FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!! There’s your Louder Than Life review. That’s all you need, as that was the phrase of the weekend. Slayer played opening night, but shouts of “FUCKIN’ SLAYER!” could still be heard well into Sunday night. But, if we’re being honest here, FUCKIN’ SLEEP TOKEN!!! Because no other band or artist at Louder Than Life, this year or any previous years, has drawn the crowd size that Sleep Token did Friday night. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
It’s that time of year again where we trade out the blue and white collar, clean-cut, CEO and managerial crowd of Bourbon & Beyond for the spiked collar, ripped-clothed, disenfranchised youth of Louder Than Life. Loudmouths from all 50 states and numerous countries around the world descended upon Louisville, pumping much-needed revenue into our city and forcing all of the local and regional news networks to contend with the fact that metal is still alive, is a very viable resource for our city and state, and for the past two years has made them all repeatedly mention Slayer. Those coming in through Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport were greeted with a message reading “Knocked Loose welcomes you to Louisville,” regardless of whether they were here for the festival or not. And with all the pop-up festival shops, events, and promotions going on around the city, there was no misinterpreting what everyone in the city and surrounding areas was focused on this week, which was FUCKIN’ SLAYER! And also Louder Than Life as a whole, I suppose.
This is the one time of year that I can fully indulge the teenage soul that dwells within me, although my body is quick to remind me of my actual age on a minute-by-minute basis while at the festival. I’ve come to refer to Louder Than Life as my Christmas over the past several years, and I suspect I am not alone in that sentiment. And this year, Santa Danny Wimmer Presents delivered in spades with the biggest and, in my opinion, best LTL lineup ever with an absolutely astounding 175 bands spread out over seven total stages. Basically every genre of hard rock and heavy metal, from mainstream to extreme fringe, was represented. You have to be in awe of the absolute beast of a festival that DWP has grown with Louder Than Life. And I will never get over the fact that it’s happened right here in Louisville. There is no way you could have convinced me 20 years ago that any kind of major music festival, regardless of genre, would have ever stood a chance in this city. And then Forecastle Festival led the way, and may it always be remembered fondly for being the pioneer, and hopefully one day make its triumphant return. But it was a start-up festival promotions company from Los Angeles called Danny Wimmer Presents that really took the reins and ran with it, turning Louisville into a music mecca to which the whole world now looks to, if only for a couple of weeks a year.
And this year, barely a month before Bourbon & Beyond was set to take place, we got the unexpected news that stopped attendees of both festivals dead in their tracks; both festivals were moving once again. Sure, it was literally just across the street from the previous site, but this was a whole new, much larger layout that none of us knew how we were going to navigate. Thousands of questions hit us all at once, leading to concerns and fears, and then the complaints began to spread like wildfire in the online communities for both festivals.
While the complaints never really stopped (mostly because the festival wasn’t catered to the specific complainer’s whims and desires), Danny Wimmer Presents certainly set everyone at ease and quickly reminded all of us why they are North America’s premier festival producers. The new layout was easy to navigate and had numerous welcomed additional features such as the big upgrade for Mint VIP attendees with a new three-story viewing deck, more shade, and far more open space than ever before. The general admission crowd wasn’t left out in the cold either, with abundant food and drink choices (the Bar Service stands were perhaps a little too abundant), numerous free water refill stations, much better crowd flow, much more room, and a massive upgrade as far as shaded areas to escape the sun (even air conditioning!) The new indoor merch area was wonderful, and the Vintage Merch section that sold leftover merch from previous years’ festivals at a deeply discounted price was a huge bonus. I bought way more stuff than I needed, but damnit, it was cheap! The last-minute decision to open Broadbent Arena to the Loudmouths for additional seating and air conditioning was certainly greatly appreciated. And the skull with glowing red eyes in the middle of the water fountain out front of Freedom Hall in the Mint VIP section was quite a nice touch! Sorry, general admission.
But the biggest and best upgrade by far was the incorporation of Kentucky Kingdom into the festival mix; keeping more than 18 rides operating for festival attendees only and, in LTL’s case, utilizing the built-in amphitheater for an additional stage. Side note: if you’re wondering, they actually took down a good portion of the stage used for the regular Kentucky Kingdom programming to open up a larger pit area between the stage and the bench seats. This was especially necessary, seeing as a good number of hardcore, metalcore, and death metal bands were scheduled for this stage. And also Silly Goose, whom I’m told the band and fans went absolutely apeshit during their set, as always.
