Sonic Fest celebrates south-central Kentucky’s musical history

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) – Musicians and music fans gathered at the Kentucky Museum on Saturday for Sonic Fest, a four-hour concert celebrating the musical history of south -central Kentucky.

The event grew out of the museum’s Sonic Landscape exhibit, which opened last September. The exhibit is the result of years of research and 95 oral histories with musicians, record store owners, small recording studio operators and music fans from the region.

Brent Bjorkman, director of the Kentucky Museum and the Kentucky Folklife Program at Western Kentucky University, said the concert brought years of that work together.

“The Sonic Fest concert today is a culmination of many, many years of fieldwork, oral histories with musicians,” Bjorkman said.

The concert highlighted several styles represented in the exhibit, including gospel, rock and roll, country, bluegrass and newgrass. Its programming also featured Moral Chain of Custody, an audio project created by Billy Mack Hill of Government Cheese.

Bjorkman said the event brought back memories for people who attended local music venues and drew some visitors from outside the area.

“There’s people that have been flying in to it because it’s really nostalgic. A lot of people remember going to the clubs around here and to bring that back. That’s the energy that we had today,” he said.

Organizers hope Sonic Fest will continue as an annual event, celebrating the region’s musical legacy while connecting Western Kentucky University with the surrounding community.