In honor of Woodstock's 50th anniversary, the Pennyroyal Arts Council and Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville are recreating their own weekend-long festival of music, munchies, and moonshine. Executive director of the arts council, Margaret Prim, visits Sounds Good to discuss the event.
From the Pennyroyal Arts Council website:
"Get out your bell bottoms and tie-dye and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival. The Woodstock Rock Orkestra will perform a spectacular three hour concert of iconic music that helped define a generation and forever changed the American music scene. Directed by Kentucky natives Mark Jones and Lee Carroll, and featuring standouts like Jonell Mosser and Hopkinsville's own Chip Graham and Alonzo Pennington, the Woodstock Rock Orkestra plus its dozen players will perform the crown jewels of the '69 festival along with other Woodstock era hits to deliver a gripping, unforgettable concert under the stars."
The Lights Out Festival will be held on Saturday, August 17th at the Casey Jones Distillery, located at 2815 Witty Lane in Hopkinsville. Gates open at 10 a.m., after which attendees are invited to take a tour of the prohibition-style moonshine distillery, browse the gift shop, and sample Casey Jones' variety of small batch liquors. Several food trucks on-site will open at 11 a.m.
At 2:30, the Xtraordinary Gentlemen ft. Alonzo Pennington will perform a two hour set on the back deck of the distillery while sound checks for the Rock Orkestra take place on the main stage. At 7 p.m., the Woodstock Rock Orkestra begins their set of classic hits played at Woodstock by Creedence Clearwater Revival; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Janis Joplin; Santana, and more. After a brief intermission, the supergroup will return to the stage with a British Invasion-era set of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and more.
General admission tickets are available for purchase online ($25) on the Pennyroyal Arts Council websiteand the Casey Jones Distillery website. Tickets will also be on sale at the door for $30. Tickets for kids 12 and under are $10. Festival-goers are welcome to purchase 1 or 2-day camping passes.
The art council and distillery suggest attendees bring sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, and folding chairs or blankets for sitting. Prohibited items include any outside food or beverage, illegal substances, pets, weapons of any kind, and professional photo, video, or audio recording equipment.
The Lights Out Festival benefits the Pennyroyal Arts Council, a staple of the western Kentucky arts community since 1977. "We think it's just going to be a really fun event and we're going to recreate Woodstock right here in western Kentucky," Prim says. "This is a fundraiser for the Pennyroyal Arts Council, so this really helps our mission and what we do. We don't do the things we do without the supper of our community so we really appreciate that. We have a wonderful community that really supports us nicely and we get to bring a lot of great things in the coming season."
