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Abbey Road on the River returns to the Louisville waterfront May 22-26. Don’t miss out on the music, art, atmosphere and fun this Memorial Day weekend as musical acts from around the world perform in over 200 live shows.
Grab a friend and enter for your chance to win a pair of general admission tickets (arv $60) good any day of the largest Beatles-inspired musical festival in the world as it celebrates 50 years of Beatlemania. You can enter below by connecting with us on Facebook or Twitter (enter every day on Twitter!) or by signing up for the Louisville Dispatch Newsletter between now and the contest close date.
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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
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.
The May 20 Primary Elections are fast approaching. Do you know who is going to be on your ballot? Find your candidates for select Kentucky and Indiana precincts below.
Update: Primary Results Are In.
Kentucky Primary Candidates
US Senate
- Burrel Charles Farnsley (D)
- Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)
- Greg Leichty (D)
- Tom Recktenwald (D)
- Matt Bevin (R)
- Brad Copas (R)
- Mitch McConnell (R)
- Chris Payne (R)
- Shawna Sterling (R)
US House of Representatives
- 2nd District
- Ron Leach (D)
- Brett Guthrie (R)
- 3rd District
- Ray Pierce (D)
- John Yarmuth (D)
- Michael Macfarlane (R)
- 4th District
- Peter Newberry (D)
- Thomas Massie (R)
“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.
The annual running of the Oaks and Kentucky Derby will take place this Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd. Throughout the course of the races, hundreds of thousands will enjoy the races and festivities from under the twin spires of Churchill Downs. Many others, however, will choose to get in on the action from the comfort of their own home or at a Derby party. Celebrating the event at home is a great way to enjoy the many races throughout the day: it is less stressful, less crowded, and cheaper.
Once you have decided to throw a Derby party at your home, the next step is to plan a fun party. There are a number of directions in which you can take your Derby party. Check out some of the theme ideas below from a variety of sources, including the Official Kentucky Derby website and Better Homes and Garden:
- For a more Family Friendly Experience, have a Under-Horse Party
- Decorations: decorate in the colors of the under-dog horse
- Attire: casual – for kids (or adults), buy cotton T-shirts and fabric paint so the kids can make their own jerseys
- Food: potluck, grilled food, horse-shaped cookies for kids to decorate
- Drinks: mint juleps (for virgin mint juleps – substitute ginger ale for bourbon)
- Games: Corn hole, horse shoes, derby pool (put the horse numbers into a hat and have your guests draw a number, a prize or an extra drink to the winner), water balloons, pin-the-tail-on-the-race horse
- For a more informal party, have an Infield Party
- Decorations: Outdoors, use plastic horse figurines or plastic trophy cups for place markers, use trophy cups as cocktail glasses, pretty much anything goes here
- Attire: casual
- Food: grilled food, potluck, burgoo
- Drinks: beer and mint juleps
- Games: corn hole, horseshoes, three-legged races, provide materials (e.g. duct tape and plastic shopping bags) for a create your own hat contest, beer pong, slip-n-slides, derby pool
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
