Louisville, KY

What many people see as just the city of the Kentucky Derby is in fact home to a thriving music scene. Historically known for hardcore bands like Slint and currently famous for indie rockers My Morning Jacket and VHS & Beta, Louisville is spawning many great rock and alt-country bands. The Ohio River provides a great focal and meeting point, not to mention a prime location for free concerts during the summer. The Forecastle Festival, "the largest gathering of musicians, artists, and activists in the American Midwest," takes place this month, brining in national powerhouses like De La Soul and Particle, as well as regional sensations such as How I Became The Bomb. Today the local music scene remains deeply rooted and tightly knit, but the energy is still hot enough to hatch bands like King Kong and Emanuel onto the national scene. Three hours from Nashville and two hours to Cincinnati, Louisville is a perfect stop before embarking on a tour to the north or Midwest.

Guide to Gigging in Louisville

Book a Gig: Venues

The Hideaway Saloon
1607 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 485-0114
www.myspace.com/hideawaysaloon
An energetic venue, The Hideaway caters more towards the raucous fans of bluegrass and jam-band rocking. Moving from music one night a week to music almost every night in 2004, you can expect good beer and friendly people. For booking, call the venue for details.

Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Road
Louisville, KY 40204
(502) 584-8088
www.theheadlinerlouisville.com
Though the club may be a bit intimidating with room for 600 music fans, two generous bars and a spacious balcony, the venue has a great atmosphere that welcomes local and regional acts alike. Smaller acts - usually emo and hardcore - frequently band together to fill a bill of up to 10 acts to ensure they can pack the venue. On its off-days the venue sometimes hosts musical workshops and demonstrations. Tickets are sold at the famous Ear-Xtacy record store, as well as at the venue and online. Most of the events are booked with Production Simple, so send EPKs to info@productionsimple.com or mail a demo to PO Box 4991, Louisville, KY 40204.

The Rudyard Kipling
422 West Oak Street
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 636-1311
www.therudyardkipling.com
With the venue also owning the guesthouse Mockingbird Crossing in nearby New Albany, Indiana (just across the river), The Rudyard Kipling is a convenient and welcome stop for touring musicians of all types. The venue boasts a friendly booking policy (bands keep 100 percent of their revenue from ticket and merchandise sales), and its intimate, 125-capacity room means up-close-and-personal performances. Contact owner Ken Pyle at homeagin@digicove.com or call the venue for booking information.

Gerstle's Place
3801 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40207
(502) 899-3609
www.gerstles.com
Opened in 1924, Gerstle's is the oldest bar in the neighborhood of St. Matthews. With a capacity of almost 200, the bar has top-quality recording equipment used in particular for the live taping of The Players Spot, an hour-long broadcast featuring local singer/songwriters. For information about playing at the venue, email Mike at gertiesmusic@aol.com or call the venue - the manager suggests sending a demo CD and a list of venues where your band currently plays.

Promote a Gig: Media

The Louisville Eccentric Observer
640 S. Fourth Street, Suite 100
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 895-9770
www.leoweekly.com
The LEO is Louisville's free weekly, choc-full of opinions and information on arts and entertainment. As the basic equivalent to southeast mainstay Creative Loafing, even sharing some syndicated columns, The LEO does its fair share of covering what's going on in Louisville and parts of Southern Indiana, as well. Email Mat Herron, the music editor, at mherron@leoweekly.com or call him at the publication's main line, extension 224. Music listings can also be emailed to leobeat@leoweekly.com.

The Louisville Scene
525 W. Broadway
PO Box 740031
Louisville, KY 40201
(502) 582-4011
www.louisvillescene.com
The weekly extra that comes with the city's newspaper, The Courier-Journal, The Louisville Scene does a very good job of covering the world of arts and entertainment, both local and national. Pop music critic and columnist Jeffrey Lee Puckett has an "Ask the Writer" page set up to answer any local music questions. Email Puckett at jpucket@courier-journal.com, submit your question at www.louisvillescene.com/columimsts/jeffreylee.html or call him at (502) 582-4160.

Gear/ Repairs

Guitar Emporium
1610 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 459-4153
www.guitar-emporium.com
Dealing in vintage, new and used guitars, basses, banjos, ukuleles, mandolins and amplifiers, Guitar Emporium also offers instrument repair and lessons for guitar and bass.