The thing I really love about Louder Than Life is the sense of community. Everyone belongs. You can be yourself, whoever that is, and there are no judgments here. If you want to wear a full costume in 90+ degree weather, you go ahead. You want to dress up like a banana and jump in the pit? You won’t be alone. If you want to wear as little as legally possible, regardless of your shape, size, or age? You do you. There is no body shaming here, just thousands of people comfortable in their own skin. It’s such a beautiful thing to see people so uninhibited and able to freely be themselves. In fact, you can even be an old ass man in cargo shorts wearing obscure band t-shirts in hopes that people will see what awesome taste you have in music, although no one asked or cares. Not that I would have any experience with that last one or anything.
Even if you’re not into the music, coming out for at least one day should be on everyone’s bucket list. Reading about it and watching videos online do not do this festival justice; it’s just something you need to see and experience for yourself. Guaranteed the best people-watching experience of your life!
Speaking of which, it bothers me that locals still look at the people who attend Louder Than Life as these mean, horrible, dangerous people when nothing could be further from the truth. They may come off as scary because of how they dress, how they style their hair, how many earrings they have in their face, and because they’re young and still have hope. But it is here among them that you will find some of the nicest, kindest, most genuine, down-to-earth people you will ever meet. Anything you need, you won’t have to ask many people for help before you get it (that goes for both the good stuff and the REALLY good stuff). I’m sure fights are going on, but you rarely, if ever, see them. The majority of the Loudmouths just want to help each other have the best festival experience possible. And if the gossip in the LTL Facebook groups is correct about people having sex in the porta-potties, maybe some people are helping a little too much.
But I haven’t even gotten to the music yet, which is why we’re all here. As for this year’s Louder Than Life, Danny Wimmer Presents certainly seemed to be testing the limits of the question “Is there too much of a good thing?” So many bands, so many stages, so much overlap; hard choices had to be made. So let’s start there.
Thursday, September 18:
For me, Thursday’s main stages bill was the greatest festival lineup I’ve ever seen in my life; Louder Than Life or othewiise. It was just back-to-back bands that I wanted to see. But in doing so, it meant foregoing a lot of great bands playing on the other stages. And while I would never say I regret watching Carcass, because they were awesome and put on a great set, I do wish I had chosen to go see Californian hardcore band Big Ass Truck I.E. in the Big Bourbon Bar instead during that time slot. Watching videos of the set after the fact, they absolutely destroyed! That would have been amazing to be a part of.
The same can be said for skipping both Silly Goose on the Kingdom Stage and Sanguisugabogg, (a band name that I have given up on trying to pronounce), on the Decibel Stage; both of whom played at the same time but overlapped both Exodus and Cavalera on the main stages, and I wasn’t willing to miss either of those bands. Exodus would have been great if whoever was running the sound for that stage hadn’t, I’m assuming, gone on lunch break during the set, leaving them with a horrible mix.
Max Cavalera, whom I had the opportunity to interview before his Louder Than Life appearance, with his brother Iggor (both original members of Sepultura), and their band Cavalera, absolutely did not disappoint. Although time restraints forced a few songs to be cut, the Cavalera brothers and band tore through Sepultura’s landmark Chaos A.D. album with as much intensity as they did in 1993. Towards the end of their set, they paid tribute to Ozzy by covering Black Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe,” which is one of my favorite songs of all time. And cheers to Max for wearing the throwback Lamar Jackson UofL jersey during their set!
Down’s return to the stage was something I have been looking forward to, and they sounded great. So great, actually, that I stayed and watched their whole set even though I was damn near ready to pass out from the heat. This, of course, necessitated a retreat to air conditioning during the first half of Marilyn Manson’s set. Thankfully, he was still on after I had rested and dehydrated, and I was able to catch the last few songs of his set. To Manson’s credit, his legal troubles seemed to have straightened him up, as he sounded better than he has in years.
Lamb of God always puts on a great show, and Louder Than Life this year was certainly no exception as the band ripped through their 11-song setlist, drawing from a good selection of songs from the past 25 years, also paying tribute to Ozzy with a crowd-favorite cover of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave.”
