Railbird, Rupp, Lexington venues: Good music will be everywhere in 2023

If you’re cynically inclined, you might view the inevitable post-holiday abyss known as the Dead of Winter with chilled dread. But 2023 already has an enormous bounty of live music on tap to warm the soul and move the feet.

In fact, this is shaping up to be one of busiest and most diverse winter-to-spring concert seasons (with, as you are about to read, a monster summer event waiting in the wings) Lexington has seen in ages – perhaps ever.

So do your worst, Old Man Winter. We’ve got the music lined up to keep everybody rocking as 2023 gets rolling.

Here is a list and guide what music concerts we can expect:

Rupp Arena

Judging by the concert traffic through Lexington’s largest indoor concert venue, one might suspect Rupp Arena was reverting back to a programming regimen dominated heavily by country music. After all, last fall alone had Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, the Kentucky Rising benefit (headlined by Chris Stapleton, Dwight Yoakam and Tyler Childers), Carrie Underwood and The Judds (Wynonna Judd and all-star support) playing there in just under two months.

Country will have to make way for other company, however, in 2023. The winter/spring season will see a multi-act bill of metal-and-more crunch (Falling in Reverse, Papa Roach, Hollywood Undead and Escape the Fate, Feb. 5), a double-header of classic radio rock (Journey and Toto, Feb. 14), contemporary Christian music (TobyMac, Feb. 23) and even some Aussie-bred hip-hop (The Kid Laroi, March 31.)

Nashville will still get plenty of say at Rupp, just in slightly sparser quantities, beginning in the spring. Already confirmed is the arena’s first headlining show by Kane Brown (March 24) along with return outings by Kenny Chesney (with Kelsea Ballerini opening, April 25) and Thomas Rhett (June 22.)

What’s the big show for 2023, though? That would be the Central Kentucky debut of Lizzo (April 22.) The rapper, singer and flautist (who earned accolades this Christmas from Irish flute celeb James Galway, no less) has been a multi-genre sensation since the Top 5 breakthrough of her third album, “Cuz I Love You,” in 2019. Those with HBO Max can get a hint of what her Rupp show will be like this weekend. “Lizzo: Live in Concert,” filmed at recent performances at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., will be available for streaming on Dec. 31.

For more information, go to rupparena.com.

Railbird

So far, Railbird is the biggest concert event of 2023 and is still six months away.

After taking last year off following a troubled sophomore season at Keeneland in 2021, the two-day festival heads to a new home, the infield of the Red Mile, and an earlier summer time slot (June 3 and 4.)

Anyone wondering if memories of mammoth lines for water and concessions at the 2021 festival, a year out of the spotlight or a price tag for admission that was beyond the budget of many patrons was going diminish the appeal for Railbird’s reprise received a blunt and rapid answer earlier this month. Tickets for the entire two-day festival sold-out in less than three hours.

How Railbird will operate within a newer and more compact performance space this summer is something of a question. What we do know, though, is that the artist lineup is remarkable.

The June 3 roster will be topped by country crossover star Zach Bryan with Weezer, Marcus Mumford, Whiskey Myers, Sheryl Crow, Charlie Crockett, Jenny Lewis, Lucius and more rounding out the bill.

Headlining on June 4 will be Lawrence County hero Tyler Childers. The stunning Sunday bill also includes, among others, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, The Head and the Heart, Goose, Nickel Creek, Amos Lee, Molly Tuttle and another Lawrence County favorite, this one from a preceding generation – Ricky Skaggs.

For more information, go to railbirdfest.com.

Lexington Opera House

Concert programming for the Lexington Opera House has taken an intriguing turn since last summer. Long one of the city’s most audience-friendly venues for any kind of live arts performances, it has begun a practice of presenting concerts by vintage rock, pop, soul and Americana acts on a near-monthly basis. Since August, John Hiatt, The Fixx and Little Feat have played there. A fourth show, by the neo-country pioneering Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, was scheduled for November but was postponed due to a band member illness (a new date has not been announced.)

That trend will only deepen in 2023. Already on the books are shows by guitar maverick Tommy Emmanuel (Jan. 11), blues-rock guitar champ Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Jan. 25), the longstanding horn-happy soul ensemble Tower of Power (Feb 22) and Americana groove merchants The Wood Brothers (March 1.)

All are worth checking out, but my top pick of the Opera House’s healthy crop of winter concerts falls on Jan. 28 with the first Lexington outing in many years by The Mavericks. Though initially formed and marketed as a country quartet, singer Raul Malo and company began incorporating elements of Tex-Mex, blues, Cuban and Afro-Cuban inspirations into their music. That left country radio and corporate Nashville scratching their collective noggins even though the blend broke The Mavericks through to a vastly wider audience. The band tours today with an accordionist and horn section and cut all of the songs on its aptly titled 2020 album, “En Español,” in Spanish. Expect this one to be a blast.

For more information, go to lexingtonoperahouse.com.

In the clubs

Prime local, regional and national live music remains a mainstay in the Distillery District thanks to The Burl (375 Thompson Rd.) and Manchester Music Hall (899 Manchester St.). Shows commence on a near nightly basis at the former and several times a week at the latter.

Winter highlights so far at The Burl include the return of Lexington’s Chico Fellini and a reprise of its David Bowie tribute (Jan. 14); Tommy Prine, son of the late Americana songwriting giant John Prine (Jan. 25); the long-running Americana alternative band Lucero (Jan. 27) and an album-release show by Hindman-born, Nashville-based and Railbird-bound songstress Brit Taylor (Feb. 10.)

Among the larger Manchester Music Hall’s winter gems are shows by longtime indie folk-rock fave The Mountain Goats (Feb. 18), rock and country renegade Elle King (Feb. 19) and country songsmith Niko Moon (Feb. 25).

In the region

Two of our neighboring performing arts centers have shows worth mapping out a quick road trip for.

The EKU Center for the Arts in Richmond (822 Hall Dr.) has a truly big deal event coming up on Groundhog Day – the return of one of the country’s most solid songwriters and performers along with his Springsteen-worthy band – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Feb 2.) This is the third time at EKU for Isbell. He played there in 2017 with the 400 Unit and in an acoustic setting backed by violinist/songsmith/wife Amanda Shires and 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden in 2018. Also of note: An outing by country upstart Ashley McBryde (April 30), an expert songwriter who has been serving as one of Wynonna Judd’s invited guests on The Judds’ Final Tour.

Over in Danville at the Norton Center for Arts will be an evening featuring two veteran country hitmakers, Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss (March 10) as well as a not-to-be-missed East-meets-West summit featuring two famed bluegrass-bred journeymen, Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, and long-heralded Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain (April 27).

For tickets for the EKU Center shows, go to ekucenter.com/events. For the Norton Center, go to nortoncenter.com/events.

WoodSongs/Troubadour bluegrass

Leave it to the folks at the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour and the affiliated Troubadour Concert Series to make sure world-class bluegrass won’t be ignored as 2023 gets underway.

The first WoodSongs taping of the year will be a bluegrass feast featuring the solo debut of Ashland-born fiddler Jason Carter, longtime member of The Del McCoury Band and its Del-less offshoot, The Travelin’ McCourys. Also on the bill will be the country-rooted acoustic duo of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley. Ickes is widely regarded as one of the most expressive, skilled and stylistically versatile dobro players since Jerry Douglas (Jan. 23.)

Speaking of the latter, the great Douglas himself will return to his one-time home of Lexington with The Earls of Leicester, his scholarly traditional bluegrass ensemble so-named for its exclusive devotion to the repertoire of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (March 16.)

Both programs will be presented at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, 300 E. Third. For tickets, go to tix.com.