Weather
Traffic
@LouisvilleDispatch
@LouisvilleDisp
Subscribe
Saturday January 24, 2026
Local Connection
Work is moving right along on the Ohio River Bridges project at the Downtown Crossing site. With that work comes changing traffic patterns that could delay your daily commute to work or throw a wrench in your summer travel plans. Don’t get caught off guard by these changes; use the map below for traffic updates and be sure to visit the Getting Around page for more details on the current and future traffic changes.
Red: closed to traffic.
Green: lane restrictions, traffic can still get through.
Light Blue: partial lane closures with flagger stopping traffic intermittently.
Blue: site of new bridge under construction.
Abbey Road on the River Returns to Louisville
The world’s largest Beatles-inspired music festival, Abbey Road on the River, returns to Louisville’s waterfront May 22-26. The 2014 AROTR is made extra-special as it marks the golden anniversary of Beatlemania – the world-wide fan frenzy surrounding the Fab Four. Although music promoter Andi Lothian may have coined the term a year earlier, Beatlemania was budding as the Lads from Liverpool arrived in the United States in February 1964 and really exploded after their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The five day celebration here in Louisville aims to capture some of the Beatles craze.
The five day celebration – covering the Belvedere Festival Park, Galt House Hotel and Muhammad Ali Center – features many events to help longtime fans relive the group’s glory days as well as bringing new fans into the mix. Abbey Road on the River is, first and foremost, a music festival so you know that there is no shortage of music. The event draws bands from around the world for over 200 live performances on eight stages (including one by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Beach Boys) as well as many other activities including the Give Peace a Chance photography exhibit at the Muhammad Ali Center, screenings of the Good Ol Freda documentary, special presentations and plenty of vendors offering vintage music memorabilia, art, fair food and more. Continue reading
This week the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources auctioned off 29 custom firearms and knives purchased by former agriculture commissioner Richie Farmer. Farmer, a former shooting guard from the UK Wildcats’ “Unforgettables” lineup in the early ’90s, is currently serving a 27-month sentence in West Virginia’s Hazelton Federal Prison.
The 13 Remington rifles and 16 Case knives were purchased by Farmer as gifts in 2008 using taxpayer money but he kept them for himself instead. Bidders drove prices well above their retail value as they sought to take home a piece of what has become Kentucky history. The $80 custom knives sold for several hundred dollars each while the rifles, valued around $500, sold for roughly twice that. Farmer’s personal rifle sold for $1,400. The nearly $22,000 raised by the auction will go toward the Boys and Girls urban garden project in west Louisville.
Farmer’s prison sentence stems from a 2013 guilty plea to two of the five federal corruption charges he faced.
Louisville, KY (April 21, 2014) – Louisville will be the home of a world-wide event this May, and we aren’t referring to the Kentucky Derby. Abbey Road on the River, an international music festival held on Memorial Day weekend, will present a concert by the band that wrote the soundtrack to summer – The Beach Boys – on Sunday, May 25th at 8:30pm. The Beach Boys will be joined by 60 other bands over the 5-day festival to commemorate 50 years since the start of a musical revolution. The event will feature more than 200 live performances on 8 stages, as well as special activities including the Give Peace A Chance photography exhibit, screenings of the documentary “Good Ol Freda” and Q&A sessions with The Beatles’ longtime secretary Freda Kelly, and presentations by former CEO of Apple Records Tony Bramwell.
The music of The Beach Boys and The Beatles is nothing short of magical, and even 50 years after it was written, it continues to reach new generations. The parallels between these two bands are unmatched by any other. Both comrades and competitors, their paths crossed on many occasions, including in 1968 in Rishikesh, India where Mike Love and The Beatles studied Transcendental Meditation, and also in 1999 when both bands were inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. After visiting England in 1966, The Beach Boys were hailed as The Beatles only rival.
Since 1961 when The Beach Boys were formed in Hawthorne, California, the band has sold over 100 million albums, received 31 RIAA Platinum and Gold Record certifications, and charted over 80 songs worldwide, with 36 in the Billboard’s Top 40 Hits – the most by an American rock band. Among the international sensation’s most popular hits are “Good Vibrations,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “God Only Knows,” “Surf’s Up,” and “California Girls.” In addition to performing these favorite songs at the festival, The Beach Boys will pay tribute to The Beatles by singing a few of The Fab Four’s songs. The Beach Boys are led by Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, who along with Christian Love, Randell Kirsch, Tim Bonhomme, John Cowsill and Scott Totten continue the legacy of the iconic American band. This concert will not feature Brian Wilson, Al Jardine or David Marks.
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist John Sebastian will open for The Beach Boys on Sunday, May 25th at 7:00pm. Sebastian is the founder of The Lovin’ Spoonful, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band who topped the charts with hits like “Do You Believe in Magic,” “Summer in the City,” “Daydream,” and “Nashville Cats” between 1965 and 1968.
