LOUDER THAN LIFE
BRINGS IN OVER 36,000 FANS FOR
LOUISVILLE'S OCTOBER 4 & 5 WEEKEND FESTIVAL
CELEBRATING ROCK MUSIC, BOURBON, WHISKEY, CRAFT BEER
AND "GOURMET MAN FOOD"

The first annual LOUDER THAN LIFE FESTIVAL closed out the October 4-5 weekend with 36,826 in attendance at Champions Park near downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The festival celebrated Louisville's culture and cuisine, with a selection of rock music, bourbon, whiskey, craft beer and "gourmet man food" curated personally by Danny Wimmer.

The inaugural festival featured performances from more than 30 of the biggest bands in hard rock and metal—including Kid Rock, Judas Priest, Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Limp Bizkit, Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington, Volbeat, Papa Roach and more—playing on three stages, plus celebrity chef appearances by Chris Santos, Bill Kunz, and Tom Coghill on the Jägermeister Cooking Stage. More than 70 food and beverage vendors were on hand to help celebrate the bourbon culture and culinary heritage of this unique American city.

Plans are already underway for LOUDER THAN LIFE 2015 and festival producers are working closely with the city to make the event even better for locals and the tens of thousands of fans that traveled from around the U.S. and as far away as Australia, the Netherlands and South America for this one-of-a-kind experience.

Festival producers Danny Wimmer and Danny Hayes of Danny Wimmer Presents, and Charlie Steele of 93.1 The Fox said, "We want to thank everyone who attended the LOUDER THAN LIFE festival. This event could not have happened without the cooperation and vision of our fans, Mayor Greg Fischer, the City of Louisville, Louisville Parks Department, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Water Tower, all of our bourbon, beer and food vendors, Jack Daniel's, our sponsors and partners and of course the great bands that performed. We collectively set out to create something that would make a statement about rock, bourbon and food; something that screamed LOUDER THAN LIFE. While we are very happy with our first year, we know there are areas we can do better. We have heard the feedback from our patrons, partners and neighbors and we are committed to making LOUDER THAN LIFE a unique, long term, annual event in Louisville."

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Bill Acton from Fender/Fender Specialty joined festival producer Danny Wimmer Friday night for a ceremonial christening of the LOUDER THAN LIFE main stage with a bottle of bourbon and a guitar (photos below).

(Mayor Greg Fischer, Danny Wimmer, Bill Acton)

(Mayor Greg Fischer and Bill Acton)

(Mayor Greg Fischer)

Mayor Fischer also addressed the LOUDER THAN LIFE crowd from the stage on Sunday. Watch a video clip of his appearance here: http://youtu.be/icUIHu0S3GY.

In addition, Mayor Fischer recently elaborated on LOUDER THAN LIFE, saying, "Louisville is home to some of the world's best music and food and there's definitely only one area to come to for bourbon, so where else would you have a festival experience such as LOUDER THAN LIFE? We're excited that we could host this great event in such a super venue down by our waterfront and show all the music, food and bourbon fans what our city and people are all about."

The media had overwhelmingly positive things to say about the festival, as evidenced below:

"The inaugural Louder Than Life Festival transformed Champions Park into a hard rock haven Saturday, kicking off the two-day festival with big numbers and a lot of decibels. A strong crowd had filed in by early afternoon and business was as brisk as the weather. Louder Than Life's motif of mixing metal-centric bands with food and alcohol a few notches above that served at a typical festival worked well."

—Jeffrey Lee Puckett, Louisville Courier-Journal, October 5, 2014

"…the festival was packed all weekend…the parking lots were filled with out of state license plates…it seemed to be a success. That's great for the city, and there are clearly a lot of metal and hard rock fans hungry for a dedicated festival. Rock 'n' roll may not be operating at a level comparable to its peak, but it's clearly still alive and very much kicking."

—Jeffrey Lee Puckett, Louisville Courier-Journal, October 6, 2014

"Loud is an energy and it flowed from each part and every person at Louisville Champions Park whether it was the music, food, or drinks that caused it…the crowd is a sort of family…The sense of family is rooted in adoration of the bands who encourage everyone to watch out for each other…Danny Wimmer Presents, the producers of Louder Than Life and other hard rock music festivals, brought the family together and they made this festival special by including an emphasis on food and drink. To give myself a taste of something special (meaning non-local which a Louisville.com reader can get any time) I visited Jack Daniel's Whiskey Experience and got the pulled pork plate. Firstly, Jack Daniel's broke the festival stereotype that vendors jack up prices during the festival as every meal Jack Daniel's served was just $8. Their service was quick…When I saw my food, I understood what man food meant because for a measly $8 I got a heaping portion of delicious pulled pork with bread, baked beans, cole slaw, and fries…Lastly of note at a festival that turned out to be a festival for the eyes and taste buds as well as the ears, was the venue itself…The wide-open space proved great for both those who wanted to mosh and those who wanted to sit on a blanket."

—Will Ford, Louisville.com, October 6, 2014

"…it was a real spectacle. People came from as far as Boston… I have to hand it to the LTL folks, the schedule adherence and positioning of the main stages was pretty impressive…"

—David Phillips, Louisville.com, October 5, 2014

"Concerts with some of hard rock's biggest names, dozens of food trucks and a bourbon lounge had music fans in awe during the inaugural Louder Than Life Rock Festival. With names like Limp Bizkit, Korn and Kid Rock, the festival drew not only locals but fans from around the country."

—Michaela MacDonald, WHAS-TV (ABC 11, Louisville), October 4, 2014

"Metal bands are the magnet drawing thousands to Champions Park off River Road…The planning for the event began a year and a half ago, but the result was what you might expect in year two or three. That might speak louder than whatever's coming off the main stage."

—Gordon Boyd, WAVE-TV (NBC 3, Louisville), October 5, 2014

Sponsors for LOUDER THAN LIFE included Monster Energy Drink, Miller Lite, Jack Daniel's, Jägermeister, Marshall Headphones, Crazy Dave's Music, MetroPCS, F*ck Cancer, Yelp!, Victory Records, Leo Weekly, Roadrunner Records, Louisville Slugger Museum, Volt, Revolver Magazine, Alternative Press Magazine, Loudwire, Fanpass.TV, UBER, Muhammad Ali Center, Crowne Plaza, Galt House, Spinelli's, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Original Makers Club, Louisville Metro Parks Foundation and more.

LOUDER THAN LIFE is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, a producer of some of the biggest rock festivals in America, including Rock On The Range, Monster Energy's Welcome To Rockville, Monster Energy's Fort Rock Festival, Monster Energy's Carolina Rebellion, Monster Energy's AFTERSHOCK Festival, Epicenter—Southern California's Rock Festival, The Big Ticket, The Big Orlando, Chill On The Hill, and Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance Tour.

Champions Park is located at 2050 River Road in Louisville, KY, less than three miles from downtown.

• Website: www.LouderThanLifeFestival.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/louderthanlifefestival
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ltlfest
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/louderthanlifefest

(LOUDER THAN LIFE festival entrance)

(LOUDER THAN LIFE overhead shot; by Wales Hunter/Louisville Metro Government)

(Rob Halford of Judas Priest on Monster Main Stage)

(Kid Rock on Monster Main Stage)

(A Day To Remember crowd at Monster Main Stage)

(Butcher Babies on Marshall Headphones Stage)

(All photos by Scott Uchida unless noted otherwise.)