Under the blistering Kentucky sun, over 40,000 fans gathered for Railbird Festival in the iconic site of the derby, listening to country music and bluegrass for a weekend of cold beers, dirt roads, and love.

From June 6-7, Railbird Festival, held at The Red Mile, hosted some of country’s biggest stars, with headliners like Tyler Childers, Ella Langley, The Lumineers, and more.

But in addition to these big-time names were a mix of Kentucky-local artists, up-and-coming stars, and non-stop opportunities for connecting with an incredible song.

Saturday, June 6th

With headliners like Mt. Joy, Caamp, and The Lumineers, Saturday was undoubtedly a more folk and bluegrass-leaning day. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t stand-out country acts in company with these ventures into the woods of Appalachia.

Opening up The Burl Stage for the weekend, Colton Bowlin, born and raised in Albany, Kentucky, set the tone for the rest of the weekend: high energy and filled with passion.

Bowlin opened his set with “Don’t Come Home,” a track from his sophomore and latest album Grandpa’s Mill. The burst of guitar strums and pounding drums got the crowd dancing on their feet, and Bowlin kept them there as he played through more of his album and an unreleased song inspired by old Western films.

“All those [movies] play a big role in my music. Josey Wells was one of those movies we watched the most,” Bowlin said in an interview with Atwood. “A lot of that old dialogue they used in those movies have a lot of good stuff to use in these songs, in the lyrics that I write.”

Wearing blue aviator sunglasses and a baseball cap, Bowlin felt incredible gratitude looking out to the crowd before him in his home state, knowing that his friends and family were out in the crowd cheering him on.

“It was awesome [to perform]. The crowd was as packed as it could get and it was truly a blessing to be here among so many artists and people I look up to. Truly just a blessing,” Bowlin said.

Over at the Elkhorn stage, Ken Pomeroy from Oklahoma delivered a uniquely soft set filled with Dust Bowl longings. In a genre typically consumed with tough acoustics and roaring lyrics, Pomeroy’s performance was a look at the other end of country, a softer, still deeply authentic glance at real people with their real problems.

Drawing from her sophomore album Cruel Joke, Pomeroy played hauntingly beautiful tracks like “Days Getting Darker” and “Flannel Cowboy” to a captivated audience enthralled by her wispy voice and the minor tunes in her songs.

Pomeroy played two songs inspired by her grandmother, the first, “Coyote,” also off of Cruel Joke. Born of Cherokee descent, Pomeroy’s grandmother gave her a native name that translates to “Little Wolf with Yellow Hair” yet gave her the nickname “Coyote” despite the negative connotations often associated with the animal in indigenous tribes. Toward the end of her set she played an unreleased track titled “Cayenne,” which her grandmother used to grow in her garden.

Pomeroy’s performance was an emblem of modern country — a softer glance at an often rough genre still steeped with southern storytelling and beautiful melodies.

Back at Burl Stage, three amazing acts went back to back, showcasing the range of Railbird’s artists and the devotion of the crowd that filled the tent each time. Kicking off the early evening with Laci Kaye Booth’s sultry voice singing her latest singles like “Daddy’s Mugshot” and “George F****** Strait,” Booth commanded the stage dressed in a see-through black dress like a witch leading her coven. Released only a few days before her show, Booth performed her newest track “Ethereal Redneck Shit,” a slow-strumming, sexy piece written by her about herself.

Booth also delved into her album The Loneliest Girl In The World to play songs like the title track, “Damn Good in a Dive Bar,” “Sometimes,” and more, thanking the crowd in between each number for watching her play and her success within the industry.

Following Booth was Sons of Habit, a five-piece ensemble created in Kentucky with a goal of one day performing at Railbird. With that added fact told by the band to the crowd, their folk-sy performance transcended from just another great act to one with far more sentimental value and appreciation from both the band and the audience.

Waylon Wyatt lit up the Burl Stage as one of the final acts of the night before the main headliners, bringing out early performer Colton Bowlin to play a song with him on stage. Wyatt played tracks from his breakout EP Till The Sun Goes Down like “Arkansas Diamond,” as well as newer songs on his upcoming debut album Dustpiles.

The first headliner of the night to rock on the Limestone stage was Mt. Joy, followed by Caamp at Elkhorn before The Lumineers closed out the night back at Limestone. Each performance, while distinct in their styles, brought together every attendee of the festival to dance along to the pick of an acoustic and shout along to lyrics that could bring tears in their eyes.

During their performance of “Brightside,” the title track off The Lumineers’ 2022 album, founding member Wesley Schultz jumped down from the stage to walk through the sea of people around him, grabbing hands that reached out to him and providing an intimacy seemingly impossible with so many people around.

Sunday, June 7th

Bust out the electric guitar and raise the volume on that amp; it’s time to give country a little rock n’ roll. That’s how the energy felt on day two of Railbird anyway, especially with artists showcasing the wide range of possibilities within the genre by raging on an electric.

Exhibiting this was Alabama-native Kashus Culpepper, who released his debut album Act 1 in January of this year. Opening his set with the radio advertisement-sounding intro to his album that bleeds right into his song “Southern Man,” Culpepper delivered hard-hitting vocals to booming electrics and had everyone nodding their heads to the beat.

