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Ive been searching around the forum and found a couple of links. Aside from the links, do you think the music scene in the city is growing? Is there opportunity for open mics etc? Im getting ready to do graduate studies in business and have been hard pressed to find somewhere where with good schools, a music scene, affordable rentals, and a good job market? Have I come to the right place?
Ive been searching around the forum and found a couple of links. Aside from the links, do you think the music scene in the city is growing? Is there opportunity for open mics etc? Im getting ready to do graduate studies in business and have been hard pressed to find somewhere where with good schools, a music scene, affordable rentals, and a good job market? Have I come to the right place?
i don't live in louisville but continue to do my reseatch as well so when i re-lo i will be set to go.
some local acts depending on your types of music selection are:
butch rice
alanna fugate
amber adair
hark the herald
corn whiskey
dog water
Kentucky has a rich, rich heritage of roots and country music and, of course, this is the Bluegrass State. Here inside the city of Louisville, things stay rich and turn even more interesting. We have always been a gateway, crossroads town: from the Falls of the Ohio here that made riverboats up from the Mississippi stop, portage and commingle - to the major UPS hub that brings in goods - and business - from all over the country. Something about that liminal status infects and informs our sense of music. Genres bend and collide, textures and patterns shift. The Villebillies are a rap band that uses a banjo... My Morning Jacket shifts from Southern Rock to sounding like King Crimson or the Beach Boys... Will Oldham is pegged 'alt country' but he records with acts like Bjork or Tortoise... Lucky Pineapple sounds like a beautiful disaster in a music shop: guitars, congas, trumpet, accordian...
If you go to Ear-Xtacy, our major 'record' shop, you'll find a bank of cd bins that goes on about 15 feet that has music by local bands - and that doesn't include 'national' acts like Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy) or My Morning Jacket or VHS or Beta or Freakwater or Nappy Roots (part Louisville, part Bowling Green KY). Actually the fact that we have a 'major,' viable, lively music store is an indication of how important music is here. Many of the clerks are in bands (most notably Jason Noble of Shipping News and Rachel's) and musicians and fans hang out at the store till 10 at night. In most cities around the country, downloading has killed or wounded the old record shop, but here, people want to taste music and talk about it, or just be around it. I know I do. (and EarX frequently has bands play free concerts right in the shop)
Back in the 90's Playboy called Louisville the next big place in music - like Seattle or Athens or Minneapolis. At the time the band Slint (and Squirrel Bait) spawned a school of bands that came to be pegged 'post-rock': June of '44, Rodan, King Kong, Shipping News... and, when the movement communicated with Chicago, bands like Sea and Cake and Tortoise and The For Carnation. Like the Louisville music scene itself as I have described it, post-rock is characterized by constantly changing textures and tempos, by surprising shifts of light and dark, loudness and softness.
Producer Steve Albini remarked that there must be something in the water that gives Louisville its musical intelligence and originality.
Any given night you can find good music playing here. The Jazz Factory has great local and national acts playing all the time. There is a fine jazz education scene here. Check out the band Paradigm.
Air Devil Inn and the Rudyard Kipling often have country acts. Every year ADI hosts a Townes Van Zandt tribute. One great local band to look for is Tim Krekle.
Check out the great blues voice of Tyrone Cotton.
The Louisville Orchestra has a long tradition of supporting (they used to record them regularly) contemporary composers. We have an active opera company.
I haven't mentioned 'national' acts. I obviously love all kinds of music, but indie stuff is my favorite, so I frequently go to Headliners and the 930 Art Center (Yo La Tengo just played there)... Louisville does a good job getting better, but not great (Cincy and Indy drain us a bit) - of getting big acts in. We did get Arcade Fire at the Riverfront, and it was a tremendous concert...
I could go on and on... I haven't mentioned the major national acts that come through town on a regular basis. Check out the sidebar links under "Local Talent" on backseatsandbar.com. Louisville rocks.
Louisville's convert scene should improve dramatically once the new downtown arena and 12,000 seat outdoor amphitheater at the fairgrounds are both completed in 2 years. Freedom Hall is a severely antiquated concert facility and is better suited for tractor pulls There are a lot of really good smaller outdoor concerts at 4th Street Live, Waterfront Park, and at the Expo center during the KY state fair
I couldn't tell if the question was about where to play music or where to go or hear music...
I forgot to mention that several area radio stations play a lot of local artists. 93.1 and 105.1 both play an hour of local bands only on Sunday night. In addition, all Friday concerts at the Jazz Factory are replayed on WFPL on Sunday morning (known as "Late Set @ the JF")
Thank you censusdata! that is really good to know. : ) im getting anxious
Two more sites I think you will like. Louisville is an eclectic, funky city on the cheap. I have lived all over and it is far and away the most underrated, undiscovered city I have seen. Good luck
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
what is the music scene like?
There are a lot of really good smaller outdoor concerts at 4th Street Live, Waterfront Park, and at the Expo center during the KY state fair
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