The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide - The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2026
Music
2026-02-06 05:37:08
TUNES & TRADITIONS
In a land of large-scale, live-music festivals featuring headlining hitmakers (ROMP Festival in Owensboro, produced by the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in June; Summer Motion on Ashland’s riverfront in July; Louder Than Life at Louisville's Highland Festival Grounds in September), it is obvious that Kentucky loves its music. The state’s musical culture encompasses all genres on stages large, small, indoors and out, as well as its groundbreaking, world-famous musicians and the landmark sites dedicated to their legacies.
THE BLUEGRASS BUFF
WOODSONGS OLD-TIME RADIO HOUR, Lexington
Join a live audience in celebration of grassroots music and the artists who create it during folksinger Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, produced on Mondays throughout the year at the Lyric Theatre. (Tickets are available at the door on the night of the show.)
BLUEGRASS HERITAGE MUSEUM, Winchester
At the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, peek inside the world of musician, author and teacher Homer Ledford through his re-created workshop, filled with the tools and equipment the master instrument-maker used in crafting thousands of dulcimers, banjos and other musical instruments.
MERLE TRAVIS BOYHOOD HOME AT PARADISE PARK, Powderly
Merle Travis Boyhood Home at Paradise Park shares the story of a young musical prodigy who grew up to become a major influence in country, developing a distinctive style of thumb- and finger-picking — known as Travis picking — along the way.
MOUNTAIN ARTS CENTER, Prestonsburg
Hear bluegrass, rock, country and gospel music performed by marquee names like Tyler Childers, Zach Williams and the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the state-of-the-art Mountain Arts Center, a stop just off the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway. Home to Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry, the MAC also houses an art gallery.
GRAYSON COUNTY BLUEGRASS OPRY, Leitchfield
The Grayson County Bluegrass Opry hosts free bluegrass music shows at the Old Judicial Building on the third Friday evening of each month, featuring a variety of acts, like the Shrimp-NGrits Bluegrass String Band of Owensboro and Rosine Sound of Ohio County.
BLUEGRASS MUSIC HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM, Owensboro
Experience the music behind the displays at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum through permanent and changing exhibits; audio guided tours; open bluegrass jams on Saturdays and Sundays; live music indoors and out; and priceless treasures, including Uncle Pen’s fiddle and Pete Seeger’s banjo.
THE BILL MONROE MUSEUM, Rosine
See Bill Monroe’s mandolins, last Cadillac and fan-made mementos at his namesake museum. It’s located across the street from the free-admission Rosine Barn Jamboree, which rocks live bluegrass music every Friday night from April to December and inspires impromptu jams. Sit inside or beneath the stars in your lawn chair.
APPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER, Hindman
Weave, make jewelry or pursue other crafts with workshops at the Appalachian Artisan Center, home of the Gallery Store filled with juried artworks by eastern Kentucky artists, the Appalachian School of Luthiery (musical instrument-making workshops) and the Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company (factory tours).
THE COUNTRY CONNOISSEURE
RENFRO VALLEY ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, Mount Vernon
More than 85 years of classic country, southern gospel and mountain bluegrass music soars from the historical stages of Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, a sprawling destination complex with Music Valley RV Park and next-door neighbor Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum, steward of Kentucky’s music heritage.
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, Franklin
A historical marker at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Franklin reads: “Country music icons Johnny Cash and June Carter were married here on March 1, 1968, one week after Cash proposed on stage in Ontario.” Why Kentucky versus Nashville? No waiting period.
MUHLENBERG COUNTY MUSIC MUSEUM, Central City
Among the musicians celebrated at the Muhlenberg County Music Museum — the Everly Brothers, John Prine and Merle Travis — is flutist Jim Walker, a local who performed in hundreds of Hollywood movies, including the solo in “Titanic.” See scooters, hot rods and souped-up racecars under the same roof at the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame.
COUNTRY MUSIC HIGHWAY CRAZY QUILT MURAL, Ashland
The Beatles’ iconic “Abbey Road” album cover gets a country music twist with superstars Wynonna Judd, Naomi Judd and Billy Ray Cyrus striking a pose beneath a sunbeam formed in part by the neck of a guitar in the Country Music Highway Crazy Quilt Mural.