I honestly hadn’t listened to White Zombie’s Astro Creep 2000 album in years until the announcement that Rob Zombie was going to be playing it in full at Louder Than Life, which necessitated a long-overdue listen. I’d forgotten how solid that record was. So, although I’d have loved to catch XweaponX (featuring members of Knocked Loose and Gates To Hell), on the Kingdom Stage at the same time as Rob Zombie, I wasn’t willing to. And Zombie crushed it! I’ve seen some people complaining about his voice, and there were times he was struggling to keep up, but the amount of effort, energy, and stage production that Rob Zombie and band present, you should forgive him for being a little winded at times; he’s busy working his ass off for you!
And have I mentioned FUCKIN’ SLAYER?!!! After the remnants of a hurricane wiped out any chance of Slayer playing their headlining reunion gig at 2024’s Louder Than Life, I know a lot of people felt robbed by Mother Nature. But apparently, even she fears Slayer fans’ rage and kindly cooperated this year, providing an ideal night for hell to be unleashed, almost quite literally. I can only assume that whoever sold all the propane that was needed to fuel Slayer’s stageshow at Louder Than Life no longer needs to work for a living. This side of Kiss, I’ve never seen that much fire pyro used for a stage effect before. But it was done brilliantly and highlighted Slayer’s aggressive thrash metal perfectly. Having been a fan of the band for 40 years now, but not having seen them live in over 15 years, I was shocked at how good they sounded over their 20-song, hour and a half long set. Closing out Thursday’s Louder Than Life with the perfect festival anthems, “Raining Blood” and “Angel of Death.” Hopefully, we have not heard the last of them yet.
Friday, September 19:
After you take into consideration the size of the new layout and just how many people it can hold, the words “Sold Out” don’t really cross your mind. Friday, however, completely sold out in advance, so I knew it was going to be a ridiculously large crowd, but I had no idea of just how big it was actually going to turn out to be.
I’m not sure when System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian’s new band, Seven Hours After Violet, was added to Friday’s lineup as the opening act for the day, but I didn’t notice it until after the fact. That would have been great to catch.
I had every intention of going over for Anthrax’s Scott Ian’s son’s band XCOMM that morning on the Big Bourbon Bar stage, but I physically couldn’t. I wasn’t prepared for the level of exhaustion I felt on Friday morning. I finally forced myself out the door later that afternoon.
Although some great bands were playing early on Friday, I just wasn’t familiar enough with the music of most of them I watched. Highlights really started later in the day for me.
Watching Insane Clown Posse launch 2-liter bottles of Faygo out into the crowd like bottle rockets, using the pressure of their own carbonation for propulsion, is always fun to watch. They certainly brought the Juggalos out in force to Louder Than Life, who, in turn, brought their energy to ICP’s set. The sun was brutal that afternoon, and although I remained Faygo-free, the thought of getting drenched in soda has never been more enticing.
5:00 p.m. brought about the announcement they’d been teasing all day: My Chemical Romance as a headliner for 2026. It was met with equal parts “Ahhhh!” excitement and “Ahhhh” disappointment.
Hatebreed absolutely killed on the Loudmouth Stage that night, and obviously, people went nuts in the pit. It was very cool for vocalist Jamey Jasta to give props to NYHC hardcore legends Sick of it All, reminding the crowd that SOIA are indeed the first band to do the wall of death (although they called it Braveheart). Also of note was Jasta saying, “We don’t do a wall of death. We do a ball of death” before a giant volleyball with the Hatebreed logo and “Ball of Death” printed on it was tossed out in the crowd and surfed around.
Celebrating their 40th year as a band, Dream Theater sounded great. Just getting to watch Mike Portnoy play live has long been on my drummer bucket list.
Now I’d like to quote myself from my 2023 Louder Than Life review: “I can pretty much guarantee you that Sleep Token will be headlining a main stage at Louder Than Life in the next few years, and rightfully so.” I’d just like to say how right I was, even though no one has ever asked or even questioned it.
