How This Kentucky Music Festival Celebrates Spirit of the State

LEXINGTON, KY.—The Railbird music festival returned to The Infield at Red Mile June 6 and 7, bringing more than 30 artists to the racetrack with headlining performances from Tyler Childers and The Lumineers, plus Zach Top, Ella Langley, Caamp, Mt. Joy, Sam Barber, Muscadine Bloodline, Stephen Wilson Jr., The Wallflowers, Margo Price, and more.

Named after the horse-racing enthusiasts who are known to hang on the rail that lines the track, this year’s edition of the music festival—the fourth at Lexington’s Red Mile Gaming and Racing—was its biggest yet, selling out Sunday with over 45,000 in attendance. The festival is produced by C3 Presents, a concert promotion and festival production subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment.

On the final night of the festival, Kentucky native Childers was named the inaugural inductee to the new Railbird Festival Hall of Fame at Red Mile. Kentucky’s Governor, Andy Beshear, introduced the new honor via a pre-recorded message, while his senior advisor, Rocky Adkins, was on hand to present the acclamation to the Grammy Award-winning artist, ahead of his headlining performance.

^{Tyler Childers headlined day two of the festival. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

Established in partnership with Beshear and Red Mile, the acclamation will honor Kentucky-born artists who perform at the festival and have made lasting contributions to the Commonwealth’s musical legacy. An inductee will be named each year at the festival.

In another nod to the state’s culture, the festival’s unique two-day “Superfecta” ticket package—which was named after a horse-racing wager where you must correctly select the first, second, third, and fourth place finishers in the exact order—was designed for two attendees and featured exclusive on-stage viewing, front-of-stage viewing at all three stages, an invitation to a pre-show reception with a tour of the festival grounds, light bites and drinks, and access to all platinum, VIP, and GA+ amenities.

While the Kentucky event doesn’t boast as many brand activations as some other well-known music fests, the grounds hosted a handful of big names including Mountain Dew (which originally comes from neighboring state Tennessee) and White Claw.

Keep scrolling to see more from this year’s Railbird music festival…

^{This year’s edition of the music festival was its biggest yet, selling out Sunday with over 45,000 in attendance. Photo: Andrea Escobar Garcia, Railbird Festival}

^{Festivalgoers packed Red Mile to see Childers perform. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{There were nods to Kentucky culture, including bourbon barrels as tables, throughout the grounds. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{The Lumineers headlined night one of the festival. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{Stephen Wilson Jr. performed during the first day. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

The Bourbon Hideout Powered by VisitLEX

^{The Bourbon Hideout was a tucked-away, all-access space where attendees could sip on rare, new, and vintage pours from Justin’s House of Bourbon, score giveaways from the Lexington Sporting Club (the pro soccer club based in Lexington), shop local apparel from Kentucky for Kentucky, and snack on Mingua Brothers Jerky from Bluegrass Holler Provisions. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

Mountain Dew’s American Dew Outpost

^{At the Mountain Dew activation, attendees could sample the newly launched Dirty Mountain Dew and participate in a line-dancing challenge to win a Mountain Dew-branded Stetson. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{Fans could also customize merch or get their hats hot iron branded. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{Metal branding stamps in the shape of various icons were on display. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

White Claw Shore Club

^{White Claw brought its festival-friendly Shore Club activation to Railbird, where attendees could grab samples of the brand’s seltzers. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{There was also a customization station where fans could apply face gems. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

Montucky Cold Snacks’ Yeehaw Inn

^{At Montucky Cold Snacks’ activation, attendees were able to play “Drinko” to win exclusive merch. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{The colorful exterior of the lager brand’s space was designed to look like an inn, with a horse statue covered in faux greenery. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{Inside, the activation resembled a motel lobby with a check-in desk and wood paneling. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

Josh Cellars

^{Attendees were able to discover Josh Cellars’ lineup of crafted wines, including Seaswept and the new Seaswept Sparkling. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{Festivalgoers could pose inside a coastal-inspired photo booth with branded props. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

^{The reflective, bright red exterior of the activation created an eye-catching moment. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

BeatBox Honky Tonk

^{Festivalgoers could try out BeatBox’s new Coconut Breeze flavor and grab exclusive custom merch, including limited-edition bandanas, at the ready-to-drink brand’s activation. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

Yerba Madre

^{The ready‑to‑drink yerba mate brand was on site handing out product samples and swag. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}

ZYN

^{Attendees lined up to get ZYN nicotine pouches at the brand’s activation. Photo: Andrew Sturgill/BizBash}