By Katie Potzick
Music festivals are sprouting up all over the country, including a new addition right here in Louisville.
The brainchild of University of Louisville student Melanie Horn, The Golden Road Music and Art Festival is a Grateful Dead tribute festival to be held July 31 to Aug. 2nd at American Turners on River Road. The festival is going to have bands playing music from all stages of the Grateful Dead’s career, from jug music to bluegrass to rock.
The music will start around 4 p.m. on Friday and finish up around 8 p.m. on Sunday. The festival will climax on Saturday with music all day and a celebration of Jerry Garcia’s 67th birthday anniversary.
“We thought it would be fitting to have it over his birthday,” said Melanie Horn a U of L freshman and Golden Road organizer.
The festival will promote camping out and there will be indoor and outdoor facilities, although Horn notes that nearby hotels will also be available.
There will also be a bar, softball field, and horse shoe pits on the premises for added entertainment. Some notable people will be at the festival including Steve Kimock’s son, iconic rock photographer Don Aters, David Gan from the Dead hour and Donna Goodchaux, who did the Dead’s female vocals from 1972-79. The music lineup consists of some well known local bands such as the Merry Pranksters and KY Fried Picking and other bands from the tri-state region.
The idea for the festival came to a group of music lovers after working the Abbey Road Festival, the Beatles’ tribute festival in Louisville.
“It just seemed like a great idea that a lot of people would be interested in,” said Horn.
Also involved is Myron Koch, a local name who organizes a lot of the top music festivals in Louisville such as Peak Summit, and the Jug Band Jubilee.
Horn’s intentions for Golden Road exceed those of a traditional music festival, however. The event is going to have an art show with Grateful Dead inspired pieces, which the organizers are encouraging U of L students to enter.
The festival is also encouraging people to bring furniture with them to donate to Habitat for Humanities Restore. A truck will come to the site and pick up all the donations.
Students at U of L such as Michael Eaton seem excited for the event, which brings a new breed of festival to the local music scene.
“A Grateful Dead festival sounds like an awesome summer event,” said Eaton, a junior exercise and sports administration major.
Presale tickets at a discounted price are on sale now with $20 for one day and $50 for the whole weekend. The regular sale will start two weeks after with $35 dollars for a one day ticket and $75 for a weekend ticket.
