Forecastle Festival

riotgrl

If any of you are coming to Louisville this weekend for the festival, I just wanted to offer help. I am from Louisville and if you need recommendations for food, hotels, etc. feel free to drop me a message.

Have fun if you are coming and right now it looks to be cooler than it is this weekend - hopefully that cooling trend will hold out through the festival weekend!

jjflash

Kind offer bump . Not going but looks to be a rocking festival.

RYEzupSF

That's so nice of you!! I'm getting in on Friday morning and will be there until early afternoon Monday. We are staying at The Galt House Hotel. Since the festival doesn't start until afternoon we definitely want to check out Louisville's finest. Any recommendations for places of interest, good food, after hours drinks would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Spoony C

Not to step on riotgrl's toes, but I'm a Louisvillian, too, and I love to give advice. If beer is your cup of tea, I can recommend Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC), a block East of the Galt House (which itself is at 4th & Main) at 3rd & Main Streets. The pub food is pretty good, and the selection of BBC's own beers is excellent. Another option, closer to the festival itself, is Against the Grain, a brewpub located on the Main Street side of the minor-league baseball stadium (the outfield/Witherspoon Street side of the stadium is just across the street from the festival site).

There's also a good stretch of local bars and restaurants that have popped up near the KFC Yum! Center arena, mostly lined up along Main Street between 2nd & 1st streets: Patrick O'Shea's, Doc Crow's, Impellizzeri's Pizza, to name a few. I finally got to eat at Doc Crow's last month, and can recommend it: barbecue, seafood, and an amazing bourbon list.

A few blocks west of the Galt House on Main Street is some decent sightseeing: The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville Science Center (largely kid-focused these days), Frazier History Museum, and the 21C Hotel, whose art-gallery lobby you should definitely check out if you have the time.

If you have a rental car (or want to cab it, but Louisville's a "call a cab by phone" city, not a "hail one on the street" city, so be prepared for that) and can go a little farther afield in the daytime before the festival (I don't think it opens until 5:00 Friday and 2:00 Saturday and Sunday), you can check out the NuLu neighborhood on East Market Street (one block south of Main, but quite a few blocks east), with restaurants, shops, and galleries, or--and this is my personal recommendation--the Baxter Avenue/Bardstown Road corridor in the Highlands neighborhood, which is kind of the epicenter of hip Louisville culture (at least as measured by the kind of folks who would be in town for a music festival). Lots of shops, restaurants and bars all through the area; I would recommend parking somewhere along Bardstown Road between Eastern Parkway and Bonnycastle Lane, and checking out Cumberland Brews (good eats and local craft beers) and Why Louisville (a kitsch shop with plenty of silly Kentucky/Louisville souvenirs).

For after hours drinking, most of the downtown places listed above will probably still be open to serve the festival-goers, but Baxter Avenue in the Highlands (from Broadway to Grinstead Drive, not quite as far out from downtown as the Bardstown Road shopping stretch mentioned above) has plenty of bars and pubs, and Louisville bars are open until 4 am. (So pace yourself. ) To be avoided: 4th Street Live!, a few blocks south of the Galt House on 4th Street, which is a district of national-chain bars and restaurants (The Pub, Hard Rock Cafe, TGIFridays) and obnoxious nightclubs (Howl at the Moon piano bar and several dance club/meat market places). They definitely don't flow with the local-flavor vibe you're hoping to get.

Those are my thoughts.

riotgrl

Spoony C wrote:

Not to step on riotgrl's toes, but I'm a Louisvillian, too, and I love to give advice. If beer is your cup of tea, I can recommend Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC), a block East of the Galt House (which itself is at 4th & Main) at 3rd & Main Streets. The pub food is pretty good, and the selection of BBC's own beers is excellent. Another option, closer to the festival itself, is Against the Grain, a brewpub located on the Main Street side of the minor-league baseball stadium (the outfield/Witherspoon Street side of the stadium is just across the street from the festival site).

I would echo BBC for good beers.

There's also a good stretch of local bars and restaurants that have popped up near the KFC Yum! Center arena, mostly lined up along Main Street between 2nd & 1st streets: Patrick O'Shea's, Doc Crow's, Impellizzeri's Pizza, to name a few. I finally got to eat at Doc Crow's last month, and can recommend it: barbecue, seafood, and an amazing bourbon list.

Impellizzeri's Pizza is one of my faves - definitely a good place to go.

A few blocks west of the Galt House on Main Street is some decent sightseeing: The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville Science Center (largely kid-focused these days), Frazier History Museum, and the 21C Hotel, whose art-gallery lobby you should definitely check out if you have the time.

