Help to “stomp the stigma” of mental health at The Big Stomp on August 18 and 19. Local, national and emerging acts covering several genres — from rock and bluegrass to electronica and more — will take the stage for two days on a 90-acre nature preserve in Louisville near the Parklands (8401 Dawson Hill Road).

Molly Jones and her family purchased the property in 2011. AfterJones’ son Pete took his own life six years ago, she and her daughter Michele set out to honor his life — and his love of music. They decided to launch a music festival, calling it PeteFest. The property’s large field took on a purpose as the site of the festival.

“It doesn’t have any utilities, no power, no water, no sewage. It’s just grass and trees,” said Jones. “So we go out there and set up a little village. We bring in our water tanks, porta potties, and power generators. For the performing artists, we try to get a little bit of every genre.” 

The festival was later rebranded from PeteFest to The Big Stomp — continuing the mission to rally the community to champion mental health and suicide prevention. Learn more about The Pete Foundation.

The lineup includes headliners Lettuce, Bahamas, Heartless Bastards, Doom Flamingo, Same As It Ever Was, Wombo, Boa Boys, The Psychodelics, Hot Brown Smackdown, Houseplant, Wayne Graham, Laid Back Country Picker, Mojo Thunder, Rosario, Scott T Smith, The Young Romantics, The Afrophysicists, Shimona, Casey Powell and Isolation Tank Ensemble, in addition to and several more national and local acts.