u/Grease1739

Advice for first timers and people going solo

I’ve done general admission 4 times now(and loved it) and have done VIP 3x this year will be my 4th.

A few thoughts/tips: I’m local so the areas I frequent during the festival are the local hotel bar across the street after the final act as ride share and leaving are a real pain in the butt. (Definitely use a shuttle service if you can).

I definitely recommend buying some nice shoe inserts a day before the festival. Walking never bothers me and I’m in fairly decent shape and my feet were killing me by the end of day 2 a few years back. I bought shoe inserts and it made a huge difference on the gravel. I still am not sure why VIP get gravel and general admission get nice turf.

I’m someone who tends to stand toward the front and try to rail ride or close to it most of the day and am not overly chatty but I think it makes the festival more fun if you make small talk with people you will be around so you can lookout for each other/hold spots if you need to use the restroom.

In general admission my advice is to stop drinking or at least use the restroom 2 hours before the main acts go on because if you are up front it can be a bit stressful getting back up front after you leave to go to the restroom as the main acts get closer. B&B crowds are generally friendly but every year there are a few hard \*\*\*\*\* that like to throw a non harmful elbow as you pass them going up front, refuse to move or make comments as you try to get back to your group. (I understand the look when a group of 4-6 people try to barge up front right at headliner time, but never understood the tough guy mentality when it’s just 1 person by themselves making their way back from the restroom.

Overall, the weather isn’t too hot and I’ve never gotten cold at night.

Make sure to stay hydrated with the free water and chill toward the back during the day for acts you don’t care about as there is usually a decent amount to do and see around the grounds. Crowds don’t tend to fill in until around 5 or 6 PM.

I’ve been to Louder than Life, Buckle Up, Gentleman of the Road, Forecastle and Stadium festivals. Boubon and Beyond is my favorite due to the ease of entry, variety of bands and generally friendly crowds that have a wide range of ages.

For things to do away from the festival grounds I’d try to do a bourbon tour downtown at Old Forrester or Angels Envy. Also, Bardstown Road is where the locals go to hang at bars, not 4th street live.

I love this festival every year because I come away with at least 4-5 bands i had not known about prior to the bill being announced that I end up adding to my music library. This year is loaded with 90s acts I already love but I’m wondering; who I should check out based on my planned lineup I hope to see?.(I don’t like country in general, with few exceptions).

Bands I plan to see each day:

Thursday: Foo, Gary Clark Jr. Joan Jett(bet she overlaps headliner), 4 Non-Blondes, The Fray

Friday: Mumford, Kacey Musgraves,Foster the People, Flaming Lips, Violent Femmes, Jet and Noah Rinker

Saturday: Jason Isbell, Squeeze, Adam Ant, Buffalo Traffic Jam, Cracker, Jason Scott and the High Heat

Sunday: (Fully expect heartbreak on overlaps but I wish they would just make Oak and Barrel a day for Gen-X and young millennials and keep all of these over there: DMB, Hootie, Counting Crows, Portugal the Man, Jesse Wells, Amos Lee, Better than Ezra, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osbourne, Vertical Horizon, Tonic, Paula Cole, The Verve Pipe

Who am I missing that I should check out?

Thanks in advance!

We were just emailed today saying we were upgraded to complimentary concierge from our deck 10 bump-out to a deck 12 concierge verandah. The concierge verandah is a bit smaller and I absolutely love sitting out there late at night when everyone is asleep, just enjoying the ocean. However we figured, “Why not take the upgrade for free?”

We never considered concierge due to the cost feeling way over priced; and our lack of a need for the services. (We do our own excursions, don’t book cabanas and likely won’t be doing Remy or Palo this trip, as we don’t feel like leaving the kids to dine on their own as we don’t see them as much because they love the kids clubs.)

The idea of someone “waiting”on me in my cabin feels a bit bougie for me and I can see myself thinking, what am I supposed to do/ask the attendant to do?)***EDIT: Thank you everyone for clarifying you don’t have your own private attendant.***

My question is, what other benefits should we try to enjoy outside of the free alcohol from 5-10, free waters and soft drinks(which are free all around the ship so not much of a perk) and free popcorn at shows?

I’m grateful for the upgrade but when I see how expensive concierge cabins are(more than double what we paid) I’m struggling to see the value and just trying to enjoy/take advantage of the perks.

Thank you for any advice!

Advice for first timers and people going solo

I’ve done general admission 4 times now(and loved it) and have done VIP twice and again this year.

A few thoughts/tips: I’m local so the areas I frequent during the festival are the local hotel bar across the street after the final act as ride share and leaving are a real pain in the butt. (Definitely use a shuttle service if you can).

I definitely recommend buying some nice shoe inserts a day before the festival. Walking never bothers me and I’m in fairly decent shape and my feet were killing me by the end of day 2 a few years back. I bought shoe inserts and it made a huge difference on the gravel. I still am not sure why VIP get gravel and general admission get nice turf.

I’m someone who tends to stand toward the front and try to rail ride or close to it most of the day and am not overly chatty but I think it makes the festival more fun if you make small talk with people you will be around so you can lookout for each other/hold spots if you need to use the restroom.

In general admission my advice is to stop drinking or at least use the restroom 2 hours before the main acts go on because if you are up front it can be a bit stressful getting back up front after you leave to go to the restroom as the main acts get closer. B&B crowds are generally friendly but every year there are a few hard \*\*\*\*\* that like to throw a non harmful elbow as you pass them going up front, refuse to move or make comments as you try to get back to your group. (I understand the look when a group of 4-6 people try to barge up front right at headliner time, but never understood the tough guy mentality when it’s just 1 person by themselves making their way back from the restroom.

Overall, the weather isn’t too hot and I’ve never gotten cold at night.

Make sure to stay hydrated with the free water and chill toward the back during the day for acts you don’t care about as there is usually a decent amount to do and see around the grounds. Crowds don’t tend to fill in until around 5 or 6 PM.

I’ve been to Louder than Life, Buckle Up, Gentleman of the Road, Forecastle and Stadium festivals. Boubon and Beyond is my favorite due to the ease of entry, variety of bands and generally friendly crowds that have a wide range of ages.

For things to do away from the festival grounds I’d try to do a bourbon tour downtown at Old Forrester or Angels Envy. Also, Bardstown Road is where the locals go to hang at bars, not 4th street live.

I know the RIP Tour podcast stopped recording and reformed(without Gary) and are now the Stay & Scream Pod cast. They’ve been my favorite HHN pod from the start(sorry HHN 365 and HHE, you guys are required listening too).

What’s odd is they all seemed to be pretty close friends but appear to no longer follow Gary (vice versa) on social media or even mentioned his absence on the new show/reason for leaving RIP and restarting.

I enjoyed Gary and the view from across the pond vibe he brought to the show.

Does anyone know why they reformed and Gary was was replaced with Brady?