The HullabaLOU Music Festival brought big names in music to Louisville. Churchill Downs hosted the three-day festival, which started on Friday, July 23.
It was the first time that Churchill Downs has hosted such an event. The headliners included Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews and Kenny Chesney.
More than 78,000 fans came in from 47 states.
One of them, Bruce Frank, drove from St. Louis just to see Dierks Bentley and Bon Jovi. Frank said he planned on driving all the way home after the Friday, July 23, performances so he could be at work the next morning.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Frank said. “The bands have come out, sang hard and engaged the audience. It’s worth the drive — and the lack of sleep.”
More than 65 bands filled the five stages set up in the infield of Churchill Downs. While some of the bands were local, the festival also included stars such as Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Skaggs, the B-52s and Gladys Knight.
Caralee Kosor, of Atlanta, said she planned this trip out for months. She said she was most happy to see Gladys Knight for the fourth time.
“I’ve really enjoyed this festival,” Kosor said. “I’m glad the festival isn’t geared for any particular age group. There’s not a set crowd here. It’s a lot of fun.”
Music aside, several attendees complained about the heat.
“This would all be a lot cooler beside the fact that it’s a million degrees out here,” Luke Moody, of Louisville, said. “The beer is getting too hot. After standing in the sun for a few songs, I just want to get under one of the tents and lay down.”
Temperatures reached 96 degrees with heat indexes around 105 degrees.
Capt. Mary Stotts, of the Churchill Downs first-aid crew, said they mostly just had to apply a few cold packs. She said people stayed hydrated, drank more water than alcohol and made frequent use of the misting tents — called chill zones, which took up more than 20,000 square feet.
HullabaLOU spokesman Carolyn McLean said about a dozen people were treated for heat-related problems.
Pam Shovar, of Louisville, braved the heat. She said her favorite performance was, by far, Bon Jovi.
“Nostalgia was the word of the day,” Shovar said. “The only complaint I have is some of the bands I would have liked to have seen overlapped with bands I watched. So much music, so little time.”
Shovar said the only thing like HullabaLOU she’s been to in Louisville is Abbey Road on the River, but HullabaLOU was a good experience.
Financing the concert wasn’t cheap. Churchill Downs Inc. reported the event lost approximately $5 million, about two times more than it expected to lose in its first year.
Festival Productions, the concert promoter that worked with Churchill Downs, said it would take the ticket sales of about 90,000 fans for the festival to get enough revenue to match the expenses. The Courier-Journal reported that Churchill Downs cited high temperatures and declines in concert ticket sales nation-wide for the low attendance.
According to Churchill Downs, however, their exit surveys reported 99 percent of attendees said they would recommend it to others, and 70 percent said they would attend next year.
Churchill Downs said they would indeed host the festival again next year.
By JOSEPH DEVER
Senior Editor
jwdever@umail.iu.edu