Culpepper played two songs inspired by friends of his back in Alabama, “Alabama Beauty Queen” and “Man of His Word.” During the first song, as Culpepper sang the bridge, “Let it rain/Let it pour/Let it fill every void,” drizzles of rain descended onto the crowd at Railbird, making it feel as though Culpepper himself could make that happen and encasing the audience in a summer rain embrace.

Opening up the Limestone Stage, Carter Faith sprung on stage, diving into “Betty” off her debut album Cherry Valley, the high-speed, upbeat track getting the crowd jumping along to her words. Also from her debut, she played “Arrows (Die For That Man),” “Six String,” and delved into her past works for tracks like “Lasso.” Faith often explained the meaning or inspiration behind her songs before jumping in to them, using “Lasso” as an opportunity to explain that it’s about getting back with an ex and simultaneously warning the crowd not to do the same.

With a quicker-speed cover of Britney Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again,” Faith invited everyone to sing along to the iconic song before returning back to her discography, playing “Ain’t Over Me Yet,” released in May as part of her upcoming deluxe edition of Cherry Valley.

Faith’s set was a wonderful mix of staccato-popping pieces and evocative melodies, each song showcasing her ability to belt out the highest notes and immediately delve deep into her repertoire to nail a lower tune.

Back at the Burl Stage, just like the day before, three back to back acts stood out as definite highlights of the day.

Starting off with The Creekers, a six-piece bluegrass band local to Kentucky, who brought an authentic look at down-to-earth music to Railbird. With the classic components of a fiddle, banjo, bass, and more, The Creekers played a mix of their discography, focusing on tracks from their 2024 debut album Pour Me In The Creek. The jaunty, Hillbilly-vibe brought to Burl had audience members twirling each other around and finding friendships in strangers to dance with.

Ending with their most listened to song “Tennessee,” The Creekers left the stage to screaming fans and a lingering Americana spirit filling the air.

Following came powerhouse country artist Willow Avalon, who introduced herself to the stage as someone who “writes songs about men who don’t say sorry.” Avalon’s set was a combination of classic country sounds with modern storytelling, especially as — true to her words — a majority of the songs she played were inspired by wrongdoing men. Dancing across the stage, Avalon played tracks like “Tequila or Whiskey,” “Yodelayheewho,” and “Work To Do,” the last song a part of her upcoming third album Pink Pocket Pistol.

Avalon taught the crowd a chant to an unreleased song, like to appear on the new album. The song serves as a warning to stay clear from dating men named Will, Johnny, and Taylor as they’ll underdeliver and disappoint in relationships. As Avalon roused the crowd to shout “Jail or hell!” after the name Taylor is mentioned in the song, the energy in Burl was electric with anger focused toward fictional men in Avalon’s energetic song.

Avalon’s performance was girlhood and country, a safe space for women to rage against their exes and a comforting hug after from Avalon who was ready with another song.

Taking to the Burl Stage as one of the last acts before the headliners, Evan Honer backflipped onto the stage and immediately began singing, leaving the crowd roaring with applause and setting the energy high for the rest of the night.

The Arizona-native initially rose to fame with his cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant,” but has since carved a niche for himself of fast strumming acoustic chords and songs commenting on the nostalgia of lost time. Honer’s music, whether that be from the deluxe edition of his third album Everything I Wanted or singles from early in the decade, has a distinct feeling of watching the sunset over rolling fields, a common experience that always feels extraordinary.

Singing tracks like “idk shit about cars” and “Better Off Lonely,” Honer’s non-stop set where he ran across the stage, danced with his band, and clapped hands with the shouting crowd before him prepped the start of an electric evening and even more incredible night.

Over at Limestone, Zach Top hit the stage as the first headliner of the night, followed by Ella Langley at Elkhorn, and Tyler Childers back at Limestone. Top brought the elements of current, yet still deeply authentic country to Railbird, playing tracks meant for a dirt road truck drive and a cowboy hat.

Langley, still on her wave of success from her hit single “Choosin’ Texas,” performed for the thousands of screaming fans tracks from her new EP Dandelion and YEAR album Hungover. During the acoustic portion of her set, where Langley picks two songs from her discography to do an all acoustic, just herself rendition of the piece, she played “Something Simple” and “Butterflies,” choosing these songs for their messages on how everyone should get what they deserve and not let themselves fall short due to self-doubt.

Tyler Childers closed the 2026 Railbird weekend on a blazing note, the Kentucky-native named the first artist to join the Railbird Festival Hall of Fame by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Beshear’s Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins. Adkins awarded Childers at the start of his set before Childers took over and played his heart out.

Childers played a mix of his iconic songs like “Shake The Frost” and “All Your’n” as well as pieces of his 2025 album Snipe Hunter. It was a performance of community and love, which felt magnified after the weekend of nothing but the same emotions.

As the moon shone over the derby and 40,000 people headed back home, a lingering melody of warmth, banjos, and acoustic guitars rang throughout the space, destined to live there for as long as the horses can run.

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 © Andrea Escobar Garcia

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