JOEL RAY’S LINCOLN JAMBOREE, Hodgenville
Jerry Lee Lewis, Skeeter Davis, Earl Scruggs — dozens of country music legends have graced the stage at Joel Ray’s Lincoln Jamboree, Kentucky’s longest-running live country-music show. Plus, you can enjoy homestyle cooking at “Kentucky’s finest family-style restaurant.”
COUNTRY MUSIC HERITAGE HALL, Ashland
The Country Music Heritage Hall at Highlands Museum & Discovery Center honors a dozen local musicians — Billy Ray Cyrus among them — in a gallery filled with their stage costumes and personal memorabilia, like the red dress Naomi Judd wore for the 1988 American Country Music Awards.
LORETTA LYNN HOMEPLACE, Van Lear
Grab a soda at Webb’s Grocery, once a coal-mining camp store, where the Loretta Lynn Homeplace tour begins. In the family cabin, witness the humble beginnings that shaped a coal miner’s daughter into the legendary first lady of country music.
U.S. 23 COUNTRY MUSIC HIGHWAY, Staffordsville
Embark on an essential pilgrimage for country music fans: the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum and the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway, which meanders through seven eastern counties and highlights a veritable gold mine of country music icons — The Judds, Keith Whitley, Crystal Gayle — and landmarks connected to them.
THE LIVE MUSIC FAN
THE AMP AT LOG STILL DISTILLERY, New Haven
Live music rings through Bourbon Country, May through October, with a stellar lineup of nationally known artists at The Amp at Log Still Distillery — a 2,300-seat immersive experience offering distillery tours, a tasting room, a fishing lake and unique lodging.
“THE STEPHEN FOSTER STORY,” Bardstown
Let the cast of Kentucky’s Official Outdoor Drama serenade you with “Beautiful Dreamer” and other timeless tunes penned by the Father of American Music during “The Stephen Foster Story,” a musical with twirling hoopskirts that features My Old Kentucky Home, aka Federal Hill, as its backdrop.
THE NOOK, Danville
A cool gathering space with a chill vibe, The Nook is a live-music lounge that brings in outstanding musicians. Guests love the martini bar and free old-school arcade. From karaoke and comedy to mixology magic and ladies’ nights, something’s always happening.
HISTORIC THOMAS HOUSE, Horse Cave
Country and bluegrass old-time jams happen every Thursday evening at the Historic Thomas House. And on the third weekend in September, two dozen country and bluegrass musicians crowd two stages nearby for the free Horse Cave Heritage Festival.
GATTON PARK, Lexington
Enter the new multi-use Gatton Park on the Town Branch through a pedestrian tunnel and catch sight of the amphitheater, a gorgeous music venue surrounded by park amenities, including a landscaped plaza, recreation lawn, bike trail and accessible water playground.
THE GROVE, Glasgow
The only music venue in Kentucky with tree houses, The Grove is a happy place channeling woodland fairy vibes. From GRAMMY-winning fiddlers to rock tribute bands and everything in between, this wooded concert hall sets the stage for memorable open-air music experiences.
THE PARAMOUNT, Ashland
From a historical movie house showing talkies to a hometown film locale for Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” video to a premier performing arts center, The Paramount presents Broadway musicals, concerts and comedy shows featuring nationally touring acts in an atmospheric 1930s theater setting.
MEGACORP PAVILION, Newport
One of the country’s few indoor/outdoor facilities with state-of-the-art production capabilities among its many amenities, MegaCorp Pavilion is further elevated by superb skyline views. Expect marquee names and more than 180 shows annually, including a full summer lineup.
YOU’VE GOTTA SEE THIS!
KENTUCKY MUSIC TRAIL, Eastern, Central, Western Regions
From the hills to the hollers to the concert halls, Kentucky is alive with the sound of music. Celebrating that musical heritage and those musical moments is the Kentucky Music Trail, a passport app guiding visitors to the state’s musical roots through more than 55 significant sites.
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