If you have a rental car (or want to cab it, but Louisville's a "call a cab by phone" city, not a "hail one on the street" city, so be prepared for that) and can go a little farther afield in the daytime before the festival (I don't think it opens until 5:00 Friday and 2:00 Saturday and Sunday), you can check out the NuLu neighborhood on East Market Street (one block south of Main, but quite a few blocks east), with restaurants, shops, and galleries, or--and this is my personal recommendation--the Baxter Avenue/Bardstown Road corridor in the Highlands neighborhood, which is kind of the epicenter of hip Louisville culture (at least as measured by the kind of folks who would be in town for a music festival). Lots of shops, restaurants and bars all through the area; I would recommend parking somewhere along Bardstown Road between Eastern Parkway and Bonnycastle Lane, and checking out Cumberland Brews (good eats and local craft beers) and Why Louisville (a kitsch shop with plenty of silly Kentucky/Louisville souvenirs).

Definitely hit NuLu. I don't go downtown very often but I prefer the restaurants in NuLu better than what you'll find near the Galt House and Waterfront Park. If you can get in this direction you need to try the Mayan Cafe and Harvest. Both are excellent restaurants and would be worth a trip while you're here.

I far prefer Bardstown Road for just about everything. Best food in town and best nightlife and best place for brews. If you like sushi then I would try Wild Ginger and if you're a bit more adventourous then I would try Ramsi's Cafe on the World. Don't leave without getting coffee from Heine Brothers and if you're on Bardstown Road you can't throw a stick without hitting about 10 of the coffee shops.

For after hours drinking, most of the downtown places listed above will probably still be open to serve the festival-goers, but Baxter Avenue in the Highlands (from Broadway to Grinstead Drive, not quite as far out from downtown as the Bardstown Road shopping stretch mentioned above) has plenty of bars and pubs, and Louisville bars are open until 4 am. (So pace yourself. ) To be avoided: 4th Street Live!, a few blocks south of the Galt House on 4th Street, which is a district of national-chain bars and restaurants (The Pub, Hard Rock Cafe, TGIFridays) and obnoxious nightclubs (Howl at the Moon piano bar and several dance club/meat market places). They definitely don't flow with the local-flavor vibe you're hoping to get.

I echo staying away from 4th Street Live - this is not Louisville but a touristy area. And if you really want to go out a bit farther (not by much about 15-20 minutes from downtown) then I suggest trying Vietnam Kitchen or Mirage Mediterranean Restaurants both are by far two of my favorite places here in town.

Those are my thoughts.

Thanks for helping out Spoony C. Nice to know there are fellow Louisvillians on the forum. I don't know any other rabid PJ fans here in town Are you hitting Forecastle?

RYEzupSF

Thanks so much Spoony C and riotgrl for the great info!! I am so looking forward to this weekend! I grew up in Dayton, and have been to Louisville a number of times, and have always loved it. But I was always there for horse events and as a teenager, so I am psyched to explore it as an adult. Are you both going to the festival?

riotgrl

RYEzupSF wrote:

Thanks so much Spoony C and riotgrl for the great info!! I am so looking forward to this weekend! I grew up in Dayton, and have been to Louisville a number of times, and have always loved it. But I was always there for horse events and as a teenager, so I am psyched to explore it as an adult. Are you both going to the festival?

I am going but only on Saturday. If you can believe it, this is my first Forecastle :fp:

RYEzupSF

riotgrl wrote:

RYEzupSF wrote:

Thanks so much Spoony C and riotgrl for the great info!! I am so looking forward to this weekend! I grew up in Dayton, and have been to Louisville a number of times, and have always loved it. But I was always there for horse events and as a teenager, so I am psyched to explore it as an adult. Are you both going to the festival?

I am going but only on Saturday. If you can believe it, this is my first Forecastle :fp:

Well Saturday will be a great day to go!! I'm a little bummed that Girl Talk is the same time as MMJ. I was stoked for that one, but that's the way with festivals sometimes.

riotgrl

RYEzupSF wrote:

riotgrl wrote:

RYEzupSF wrote:

Thanks so much Spoony C and riotgrl for the great info!! I am so looking forward to this weekend! I grew up in Dayton, and have been to Louisville a number of times, and have always loved it. But I was always there for horse events and as a teenager, so I am psyched to explore it as an adult. Are you both going to the festival?

I am going but only on Saturday. If you can believe it, this is my first Forecastle :fp:

Well Saturday will be a great day to go!! I'm a little bummed that Girl Talk is the same time as MMJ. I was stoked for that one, but that's the way with festivals sometimes.

I was wanting to see Girl Talk as well and was very surprised that they would be playing the same time as MMJ. Kinda strange but MMJ is the band I most want to see.

