Sting announced as new headliner for Bourbon & Beyond. Here's what to know

Sting has been announced as a replacement headliner for Bourbon & Beyond.

The 17-time Grammy Award-winning icon and former frontman of The Police is set to make his debut at the festival, set for Sept. 19-22 at Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center.

Sting was added to the lineup after the previous Thursday headliner, Neil Young, announced he was canceling the remainder of this tour due to illness. In a previous Instagram post, Bourbon & Beyond posted a message from Young that said a few members of Young's Love Earth Tour got sick after a show in Detroit and the group has not fully recovered yet and is taking a "big unplanned break."

"We know you made travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks for your understanding and patience," Young's message read. "Health is #1."

The Bourbon & Beyond festival, set for Sept. 19-22, features headliners such as Sting, Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan.
The Bourbon & Beyond festival, set for Sept. 19-22, features headliners such as Sting, Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan.

For the musician's Thursday set, Sting will perform with his new power rock trio, called STING 3.0.

The band includes Dominic Miller, a virtuoso guitarist and longtime Sting collaborator, and Chris Maas, a drummer who has performed with Mumford & Sons and Maggie Rogers.

The performance will include "the most electrifying hits from his vast catalog through the urgent lens of a tight three-piece combo," according to a news release from Bourbon & Beyond.

"While we will miss Neil Young at Bourbon this year, we’re excited to welcome a music legend, Sting, to theBourbon & Beyond lineup," the festival's organizer, Danny Wimmer, said in the release. "We've been trying to bring Sting to Bourbon for you since 2018 and it’s an incredible honor to have him join us for what will undoubtedly be our biggest and most unforgettable year ever."

Here's what else to know about the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond music festival:

When is Bourbon & Beyond?

The crowd at Bourbon & Beyond on the final day, Sunday, September 17, 2023
The crowd at Bourbon & Beyond on the final day, Sunday, September 17, 2023

The festival returns to Louisville Sept. 19-22, at the Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane. This year's show features two additional stages and 40 additional acts, The Courier Journal previously reported.

What is Bourbon & Beyond?

Fans enjoyed Wayne Newton on the Barrel Stage of Bourbon & Beyond Friday afternoon.
Sept. 15, 2023
Fans enjoyed Wayne Newton on the Barrel Stage of Bourbon & Beyond Friday afternoon. Sept. 15, 2023

A multi-day festival celebrating whiskey and music.

The festival boasts 100 acts including headliners Sting and Beck on Thursday, Dave Matthews Band and Tedeschi Trucks Band on Friday, Zach Bryan and Cody Jinks on Saturday, and Tyler Childers and My Morning Jacket on Sunday.

Aside from the music, festival-goers will be able to deepen their knowledge of whiskey products with daily workshops and demonstrations hosted by renowned master distillers and celebrity chefs such as Chris Blandford, Amanda Freitag, Ed Lee, and Chris Santos.

Is Bourbon & Beyond free?

The festival is not free. Tickets are currently available at bourbonandbeyond.com.

How much are tickets to Bourbon & Beyond?

Fans enjoying art at Bourbon & Beyond Thursday afternoon at the Fairgrounds. 
Sept. 14, 2023
Fans enjoying art at Bourbon & Beyond Thursday afternoon at the Fairgrounds. Sept. 14, 2023

Single-day general admission passes start at $129.99 plus fees. Single-day VIP tickets are sold out except for Thursday, with prices starting at $269.99.

Four-day general admission weekend packages range in price from $349.99 plus fees. Four-day weekend VIP packages are sold out.

Prices typically increase closer to the festival date.

Where do I find more information about the festival?

The Bourbon & Beyond website is a one-stop shop for the festival's entertainment lineup, tickets, camping and hotel packages. The schedule of music performances, as well as the full culinary and bourbon workshop schedule for Bourbon & Beyond, is below and available on the festival app (bourbonandbeyond.com/mobileapp).

What is the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond Festival lineup?

Sting performs during his My Songs tour at the Ascend Amphitheater Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.
Sting performs during his My Songs tour at the Ascend Amphitheater Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.

The current music lineup for Bourbon & Beyond on Sept. 19-22 is as follows, with additional artists to be announced:

Thursday, Sept. 19

  • Sting

  • Beck

  • Matchbox Twenty

  • Fleet Foxes

  • Maren Morris

  • Koe Wetzel

  • Lyle Lovett

  • The Wallflowers

  • Beth Hart

  • Larry Fleet

  • Arlo Parks

  • BRELAND

  • Patty Smyth

  • M. Ward

  • Suzanne Vega

  • The Record Company

  • KT Tunstall

  • Jade Bird

  • Taylor Acorn

  • Andy Frasco & The U.N.

  • The Sam Bush Band

  • Sister Sadie

  • Mapache

  • Maggie Antone

  • Colby T. Helms and The Virginia Creepers

  • Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley

  • The Kentucky Gentlemen

  • East Nash Grass

  • Kyle Ray

Friday, Sept. 20

  • Dave Matthews Band

  • Tedeschi Trucks Band

  • Black Pumas

  • The Head and The Heart

  • Melissa Etheridge

  • Chris Isaak

  • Charles Wesley Godwin

  • Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers

  • JJ Grey & Mofro

  • Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

  • Hiss Golden Messenger

  • Wyatt Flores

  • Cimafunk

  • The Dip

  • Dan Tyminski

  • The Jerry Douglas Band

  • Abby Anderson

  • Abraham Alexander

  • Vincent Neil Emerson

  • The Castellows

  • Briscoe

  • Grace Bowers

  • Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel

  • Robert Jon & the Wreck

  • New Dangerfield

  • Chatham County Line

Saturday, Sept. 21

  • Zach Bryan

  • Whiskey Myers

  • Cody Jinks

  • Young the Giant

  • Teddy Swims

  • KALEO

  • Sierra Ferrell

  • Shane Smith and The Saints

  • Cory Wong

  • Allen Stone

  • Niko Moon

  • Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band

  • Mat Kearney

  • Smith & Myers

  • Soul Asylum

  • Son Volt

  • Wild Rivers

  • Samantha Fish

  • Amigo the Devil

  • Tony Trishka's Earlyjam: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs

  • Robert Finley

  • Hueston

  • Theo Lawrence

  • Big Richard

  • Tray Wellington Band

  • Mountain Grass Unit

Sunday, Sept. 22

  • Tyler Childers

  • My Morning Jacket

  • The National

  • The War on Drugs

  • The Beach Boys

  • Mt. Joy

  • Milky Chance

  • X Ambassadors

  • Sunny Day Real Estate

  • Dinosaur JR.

  • Larkin Poe

  • Lucius

  • The War and Treaty

  • Futurebirds

  • The Bacon Brothers

  • Neal Francis

  • Dexter and The Moonrocks

  • Meg Myers

  • Yonder Mountain String Band

  • Devon Gilfillian

  • Mac Saturn

  • Jake Kohn

  • Motherfolk

  • Madie Diaz

  • The Brothers Comatose

  • Lizzie No

  • The Jacob Jolliff Band

  • The Local Honeys

Reporter Kirby Adams contributed to this report. Reach Amanda Hancock at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sting is new headliner for Bourbon & Beyond 2024