Of Monsters and Men
Kentucky State Fair, 937 Phillips Lane, 40209 Louisville Directions
Fri 25.09.2026 12:00
Of Monsters and Men at Kentucky State Fair 2026-09-25T12:00:00
Performers
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Of Monsters and MenArny Margret has spent the last year making waves, not only in her Icelandic hometown but across Europe and the US, touring extensively, supporting Leif Vollebekk, Passenger, Blake Mills and more, as well as playing the likes of Newport Folk Festival, Reykjavik Calling and Iceland Airwaves. She’s now released her gorgeous sophomore album, ‘I Miss You, I Do’ on One Little Independent Records.
Musically she draws inspiration from folk and blues roots, utilizing a less-is-more approach to convey openness, choosing to rely mostly on the delicate strumming of acoustics and her dulcet voice. She cites influences from the likes of Andy Shauf, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver, and Gregory Alan Isakov. Born and raised in a small town called Ísafjörður, she attended music school from the age of 6 learning to play the piano and gradually taught herself guitar. She recorded the album at studio Hljóðriti in Hafnarfjörður and will continue to make her mark globally with her intimate and affecting live performances. -
Foster the People
Foster The People is the brainchild of Los Angeles, USA based musicians Mark Foster, Jacob “Cubbie” Fink and Mark Pontius, formed in 2009. Their brand of electronica infused guitar pop led to “Pumped Up Kicks” one of 2011’s biggest hit singles and a smash hit the world over.
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Kacey Musgraves7x GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves released her third studio album Golden Hour (MCA Nashville) in March 2018, earning Musgraves her third No. 1 debut on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and distinguishing her as the third artist ever to take home Album of the Year at the GRAMMY Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and Academy of Country Music Awards. Golden Hour was named one of the best albums of 2018 by everyone from Apple Music, NPR, Time, The Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard, GQ, Esquire, American Songwriter, Complex, Consequence of Sound, and Vulture, among others. In support of Golden Hour, Musgraves played the biggest venues of her career, including New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and her first headlining arena show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and she became the first-ever female country artist to play Coachella. Musgraves has been honored at Billboard’s Women in Music event, Variety’s Power of Women event, and celebrated the opening of her exhibit, All of the Colors, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2019, Musgraves received two CMA wins for Female Vocalist of the Year and for Music Video of the Year for “Rainbow.”
Musgraves first received massive critical acclaim and recognition with the 2013 release of her gold-certified debut album Same Trailer Different Park. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, making Musgraves the first solo female in 5 years to top the chart with a rookie release and only the seventh to do so in Nielsen SoundScan’s 22-year history. Same Trailer Different Park earned Musgraves 2 GRAMMY Awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Song (“Merry Go ‘Round”), 2 CMA Awards for “New Artist of the Year” and “Song of the Year” (“Follow Your Arrow”), and an ACM Award for Album of the Year. Musgraves’ follow-up album Pageant Material was released in 2015, earning Musgraves her second No. 1 debut on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and soaring to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. -
Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The band formed in 1983 and are founders of the label Lovely Sorts of Death.
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Violent FemmesAfter meeting immediate acclaim from their first album, a unique mix of alt-rock & folk, The Violent Femmes continued to succeed for years later releasing 8 albums and having sold over 9 million records.
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JetHailing from Dingley in Melbourne, Australia, Jet quickly conquered the world after forming in 2001, selling more than 6.5M albums globally and securing almost 10x Platinum certification in AU and Platinum in US and UK for their 2003 debut album “Get Born”. The album produced a string of classic singles in “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”, “Rollover DJ”, and “Look What You've Done” and netted the band 6 x 2004 ARIA awards.
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The Devil Makes Three
www.thedevilmakesthree.com
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Marcus KingHonky Tonk Rock and Roll Soul Music — NEW ALBUM ‘DARLING BLUE’ OUT 9/26
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St. Paul & The Broken BonesTrombone Shorty has released Lifted, his first album of original music in five years. Recorded at his own Buckjump Studio with producer Chris Seefried (Fitz and the Tantrums, Andra Day), Shorty and his bandmates crash through funk, soul and psychedelic rock with transcendent performances, set to bold songwriting that explores grit and determination in hard times. The album features special guests Gary Clark Jr and Lauren Daigle as well as the New Breed Brass Band and has been widely celebrated by American Songwriter, OffBeat, No Depression and Bluegrass Situation, who state simply: “It’s true, it just doesn’t get cooler than Trombone Shorty.”
Focus track “Lie To Me” is a brass-heavy strut that showcases Shorty’s renowned soloing abilities on the trombone. The song comes charging out of the gate with powerful rhythmic chanting before the band kicks into gear with triumphant horn blasts and a marching band snare. Lyrically, the tune is about the end of a toxic relationship, with Shorty pleading : “If you don’t want this lie to me, you don’t even gotta waste your energy.”
Trombone Shorty has already had a busy 2022, winning his first Grammy for his work as both songwriter and featured artist on childhood friend and Album of the Year winner’s Jon Batiste’s We Are. He also performed at the Grammy Salute to Paul Simon alongside Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, Jonas Brothers and Little Big Town, and is hosting his Treme Threauxdown event for a sixth time on April 30 at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. Special guests include Joan Jett, Gary Clark Jr, Tank and the Bangas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, David Shaw, James Andrews and more.