Spoony C

I'll be at Forecastle for the whole weekend, though Sunday is the weakest day to my tastes (I've never been able to get into Wilco, but I'm looking forward to seeing them to be able to say I did). I also have a ticket for the MMJ soundcheck Saturday morning, which I'm really looking forward to. For a local, I was very late to the party on My Morning Jacket (didn't really get into them until Bonnaroo 2008), but I've made sure to see them as many times as possible since (mostly here in town). The Unstaged concert on the release date for Circuital last year was insane, and I lucked into front-row seats through Roll Call.

Interesting side note: I live right around the corner from the church gymnasium where MMJ recorded Circuital, and last night when I got home from work (around 7pm), there was a tour bus parked in front, towing a small trailer (the kind bands typically tow gear in). Don't know what it was (could be a religious vocal group for all I know), but it makes me wonder if a smallish touring act (the kind that travels mostly by bus, not plane) with some days off leading into Forecastle is rehearsing, or (gasp) rehearsing with MMJ.

Spoony C

Also, for anyone going all three days, I cannot recommend The Head & The Heart enough. They play Friday at 6:45, and when they were here for a club show this spring, they absolutely killed it. Loved them.

One other bit of Louisville info for those coming in from out of town--we are on Eastern Time. Kentucky is half-and-half with Central & Eastern, but we are on Eastern. The only drawback as far as outdoor concerts go is that it stays light pretty darn late, being here at the western edge of the time zone, so light shows aren't very good before 9:30 or so.

eeriepadave

Spoony C wrote:

If beer is your cup of tea.

kinda of an oxymoron right there

Spoony C

Figured I'd bump the thread now that we're post-festival, to see what the few others from the board who were going thought of it (and for those visiting Louisville, what they thought of the city). I, for one, had a great time overall, even if it doesn't feel like I got to see that many acts. The entry line on Friday was a bit slow, so I missed the beginning of The Head & The Heart, but their show was solid (if not quite as much fun as their club show earlier this year). Saturday's highlights included My Morning Jacket (of course, and more on this below) and Andrew Bird, and Sunday brought me the experience of Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires (SEE THIS BAND! They were fantastic), my first Mike Doughty set, and a joyous small-stage set by Kentucky's own Ben Sollee, who was joined at various points by several of his local musical friends (including Jim James and Carl Broemel of MMJ). Sollee's 8:30-9:30 Sunday set was so much fun I decided to make it my finale and head home, forgoing Clutch and Wilco, who were both onstage as I left. (I've seen Clutch before, and they play Louisville clubs frequently; I've never really gotten into Wilco, though I know it's music-nerd heresy to admit it.)

The festival did a good job overall, especially with amenities like the Bourbon Lodge and the Louisville Village of local vendors and charities, and the Camelbak water-refilling stations were a stroke of genius--simple, quick fill-ups of whatever water vessel you presented them with, free of charge. Just a great way to keep everybody safe. There were some issues with the stage placements, causing sound bleed from time to time (if the act you were watching was of a semi-quiet genre, odds where you'd be hearing too much of something else very distracting while they played). This was only the second year of the festival to be held in this park, and while the layout was more practical than the 2010 edition (where the stages were too spread out and didn't always feel like part of the same festival), I think they were counting on the I-64 overpass to be a noise buffer between the small stages and the main stage, and it didn't quite work out. But overall an "A" for effort!

And I mentioned it the other day in the MMJ thread, but their ticketed fan-club "sound check party" was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They do these soundcheck shows often, but this one was scotched by the first thunderstorm on Saturday (around noon), and the band couldn't do it on the main stage. So when the weather broke for a few minutes, they made their way to the assembled fans (huddled under the overpass) and played a four-song acoustic, unamplified set, with only the air to carry Jim James's voice to the hundred or so assembled. Simply amazing.

riotgrl

Spoony C wrote:

Figured I'd bump the thread now that we're post-festival, to see what the few others from the board who were going thought of it (and for those visiting Louisville, what they thought of the city). I, for one, had a great time overall, even if it doesn't feel like I got to see that many acts. The entry line on Friday was a bit slow, so I missed the beginning of The Head & The Heart, but their show was solid (if not quite as much fun as their club show earlier this year). Saturday's highlights included My Morning Jacket (of course, and more on this below) and Andrew Bird, and Sunday brought me the experience of Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires (SEE THIS BAND! They were fantastic), my first Mike Doughty set, and a joyous small-stage set by Kentucky's own Ben Sollee, who was joined at various points by several of his local musical friends (including Jim James and Carl Broemel of MMJ). Sollee's 8:30-9:30 Sunday set was so much fun I decided to make it my finale and head home, forgoing Clutch and Wilco, who were both onstage as I left. (I've seen Clutch before, and they play Louisville clubs frequently; I've never really gotten into Wilco, though I know it's music-nerd heresy to admit it.)