Although I can see on paper why a new-ish band like Sleep Token wouldn’t headline over a seasoned band like Avenged Sevenfold or any of the other three headlining bands, in seeing the number of people that turned up for their set, they should have gotten the overall headliner spot. No band that I have ever seen at Louder Than Life has drawn the crowd Sleep Token did Friday night. Not Metallica, not Guns N’ Roses, not Slipknot, no one. When looking at the drone pictures of the crowds each night, I can honestly say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looks for any of the days other than Friday. When you look at the picture for Friday, taken during Sleep Token’s set, it actually was every bit as bad as it looks. It was shoulder-to-shoulder from the front railing all the way back through the shade area next to the food vendors in the back. I had watched most of Dream Theater’s set, which overlapped with Sleep Token’s start. So by the time I made it back over to the main stage to catch the rest of their set, there was nowhere to stand that I could find that wasn’t already packed. I squeezed into the crowd in the back, barely able to see the stage from my vantage point. Thankfully, DWP upgraded the number of video monitors, or I would have been staring at the back of a bunch of heads.
Although I have to say I’m not particularly a fan of their music, you can’t ignore the massive amount of talent in this young band. Their songs are epic in their recorded form, yet they come to life when played live, taking on an existence all their own when coupled with the fantastic light and stage show. Sleep Token live is less a concert and more of an experience. Nothing will quite prepare you for the spectacle and majesty of their stage production and performance. With their backdrop of what appeared to be an ancient tomb built into rock (from what I could see from my place in the back, anyway), Sleep Token’s set was absolutely amazing and completely enthralling! They will be the overall headliner for at least the night they play the next time Louder Than Life brings them back, that’s definite.
I get why Avenged Sevenfold was the Friday night headliner, but they really shouldn’t have had to follow Sleep Token. If I were more into A7X’s music, that may have made up for it. Don’t get me wrong, they sounded great, but they just didn’t pack the visual or energetic punch to match Sleep Token’s set, I’m sorry to say.
Saturday, September 20:
This will go down as my favorite LTL day in history, but not because of the lineup or events happening there, but because my 17-year-old daughter finally wanted to go and experience it for herself. This has been years in the making! She loved it and even came back the next day and is already asking about next year, so we have a new Loudmouth convert! Now I just have to work on my 13-year-old son for next year.
Anyway, highlights for me start with SpiritWorld and Snot back-to-back Saturday afternoon on the Decibel and Reverb stages. It’s just great to see a band come out wearing cowboy hats, pearl-snap shirts, and sequined Nudie suits in 90-degree weather to a crowd of metalheads, some of whom had no idea what the hell was happening, then just shred some seriously vicious thrash riffs, which is exactly what SpiritWorld did, completely winning over any doubters in the process.
The Snot reunion brought the nu-metal, SoCal punk rock vie to the stage and had everyone in the very energetic crowd moving. It had been a decade since they last toured, but you’d never have known it the way new singer Andy Knapp has stepped into Lynn Strait’s role perfectly, keeping Strait’s legacy alive and vibrant in 2025.
Acid Bath’s reunion has been long-awaited and brought out a lot more people than I expected. I know I certainly would have appreciated it more if I didn’t feel like I was being cooked alive by the sun on my back while watching them. But they delivered a seven-song set of sludgy, Sabbath-y riffed goodness. Even my wife dug them, and that’s not normally her style of music at all.
I had planned on watching Kittie on the Reverb Stage following Acid Bath, but the need for shade and to just sit for a while brought us over to Kentucky Kingdom and the Kingdom Stage, where we could certainly hear Kittie perfectly, just not see them. They definitely sounded great, though, and I highly regret not forcing myself over there for their set.
Instead, we watched Ft. Knox-based, U.S. Army musical outreach band As You Were struggle through PA issues for two songs. They did, however, maintain their professionalism in a situation that would send most other musicians flying into a rage. Even when the PA did work, Kittie just completely overpowered them. The bleedover from the Decibel and Reverb Stages at the Kingdom stage was absolutely awful.
Next up was Stone Temple Pilots on Main Stage 1. Man, what a great set! The band sounded excellent, and vocalist Jeff Gutt really embodies the spirit of Scott Weiland live, comfortably playing the role of rock star frontman on stage. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the person crowdsurfing with a pizza during the band’s opening number, “Crackerman,” and literally handing out slices from the inside box while surfing. Definitely a great way to incentivize people not to drop you! All in all, STP did an excellent nine-song set of all hits, with surprise guest Josh Freese (who was fresh off a tour with Nine Inch Nails and was scheduled to play later in the night with A Perfect Circle), stepping in on drums to play STP’s closing number “Sex Type Thing.”