Following his April 30 show, he will close the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 8 with the hallowed final set that for years was performed by The Neville Brothers and Professor Longhair before that. After Jazz Fest, Shorty will bring his once-in-a-lifetime Voodoo Threaxdown tour featuring Tank and the Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Neville the Uptown Ruler and The Soul Rebels across the US. The tour will also feature a tribute to the foundational work of funk pioneers The Meters led by founding bassist George Porter Jr. alongside Dumpstaphunk. The Voodoo Threauxdown tour is a lesson in New Orleans music history, and a vision of where that music is headed in the 21st century. The festival will kick off on June 10 and will move across the US, making stops at NYC’s Central Park Summerstage on June 13, Red Rocks Amphitheater on June 28, and The Hollywood Bowl on August 10.
Trombone Shorty (born Troy Andrews) is a native of New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood and got his start earlier than most, performing at Jazz Fest with Bo Diddley at age four and leading his own brass band at six. Since 2010, he’s released four chart-topping studio albums; collaborated across genres with Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Foo Fighters, ZHU, Zac Brown, Normani, Ringo Star, and countless others; played Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, and nearly every other major festival; appeared on dozens of tv shows, and at the star-studded Sesame Street Gala, where he was honored with his own muppet. The New York Times has called him an “unstoppable force,” he recently made a cameo on The Simpsons, was profiled by Vanity Fair in 2021 and has been featured in campaigns for Crown Royal and Folgers. -
The ChurchFew bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church. Forming in Sydney in 1980, The Church’s extensive career has cemented them as one of Australia’s most enduring bands of the post punk era and well deserving of their place in the ARIA Hall of Fame. Having refined their unique and defining sound over the course of a remarkable 26 albums, including Starfish, The Blurred Crusade and Priest=Aura, the band have received international acclaim, with fans across the globe still enjoying their iconic music today. The Church epic line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with longtime collaborator timEbandit Powles drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain, touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recently recruited one of Australia's finest and most respected guitarists Ashley Naylor (Even, The Grapes). Ashley and Steve have collaborated on many different projects over the years and now was the perfect time to bring Ashley into the band. Kilbey says: "A band is like a family and over 40 years it is only natural that families will change. It's too big a body of work not to keep exploring it."
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MaoliHeralded as one of Polynesia's #1 commercial recording artists, Maoli has been credited with over 21 #1 Regional Island Reggae Hits. Since their debut in 2007 the group has been steadily on the rise, having performed in at least 42 of the 50 states, as well as New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Guam, and Saipan Territories.
Maoli's music has matured into a sound and style constantly evolving to reflect and meet the eclectic taste of the group themselves and their loving fans. Maoli has developed their own unique sound by fusing the elements of Country, R&B, Soul, Acoustic, Rock & Roll, and Reggae. This "Country Reggae" has been labeled as heartfelt, uplifting, feel good music that has an impressive reach, enabling the group to sell out the largest venues in the state of Hawai'i.
At The i-Heart's Island Music Awards in 2020, Maoli won the "Album of The Year" award for "Sense of Purpose", along with the prestigious "Group of the Year" award. They were able to replicate that success in 2021 by winning the 'Album of the Year' award for "The Breakthrough," as well as 'Song of the Year' for "My Reason." Among those awards include a 2020 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for "Reggae Album Of The Year." It’s only through tireless perseverance and attention to artistry, that they were proudly able to achieve these awards entirely independently.
The saga continues as the group releases a new, genre spanning single every two weeks as a part of the Maoli Music Overload project.
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Amigo The Devilwww.amigothedevil.com
Booking:
ROpaleski.assistant@WMEAgency.com
General:
info@regimeinc.com
Thanks for all your support.
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Angus & Julia StoneAngus & Julia Stone’s music seems to float on its own dreamy wavelength. Maybe that effect comes from the enigmatic bond of a shared history between brother and sister — or maybe it’s something deeper, something in their DNA that comes through so often in the music of family bands. The duo released their first EP, Chocolates and Cigarettes, before moving to London in 2006, where they recorded Heart Full of Wine and their debut album, A Book Like This. Released in 2007, A Book Like This charted Top 10 in Australia. Two years later they returned with Down the Way — a breakthrough record that earned them their first number one album, five ARIA Awards, and Australia’s Hottest 100 with “Big Jet Plane,” while introducing their music to a global audience. In 2014, they released the Rick Rubin–produced Angus & Julia Stone, followed by the critically acclaimed Snow (2017), the first album they wrote and recorded entirely themselves. Their most recent album, Cape Forestier (2024), was recorded at Sugarcane Mountain Studios and released ahead of one of their biggest global tours to date.
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The Kitchen DwellersAmong the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.
“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”
“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”
“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”
At the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.
In order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.
“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”
On the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”
“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”
Meanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”
“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”
“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.
“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”
In the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.
“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.”
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Rainbow GirlsEmbark on a captivating journey as her music weaves tales that will ignite your imagination and rumble deep emotions. Demi’s melodies and lyrics are her most authentic means of expression and way of connection.
Drawing inspiration from the heartfelt soundscapes of acoustic legends Fleet Foxes, Ellen McIlwaine, Kevin Morby and many more, Demi embraces the rawness, authenticity and purity of their craft. Her songs also source inspiration in life’s simple joys, transporting listeners to past moments or dreams such as a dive into the ocean at first light, a sip of a hot tea, a hug from a distant loved one or the warmth of a crackling blaze of a fire whilst sitting alongside your dearest of friends. -
Fireside Collective
Booking: Madison House
Mike Kaiz - mike@madison-house.com
Harry Woosley - harry@madison-house.com
Management
dustin@fatbackmanagement.com
melissa@fatbackmanagement.com