A music festival that promises to deliver Woodstock-era songs on the 50th anniversary of the historic concert is planned Aug. 17 at the Casey Jones Distillery.
If a pilgrimage to the site of the original Woodstock in rural New York sounds expensive or complicated, the local version could be a 1960s’ music lovers best bet in the Hopkinsville area.
The Lights Out Festival will feature the Woodstock Rock Orkestra. And unlike the concert of old, remembered for three days of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, the concert at Casey Jones is billed as “family-friendly” with music, food and camping.
General admission tickets are $25, and children 12 and under pay $10. Adults can also get special VIP admission to an area with a bar, tables and chairs at $37.50 per ticket.
The Lights Out Festival is a benefit concert for the Pennyroyal Arts Council.
Gates will open at 10 a.m., followed by warm-up music on the back porch starting at 2:30 p.m. with food trucks and distillery tours and tastings. Food providers confirmed so far include Holiday Burger, Soul Fuel, Hugging Tree, Vansauwa’s Tacos and the Cupcake Lady, said Peg Hays, co-owner of Casey’s.
The main concert will begin at 7 p.m.
Kentucky natives Mark Jones and Lee Carroll direct the Woodstock Rock Orkestra. Chip Graham and Alonzo Pennington, of the Hopkinsville area, are also part of the dozen-plus lineup of musicians.
They will perform songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Still Nash and Young, and other Woodstock-era groups.
Camping will be available on the distillery grounds Aug. 16 and 17 at $10. Every camper must have a ticket and be accompanied by an adult.
Advance tickets are available at the Alhambra Theatre or online at www.pennyroyalarts.organd www.caseyjonesdistillery.com.
Sponsors of the Lights Out Festival are Budweiser and Comfort Suites of Hopkinsville.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
