Louisville's music trifesta wraps up
Louisville's music festival "trifesta" wrapped up Sunday night with the end of Louder than Life.
Tens of thousands of fans flooded the Kentucky fairgrounds for the three back-to-back music festivals, which included Hometown Rising, Bourbon & Beyond and Louder than Life.
The inaugural Hometown Rising country music festival sold out, with more than 70,000 people attending over the two days. Festival organizers say huge crowds also turned out for Bourbon & Beyond the following weekend and that more than 40,000 people packed in for each of Louder than Life's three days.
The "trifesta" brought several big names to Louisville, including Luke Bryan, Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses. Organizers say the back-to-back festivals also brought money and tourists into the city.
"The economic impact it has on this city from the hotels to the restaurants is well into the millions. And so you look at what this is doing for our community, it's bringing people to Louisville who may not come otherwise," said Fred Minnick, the bourbon curator for the festival trio.
This was the first year the festivals were held on the fairgrounds at the Kentucky Expo Center. Last summer, organizers had to cut Bourbon & Beyond short and cancel Louder than Life altogether when heavy rains caused massive flooding at Champions Park where the festivals were previously held.
The new venue caught some in nearby neighborhoods by surprise and many made noise complaints to the city following the first two festivals. Organizers used additional noise steering and management technology to reduce the exposure to the areas most affected during Bourbon and Beyond ahead of Louder than Life.
The event producers will hold a community meeting in November to get feedback about the trifesta.