September 2024 - Rock Oracle

September 28, 2024 Jason Shrum

Bourbon and Beyond: Days 3 & 4

Days One and Two of Bourbon & Beyond were highly organized and very strict when it came to the front gates. The event was constantly posting on their socials and emailing out rules and regulations for standards that they wanted upheld throughout the long weekend. You could only bring in chairs if you had a “Chair Pass”, which cost gobs of extra money, and they sold out in 45 minutes. You could bring in a towel to sit on if your towel met specific requirements as far as size and, get this, thickness. Water bottles had to be clear, and empty upon arrival, and not have a capacity of over 20ozs. There were also lists of “Do’s and “Don’ts” that festival runners hammered into your brain repeatedly. Then came day three.

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September 22, 2024 Jason Shrum

Bourbon & Beyond: Day Two

So now we reside in Day Two of Bourbon & Beyond. Day one nearly killed me as I realized that 10 hours standing in the sun after driving three hours to get here was too long of a day for this 50-year-old. There is nowhere to hide at this festival. There are tents around the Expo Center, but the tents seem hotter as they are jammed with people and there is no catching a breeze. I applaud the staff as they have done a great job of handing out free cold waters to people in the pit areas in front of the stage. These are certainly the danger areas of the festival. I’ve seen a few people get carried out due to the heat and the medical tents keep a heavy rotation of people getting IV’s. So, Day Two, I decided I was going to dial it back a bit so that I could go a little heavier the following days. It’s all about pace, right?!

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September 21, 2024 Jason Shrum

Bourbon & Beyond: Day One

Here I am, in my hotel room, just north of Louisville, Kentucky in Sellersberg, Indiana pondering what I have seen over the last two days. It’s Bourbon & Beyond and it’s a lot. According to local news sources and the Bourbon & Beyond website the festival is bringing in $12.5 million dollars in local revenue and over 270,000 concert goers over the four days of music. The venue, which is located at The Highland Fairgrounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, between the airport and the University of Louisville, is a massive lot of land as you would imagine. The festival started in 2017 and has grown immensely since its inception. This year hosts 110 bands/artists and 5 different stages located across the property.

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September 13, 2024 Steve Lynch

Childish Gambino in Tampa

I first heard Childish Gambino on the Late Night with Conan O’Brien show singing Heartbeat from his debut album Camp in 2011. I immediately downloaded Heartbeat and then found Bonfire and Sunrise which are two of my favorite rap songs of all time. The humor that Gambino has in his lyrics is incredibly unique as he tells you about his background as a BLERD(black nerd) from Georgia who went to NYU and then wrote for 30 Rock under Tina Fey.

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September 12, 2024 Jason Shrum

Jon Bon Jovi Saves A Woman In Crisis

Bon Jovi has worked with vulnerable people through his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which provides food, affordable housing, job training and social services to people experiencing hunger, poverty and homelessness. Bon Jovi also has had training in speaking to individuals during difficult situations. In February, Bon Jovi was recognized as the MusiCares Person of the Year for his philanthropic efforts.