The festival did a good job overall, especially with amenities like the Bourbon Lodge and the Louisville Village of local vendors and charities, and the Camelbak water-refilling stations were a stroke of genius--simple, quick fill-ups of whatever water vessel you presented them with, free of charge. Just a great way to keep everybody safe. There were some issues with the stage placements, causing sound bleed from time to time (if the act you were watching was of a semi-quiet genre, odds where you'd be hearing too much of something else very distracting while they played). This was only the second year of the festival to be held in this park, and while the layout was more practical than the 2010 edition (where the stages were too spread out and didn't always feel like part of the same festival), I think they were counting on the I-64 overpass to be a noise buffer between the small stages and the main stage, and it didn't quite work out. But overall an "A" for effort!

And I mentioned it the other day in the MMJ thread, but their ticketed fan-club "sound check party" was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They do these soundcheck shows often, but this one was scotched by the first thunderstorm on Saturday (around noon), and the band couldn't do it on the main stage. So when the weather broke for a few minutes, they made their way to the assembled fans (huddled under the overpass) and played a four-song acoustic, unamplified set, with only the air to carry Jim James's voice to the hundred or so assembled. Simply amazing.

I only attended Saturday but I agree with a lot of what you said here. MMJ ruled! But I really enjoyed Andrew Bird, Dr. Dog, The Futurebirds, and even loved Girl Talk. Although, I was a bit irritated when I could hear Girl Talk over MMJ. I am not a hardcore MMJ fan so I left the up front to those people, and being towards the back, you could really hear the other stage. But, I agree with you that this was still pretty new at the Waterfront and I'm sure they'll get the kinks worked out.

A definite favorite of mine was the Louisville Village that had booths on sustainability and local artists selling their goods. Check out my pic in the play the south thread that shows an artist that made a custom light fixture for the Bourbon Lodge (and how awesome was that, I had one too many bourbons!) made from repurposed Four Roses bourbon bottles.

All in all, it was a good experience! Hope everyone else had fun as well!

Spoony C

I loved the Four Roses light fixture. The Bourbon Lodge was a great amenity (and was supposedly part of MMJ's curation of activities, so kudos to the band). My wife and I hit it up on Friday night and listened to Dean Wareham (at the Starboard Stage) from the hay-bale patio attached to the lodge, then we went back on Saturday with a friend of ours who'd just gotten off work at the Habitat for Humanity booth in the Louisville Village (the one where guests could paint door panels however they wanted). Just a great idea.

Spoony C

Forecastle Festival, in Louisville, KY, got the jump on a lot of festivals for 2016 by releasing the bulk of their lineup today (after only teasing yesterday that it was ready to be revealed--they've usually done February/March lineup announcements). Not a lot of megastar wattage on the bill this year, but some solid acts throughout, and a rock-centered heart of the lineup, which appeals to me (sometimes they throw a little too much to the EDM crowd for my taste):

Avett Bros, Alabama Shakes, Ryan Adams as headliners. Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Harper & Innocent Criminals, Gary Clark Jr. on the next line. A bunch of other fun stuff down the card from there.

forecastlefest.com/2015/12/08/2016-lineup-announced-tickets-on-sale-now/

FrankieG

I was thinking about doing this fest this year. That lineup does look really solid, I was kinda disappointed when I first read it, not really sure what I was expecting...
Avetts Bros, Ben Harper, Death Cab would be the 3 I want to see the most.
Is there camping at Forecastle?

Spoony C

I think they usually wind up listing a good rate with a somewhat-nearby campground, but not at the festival. It's in a downtown park on the Ohio River. There are plenty of downtown hotels right near the festival in various price ranges, and if you wanted to go cheaper and drive in from a more suburban hotel each day, parking can be found downtown at much better rates than in the bigger cities (I'm talking $5 or $10 for the day, pretty close to the festival grounds--nothing like the $40 you pay to park in downtown Chicago on a non-event day).

FrankieG

Spoony C said:

I think they usually wind up listing a good rate with a somewhat-nearby campground, but not at the festival. It's in a downtown park on the Ohio River. There are plenty of downtown hotels right near the festival in various price ranges, and if you wanted to go cheaper and drive in from a more suburban hotel each day, parking can be found downtown at much better rates than in the bigger cities (I'm talking $5 or $10 for the day, pretty close to the festival grounds--nothing like the $40 you pay to park in downtown Chicago on a non-event day).

Awesome! This festival seems alot cheaper than going to Firefly this year... Not sure if I would want to camp or go for the hotel, but I appreciate the info!

TL170678

Since the bridges are complete it would be cheapest to hit up the Holiday in or something in Clarksville, IN about 5 miles across the river.