Bailey Loosemore

@bloosemore

The planning of a Louisville-focused food and bourbon festival by a California company has some people questioning the producer's motives.

But a representative from Danny Wimmer Presents – the business behind both the Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life festivals in Louisville – said there's nothing more behind the plans than pure love for the city.

Late last month, the events production company announced dates for the Bourbon & Beyond festival, labeling it a "celebration of Louisville" that would take place before this year's Louder Than Life festival on the weekend of Sept. 23-24 at Champions Park.

Few other details were released at the time. However, the Courier-Journal recently spoke with Danny Wimmer Presents CEO Danny Hayes about what the festival will entail – and why the company is planning it.

"The festival is going to be everything bourbon; it's the bourbon lifestyle," Hayes said. "What we found so impressive in Louisville is bourbon isn't just a drink. It really is the spirit of the community and it permeates everything."

The idea for a food and bourbon festival didn't come out of the blue. It's actually one of the key recommendations made by a 60-member committee in a city-commissioned food and bourbon report, released in 2014.

For the past three years, Louisville leaders have used the report to guide new tourism and economic development opportunities in the city.

Several of the report's eight main recommendations are already in the works, including the pending creation of a Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitor center at the Frazier History Museum and the establishment of the Stave & Thief Society bourbon certification program at Moonshine University.

However, the idea for a "world-class signature Bourbon and Food Festival" took longer to get off the ground as city administrators realized they didn't have the resources or expertise needed to plan the festival they envisioned.

More: Nicks, Vedder lead Bourbon & Beyond music lineup

More: Celeb chefs, musicians for Bourbon & Beyond announced

Instead, the mayor's office gave Danny Wimmer Presents the go-ahead to organize the festival itself, spokesman Chris Poynter said.

"Being a private festival, they can come out of the gate in a very big way in year one, which we could never have done as a city government," Poynter said. "... We're really happy that Wimmer productions is doing this festival for our city as an entrepreneurial venture. We could have struggled for years and years to get something big up and running."

Danny Wimmer Presents adopted the committee's working title Bourbon & Beyond for the festival and is following the members' wishes of celebrating Louisville culture through the city's food and drinks.

The company plans to use music as an initial draw, Hayes said, announcing a line-up Monday that includes Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder and the Steve Miller Band, among other artists.

However, it plans to hold guests' attention through workshops, bourbon pairings and cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs Edward Lee, Top Chef's Tom Colicchio and The Chew's Carla Hall.

"All the things we went through with our indoctrination into bourbon, we're now going to incorporate into this festival," Hayes said.

MORE FROM THE C-J

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►5 things you missed Saturday at Louder Than Life

Eventually, Danny Wimmer Presents plans to offer three Louisville festivals on back-to-back weekends, with a country festival coming down the line. The festivals would each include a bourbon component but would offer varying music line-ups for different audiences.

Hayes said the festivals will ideally continue to take place in September, during National Bourbon Heritage Month. However, Kentucky Distillers' Association president Eric Gregory said he's unsure how the state's distillers can handle attending both the music festivals and the internationally known Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown.

"One of the reasons, when we started to look at the Kentucky Bourbon Affair, of why we chose June was knowing the brands were already stretched in September," Gregory said, adding that he is currently organizing a meeting between the festival promoters and distillery representatives. "... I'm anxious to sit down and find out what they've got planned."

Hayes said Danny Wimmer Presents isn't about stepping on local events' toes. It doesn't want to market to bourbon aficionados like the Kentucky Bourbon Affair does, and it doesn't want to select the same artists that Forecastle would be going after, either.

"We're not looking to hurt anybody," Hayes said. "We want to support and promote everything about Louisville. We want Forecastle to get involved, and the KDA and Bardstown event. We're trying to showcase it all. It's all part of a culture and a lifestyle. We want to be inclusive."

The events company expects 70 percent of the festival's attendees to arrive from out of town and 50 percent to come from out of state, Hayes said.

MORE: Celeb chefs, musicians for Bourbon & Beyond

That's how it's worked for Louder Than Life, which drew more than 32,000 individual people in 2015 and had an economic impact of nearly $13 million that year, according to a study commissioned by the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

For Bourbon & Beyond, Danny Wimmer Presents plans to invest $6 million and draw at least 20,000 people per day, Hayes said.

"With Louder Than Life, we hope to have proven that we do deliver," Hayes said. "We do have some history now to show what we do and how we do it. We hope that gives us the benefit of the doubt."

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.

Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder and the Steve Miller Band will headline the Bourbon & Beyond festival, taking place Sept. 23-24 at Champions Park.

On Monday, festival producer Danny Wimmer Presents announced the musical line-up, along with a list of celebrity chefs who will be in attendance for the food and bourbon portions of the event - including Louisville's Edward Lee, along with Top Chef's Tom Colicchio and The Chew's Carla Hall.

The festival intends to celebrate the "soul and spirit of Kentucky" by featuring behind-the-scenes looks at how bourbons are crafted and aged, with demonstrations on barrel cooperage, the distilling process and other various workshops, a press release stated.

The festival will showcase more than 50 of the state's best bourbons - selected for the event by chef Lee, author Fred Minnick and chef Chris Cosentino - and will serve dishes from more than 20 Louisville restaurants, the release stated.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at bourbonandbeyond.com.

MUSIC

Stevie Nicks

Eddie Vedder

Steve Miller Band

Band of Horses

Joe Bonamassa

Gary Clark Jr.

Paul Rodgers

Amos Lee

Buddy Guy

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Jonny Lang

G. Love & Special Sauce

Chris Robinson Brotherhood

ZZ Ward

Nikki Lane

Shawn James & The Shapeshifters

Fantastic Negrito

Kiefer Sutherland

CHEFS