I had also meant to catch Machine Head that night, but food and rest needed to be had first. By the time we got back to the Decibel stage, they were literally wrapping up their final song of the night.
However, we were just in time to get a good spot for Cypress Hill. The intention was that we were going to catch a few Cypress Hill songs, then head over to catch the end of A Perfect Circle’s set on the main stage. That didn’t happen. Once Cypress Hill started, you quickly realized you weren’t going anywhere. The original members of Ramones could have all been reanimated back to life and playing on the stage next to Cypress Hill at the same time, and I still wouldn’t have left. Actually, yeah, I would have to go see that. But anything else, and I wouldn’t have left. They did a 13-song set comprised of older 90’s tracks of theirs that I happen to love, plus an unexpected cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Bombtrack” that sounded damn near perfect! Did I mention that most of their set was with a full live band? B-Real stated at one point that they hadn’t used a live band in years, but they wanted to do something special for LTL. Probably my favorite Cypress Hill album is Live at the Fillmore, where they use a band and just jam out all their classics in a nu-metal style. I never expected to get to see that live, but that’s exactly what they gave us, and it was spectacular! Their set was the highlight of Louder Than Life this year for me, personally.
I’m not familiar with Bad Omens, but I was certainly in the minority Saturday night. Although they didn’t pull a crowd as large as Sleep Token had the night before, they weren’t very far behind them either. Not really my cup o’ tea musically, but it also wasn’t hard to see or hear why they are so popular. An insanely talented group of musicians playing what I referred to my wife as sounding like K-pop metal. Then they played what would be the final song of their set, “Dethrone,” which hit out of nowhere, sounding like Slipknot in their prime, and it was then that I realized that I should probably give this band a closer listen.
Having already seen Deftones in Indianapolis earlier this year, we kind of knew what to expect. However, the Indianapolis show was before the release of Private Music, which has been revolving heavily in my playlist since its release, and I was excited to hear some new tunes live. And they didn’t disappoint, playing four tracks off the new album, including the live debut of “Ecdysis.” They sounded great, and their light and video show was even grander than when I last saw them. But let’s talk about the elephant in the room here: the song “Passenger” from their White Pony album. Maynard James Keenan from Tool guests on that track. The same Maynard James Keenan who also sings for A Perfect Circle, and who had just performed on the very same stage Deftones were on not even an hour-and-a-half beforehand. It was a foregone conclusion that he would be joining Deftones onstage for a live rendition of that song. And then…he didn’t. At one point between songs later in the set, you could audibly hear the fans at the front chanting “Passenger,” to which lead singer Chino Moreno gave them a confused look and kind of shrugged as if to say, “I have no idea what you mean.” Otherwise, a stellar set and a fitting end to the night.
Sunday, September 21:
Mother Nature was up to some shit again with the potential of severe weather looming over us Sunday morning and casting 2024 flashbacks. Doors were pushed back to 1:00 p.m., and thankfully, no further severe weather materialized. But unfortunately, Chained Saint, 12 Stones, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Louisville’s own Gates To Hell, who all had set times earlier than 1:00, got cut from the day’s lineup. Sleep Theory, who were originally scheduled to play the main stage at 11:45 a.m., was pushed to the Loudmouth Stage for a 9:30 p.m. set time.
Mag Bar once again stepped up and offered their stage to any bands that got cut, although it doesn’t look like anyone took them up on it, unfortunately.
Chained Saint vocalist Sean Sterling at least made it on stage at Louder Than Life when Slaughter To Prevail brought him out to guest on a song during their set. 12 Stones vocalist Paul McCoy also made a surprise appearance on stage too, but more about that later.
The greatest highlight for me on Sunday was finally having a day that wasn’t scorching hot. In fact, for most of the day, the weather was perfect in the 70s with a cloudy cover and a nice breeze.
Highlights of the day were the aforementioned Russian deathcore band Slaughter To Prevail and Alex Terrible’s inhuman voice.
Testament killed it on the Reverb Stage, sounding tighter and meaner than they have in the past 25 years. Chuck Billy still has an incredible voice, guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson both proved just how underrated they are, Steve Di Giorgio has always been one of the best thrash and death metal bassists, and Chris Dovas is an absolute beast on drums.
