Here’s the lineup for Railbird’s return to Lexington in 2023, this time at Red Mile
Zach Bryan and Kentucky-born Tyler Childers will headline Lexington’s 2023 Railbird Festival, which announced its two-day concert lineup Tuesday afternoon.
The festival is set for June 3 and 4, and will showcase 32 musical acts at The Infield at Red Mile, the historic harness racing track that is now also a gambling venue in Lexington.
Here’s the Railbird Festival 2023 lineup:
Railbird Festival 2023 music concert lineup
Saturday, June 3
Zach Bryan
Weezer
Marcus Mumford
Whiskey Myers
Sheryl Crow
Charley Crockett
Jenny Lewis
Lucius
Morgan Wade
Valerie June
Dehd
Neal Francis
The Heavy Heavy
Madeline Edwards
The Local Honeys
Wayne Graham
Sunday, June 4
Tyler Childers
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
The Head and the Heart
Goose
Nickel Creek
Amos Lee
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Sierra Ferrell
Charles Wesley Godwin
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
49 Winchester
Town Mountain
Cole Chaney
Flipturn
Calder Allen
Brit Taylor
Your #RailbirdFest 2023 Lineup has arrived! We can’t wait to bring the Kentucky spirit to The Infield at Red Mile with @zachlanebryan, @TTChilders, @weezer and more. pic.twitter.com/95cWIG11mV
— Railbird Festival (@RailbirdFest) December 6, 2022
Singer-songwriter Zach Bryan released his latest album, American Heartbreak, in May. The country artist served seven years in the U.S. Navy before his honorable discharge.
Tyler Childers’ newest album, “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?,” is a three-disc set that “explores a set of spiritually inclined works through a trio of variations,” a September Herald-Leader review said. Childers has tour dates scheduled across the U.S. through September 2023.
Railbird moves from Keeneland to Redmile
The festival, which started in 2019, canceled its 2022 event at Keeneland in May, but announced it would return.
“The move just down the road to Red Mile, the nation’s second oldest track, signals exciting growth for Railbird Festival,” said Mary Quinn Ramer of VisitLEX said at the time. “Near the heart of downtown Lexington with easy accessibility, the historic Red Mile will keep the equine experience at the heart of the festival while also providing a great venue to showcase Kentucky’s bourbon heritage and the nation’s best artists.”
After a largely well-received inaugural year that saw 30,000 people attend at Keeneland, Railbird was canceled in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic. The two-day festival returned last fall but ran into major trouble on the first day when patrons, who were prohibited from bringing in filled water bottles, waited in long lines in 90-degree heat at refill stations and bars.
Based on ticket sales, that 2021 event drew 70,000 attendees, according to previous Herald-Leader reports. It’s unclear how many will be able to comfortably fit onto the 114-acre Red Mile site.
How to buy Railbird tickets
The event’s ticket presale starts at noon Thursday, and single-day general admission starts at $99.
The two-day, three-stage festival takes its name from the term Railbird, which traditionally refers to a “horse racing enthusiast known for sticking close to the action, hanging on the rail as each contender comes barreling down the track,” according to the festival website.
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