County Fiddler Convention: Sandy Hook, Elliott County. July 7-9.

Crowe Fest: Clay City, Powell County. Aug. 25-27.

Manchester Music Fest: Manchester, Clay County. Aug. 31-Sept. 2.

Black Mountain Jamboree: Monticello, Wayne County. Sept. 8-10.

Poppy Mountain Music Festival: Morehead, Rowan County. Sept. 8-16.

Ravenna Railroad Festival: Ravenna, Estill County. Sept. 9-10.