Opting not to utilize the giant video monitor behind the stage, instead playing in front of a giant banner that simply read “Knocked Loose’s Louisville,” our own Hometown Heroes, (even if they don’t have an official banner yet), Knocked Loose took to Louder Than Life’s main stage for the first time and showed the crowd exactly how we do it here, flooring everyone with an 11-song set that didn’t let up, and prompting the biggest, wildest pits of the day. In short, they made all of us locals proud. Check out the interview I did for LEO Weekly with vocalist Bryan Garris here!
For a metal legend, Bruce Dickinson was playing for an incredibly small crowd. Sadly, he had the smallest crowd I had seen at the Decibel and Reverb Stages all weekend. He and his solo band still gave it everything they had, and he sounded incredible. I am really hoping DWP brings in Iron Maiden at some point as a headliner for Louder Than Life, but after seeing the small turnout for their vocalist’s solo act, that may just be a pipe dream now.
Evanescence, who, like Sleep Token, had one of the largest crowds of the festival despite not being a headliner, just completely crushed their hour-long, 14-song set. Vocalist Amy Lee has one of the most incredible voices in rock music, and she was on fire at LTL. I’m not even into their music, but I was feeling it. 12 Stones vocalist Paul McCoy made a surprise appearance, reprising his role duetting with Amy Lee on Evanescence’s first and biggest hit “Bring Me To Life” to close out their set.
Before Sunday night, I couldn’t picture Bring Me The Horizon as a worthy festival-closing band, especially not for Louder Than Life. I was wrong. While I can admit I’m not big on their music, they had quite the amazing set with plenty of pageantry and pyros, while occasional between-song videos made to look like a video game revolving around their latest album, Post Human: Nex Gen, kept a surprisingly compelling and funny storyline. The biggest surprise came in the form of the live debut of the song “A Bullet w/ My Name On,” which featured Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath on guest vocalist.
Walking home on that last day after the festival is over is such a horrible feeling. Not just because you’re tired and your feet hurt, but because the knowledge of it being all over now hits way too hard. There were numerous moments over the past two weeks when I had to wonder if I was crazy for doing these long days at both Louder Than Life and Bourbon & Beyond for two extended weekends in a row. Dealing with the heat, the high food and drink prices, suffering exhaustion and near constant foot and back pain after standing for hours on end, and after-show nights where I didn’t think I had the stamina to make the 20-minute walk home, then wondering the whole walk home if I had anything left in my body to make it the next day. But you wake up and you do it all again for FOMO! Because you know damn well you are going to miss out if you don’t, and you know it’ll be a full year of regrets until the festival rolls around again.
But then it’s suddenly all over, and you find yourself walking through the exit for the last time that year. And although hours sometimes seemed like days while you’re there, it all suddenly seems like a quick blur, and you wonder how the hell it’s already all over so fast, and what the hell you’re going to do now. Suddenly, it seems strange to be home for a full day, and not to have a list of bands you want to make sure you don’t miss that day. The post-festival blues set in, and I’m certainly feeling them.
Numbers aren’t in as of this writing, but this had to have been the biggest Louder Than Life ever, if not the largest Danny Wimmer Presents festival to date.
Each year, Danny Wimmer Presents expands on both Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life, making each festival bigger and better than the year before. So the question becomes this: how does Danny Wimmer Presents top 2025? I said this in my Bourbon & Beyond 2025 review, and I’m saying it again – given that DWP is barely using any of the Expo Center’s 1.3 million square feet of indoor space and only a fraction of the 500 acres of outdoor space, the mind boggles at the possibilities of just how big these two festivals could grow. Potentially, these could go on to become the two largest music festivals in the world. But for now, I’m just glad I’m around to see just how big both have become, and experience everything they have to offer.
Regardless of what DWP has in store for 2026, God willing, I’ll be back out there questioning my sanity for opting to burn up all day in the sun while listening to great music and having a great time with all you Loudmouths once again! FUCKIN’ SLAYER!
Dates have already been announced for 2026, with Louder Than Life happening September 17-20, 2026, while Bourbon & Beyond takes the later dates next year, running September 24-27, 2026. Early bird ticket specials for both festivals will be announced shortly.
For more information, check out louderthanlifefestival.com and bourbonandbeyond.com
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2025.