Louisville, US (TAN): This pretty town in Kentucky is going big on attracting tourists and the local tourism body has just announced a four-day Derby weekend music series starting May 1 to celebrate local talent.
Local Banda KIRBY and Everette will perform at the event as will country stars Chris Janson and Billy Currington.
Here’s the event schedule:
Wednesday, May 1 – KIRBY
Derby weekend kicks off with Louisville’s own, KIRBY (also known as Kirbys Dreamland). With a playlist covering classic rock favourites including Led Zeppelin and Journey to current country hits from Jason Aldean and Keith Urban. This is a free event.
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Thursday, May 2 – Chris Janson with special guest Dillon Carmichael
Chris Janson is a platinum-selling, high-octane entertainer, multi-instrumentalist, award-winning singer/songwriter, and the youngest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. His CMA-nominated song, “Drunk Girl,” won Music Row “Song of the Year” and has been called “the most important song to come out of Nashville in years”.
Friday, May 3 – Billy Currington with special guests Canaan Smith and Everette
Billy Currington made his debut with the top ten hit “Walk a Little Straighter,” and has released some of the country format’s most memorable hits, including such No. 1s as “Good Directions,” “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” and “People Are Crazy.” Featuring a post-show performance by DJ VICE.
Saturday, May 4 – Derby After-Party featuring DJ Sam Sneed
Close out Derby week and party all night with DJ Sam Sneed. This is a free event.
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Show tickets are USD 10 to USD 15 in advance, with additional VIP options available.
Louisville has appeared in several travel media platforms in recent months as the place to visit in 2019. Consequently, it has been seeing visitors from around the globe. The city is building the required infrastructure to support the huge volume of tourist flow.
Louisville Tourism president and CEO Karen Williams writes in Courier Journal one in every 24 local workers has a job directly supported by visitor spending equating to more than 27,500 jobs in Jefferson County alone. With such figures, tourist turns out Louisville’s third largest industry with visitors bringing in USD 3.4 billion a year.
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“In 2019, we will be engaging our visitors in a comprehensive profile study to gain insights on attracting more. Louisville Tourism – working with our board and key partners — will also spearhead a Strategic Vision Plan for the future of Louisville as a destination. Our goal is to grow visitation to 25 million by 2025, and we will build the road map to do that together as an industry,” Williams says.