LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A massive gathering of over 170,000 music fans, more than 100 music acts and dozens of Louisville’s finest spirits came together this past weekend, helping Louder Than Life retains its reputation as the World’s Largest Whiskey & Music Festival and America’s Biggest Rock Festival.
Held September 22-25, 2022, at Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center, the memorable four-day event from producer Danny Wimmer Presents pulled in people from all over the country. Along with the record-breaking Bourbon & Beyond festival from DWP the weekend prior (which brought in 140,000 people over four days), 70% of attendees came from out-of-state and contributed more than $33 million in economic impact.
DWP also released figures for the company’s total investment in the community through producing the two back-to-back events, including $4.55 million spent on local restaurants, food and beverage supplies, $2.75 million on local vendors and $2.65 million in wages to local bartenders, stagehands and security.
Louder Than Life has now announced 2023 dates to be held over the weekend of September 21-24 at its home at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center. Weekend GA and VIP passes, along with camping, are on sale now for $10 down at www.LouderThanLifeFestival.com.
Louder Than Life 2022 offered memorable music performances that included an incendiary headlining set from Nine Inch Nails to kick off the festivities on Thursday night. The performance was the same date the industrial metal icons celebrated the 30th anniversary of their landmark EP Broken, and they delivered several tracks from that record, such as “Wish,” “Gave Up” and their cover of Pigface’s “Suck,” among other highlights in a career-spanning setlist.
On Friday, headliners Slipknot unleashed a stacked performance for fans who had come dressed in masks for the occasion. The band delivered “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” from their anticipated new album The End, So Far, which comes out September 30. Other highlights included “Wait And Bleed” fan favorites and “Duality.” Earlier in the day, Vended – featuring Simon Crahan (son of Slipknot’s Clown) and Griffin Taylor (Corey Taylor’s son) – also gave their all, getting the crowd riled up in anticipation.
Saturday’s closing set came from rock legends KISS, who offered 17 giant hits from their five-decades-long career, including “Shout It Out Loud,” “Rock And Roll All Nite” and “Calling Dr. Love.” Appearing as part of their End Of The Road World Tour, the Louder Than Life set marked one of the final times those in Louisville will be able to see the shock rockers on a local stage.
For the finale, Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out Sunday night in one of their first shows back with all four original members in tow. The packed set list pulled from all eras of the band, including early hits like “Give It Away” and “Suck My Kiss” as well as more modern hits such as “Here Ever After,” from their latest release, this year’s Unlimited Love.
In total, there were 100-plus artists on five stages, plus an additional stage featuring commentary and artist interviews from That Space Zebra Show hosted on DWPresents Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/dwpresents) throughout the Louder Than Life weekend. The immersive backstage experience also offered streaming opportunities for each DWPresents stage performance.
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