Another highlight of the event will feature a collaboration between Ambrosia and former Wings guitarist and special guest Laurence Juber who will perform a tribute to The Beatles on Friday, May 23rd at 8:15pm.
Abbey Road on the River, the world’s largest Beatles-inspired music festival, will be held at the Belvedere Park, Galt House Hotel and Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY from May 22-26th. 2014 marks the 10th Anniversary of the festival’s arrival in Louisville; it was originated in Cleveland, OH in 2002. Festival sponsors include The Neil Huffman Auto Group, 103.5 WAKY, 107.7 WSFR, Louisville Magazine, Louisville.com, Budweiser, Shock Top, the Muhammad Ali Center, The Galt House Hotel & Suites, the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Gretsch Guitar, and Coca-Cola.
Visit www.arotr.com to purchase festival tickets, make a reservation at the Galt House Hotel, and get more information about Abbey Road on the River.
“Bourbon’s Biggest Party” Just Around the Corner
The Kentucky Bourbon Affair is a five day celebration of bourbon spanning May 14 through 18 in the Kentuckiana region.
The event is kicked off by The Bourbon Premier at Hermitage Farm in Goshen where up to 300 guests will gather to enjoy bourbon-inspired cuisine and cocktails while rubbing elbows with bourbon big-wigs. Despite being approximately 20 miles from downtown Louisville in Oldham county, guests need not worry about getting behind the wheel after enjoying some of the Commonwealth’s finest beverages: transportation will be provided to and from the Louisville Marriott East starting at 7 PM with buses returning to the River City starting at 9:30 PM. For attendees who do drive to the opening event, valet service will be available.
Other Bourbon Affair evening events include a “day in the life of a master distiller” experience from Four Roses, dinner events with the master distillers including Chris Morris of Woodford Reserve and Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey, the Old Forester Cocktail Toast & Tour, craft bourbon events, liquor appraisals and more.
The crown jewel of the Kentucky Bourbon Affair is the Black Tie – Silver Screen – Golden Anniversary event Saturday night, May 17, at the Pendennis Club in downtown Louisville. Here, guests will join bourbon royalty and celebrities in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the congressional resolution declaring bourbon to be “America’s only native spirit.”
The entire affair is capped off on the 18th with a Polo Tournament presented by Maker’s Mark and Lexington Polo.
Special “Golden Tickets” – complete with special priveleges – have long since sold out, with only 50 available at over $1,300 each, but there are still plenty of tickets left for other events available at the Kentucky Bourbon Affair website.
LMPD officials have released their safety plans for the Oaks and Derby Day events. LMPD representatives say that they will be working in conjunction with local and federal groups to ensure that Louisvillians and visitors remain safe during the city’s Kentucky Derby Festival events, at Oaks and Derby at Churchill Downs and throughout Louisville as hundreds of thousands gallop into town to watch the race live or at Derby parties.
In addition to increased police patrols, LMPD will be coordinating sobriety checkpoints and modified traffic patterns to keep the roadways safe and flowing efficiently. For a list of street closures and no-parking areas during the Pegasus Parade, Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, visit the LMPD Kentucky Derby Festival Information page. To further keep roadways safe during all of the racing celebrations, Miller Lite is sponsoring free rides on TARC buses from 6 PM Friday night until 1AM for those needing a designated driver.
Officials will also be making use of cameras along the parade route to monitor the crowd. Additionally, LMPD is advising those in attendance “if you see something, say something.”
If you plan on heading to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby, you should be aware of what you can and cannot take into the venue. Lists of permitted and prohibited items are available on the Kentucky Derby website. A list of permitted and prohibited items is also available on Official Churchill Downs Partner Derby Experiences website, although visitors should be aware that there are some conflicts between the two lists – specifically, on the rules regarding coolers. Louisville Dispatch staff reached out to the Kentucky Derby communications office and confirmed that the Derby Experiences website has an outdated list that that visitors should adhere to the list below, directly from the Kentucky Derby site: Continue reading
Live racing returns to Churchill Downs this Saturday, April 26. Head out to get in the spirint ahead of Derby! Opening day features, of course, live horse racing, live entertainment from The Louisville Crashers and the unveiling of the world’s largest 4K display from Panasonic. Get tickets for opening day here.
4:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Kentucky Derby week kicks off with style at Opening Night. Witness the premier of the Mega Board and a brand new horse racing experienceGeneral Admission: $10
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. First post is at 6:00 p.m.
Must be 18+ to enter (or accompanied by a responsible adult)
21+ to drink. Always drink responsibly.)Entertainment will include:
Gate 10 – DJ From 5:00-7:00
Gate 17 – DJ from 5:00-7:00
Mill 4 & 6 – DJ from 8:00-10:00
On Plaza Main Stage – The Louisville CrashersFashion Suggestions:
Females: Party/cocktail dresses and headwear. The signature accessory for this event is an evening headpiece a la fascinator, feathers, etc. We want ladies to have fun in sporting a “nighttime Derby look!”Men: Sharp pants/shirt (tie optional); headwear recommended as well!
