The Inaugural Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, October 4th & 5th, 2014

Louisville is the home of the Kentucky Derby, the Louisville Slugger and most recently, the first ever Louder Than Life Festival. The Brain Child of promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (known for the crowd drawing Rock on the Range and Welcome to Rockville), Louder Than Life Festival was meant to be much more than another Rock Festival and it definitely proved itself to be just that. Wimmer stated in a press release, “When I first came to Louisville, I fell in love with the city, the diverse food, its bourbon and its culture. I’ve created the Louder Than Life Festival to highlight these discoveries and celebrate the Culinary Capital of Bourbon Country. And of course, the culture of rock and roll and bourbon go hand and hand.” That goal was certainly attained The inaugural festival that took place on Oct 4^th and 5^th in Champions Park went off with a bang, With an estimated attendance of 36,000 between both days

With a total of three stages to rock the face off of Louisville, 35 bands performed to meet the needs of rock fans young and old. The bands that graced these stages ranged from 90s metal like Korn and Limp Bizkit, to the newer metal acts like A Day to Remember , Mastodon, Bring me the Horizon and Five Finger Death Punch. The festival gave the veteran acts the closing slots with STP, Judas Priest, and Kid Rock wrapping up the shows. Louder than Life didn’t ignore up and coming acts such as Wilson, Thousand Foot Krutch, Miss May I and Memphis May Fire however; each brought in big crowds that were nothing to scoff at.

Some main events of the festival included Nonpoint blowing up their set and bringing the concert goers to life with an intense performance and explosive riffs; glam rockers Steel Panther kept the fans going with their crude comedic banter and impossibly catchy yet slightly obscene lyrics; and A Day to Remember sealed the deal after coming from their sold out show in Philadelphia. As they bounced around the stage, their contagious energy poured over the crowd while they performed hits such as “The Downfall of Us All” and “I’m Made of Wax Larry. What Are You Made Of?”. While these are just a few highlights, if you missed any of the bands at Louder than Life, you missed a good show.

If you passed up this opportunity to see all of your favorite bands, don’t worry. Interviews with Elias Soriano of Nonpoint and Lexxi Foxx and Satchel of Steel Panther can be seen below and the good people at Danny Wimmer Presents promise that they’re already working on next year’s Louder Than Life Festival. If you’re into gourmet food, good bourbon, and even better music, then Louder Than Life Festival is the place to be.

Jenn D’s Interviews with Elias Soriano of Nonpoint and Steel Panther’s Lexxi Foxx and Satchel:

(Videography by Al Wheat)

Judas Priest

Kid Rock

Mastodon

Five Finger Death Punch

Stone Temple Pilots

Volbeat

Korn

Steel Panther

POD

Papa Roach

Nonpoint

Limp Bizkit

A Day to Remember

Bring Me the Horizon