SoKY’s Choice: Cave Sing fills Mammoth Cave with holiday music

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (WNKY) – Under lantern light and echoing stone, more than a thousand people gathered underground Sunday for the 46th annual Cave Sing at Mammoth Cave National Park, a holiday tradition that turned one of Kentucky’s most iconic natural spaces into a soaring concert hall.

Visitors made the chilly walk down the hillside to the Historic Entrance, where the Heart of Kentucky Chorus and the Butler County Middle School auditioned choir performed in the cave’s natural “music hall,” a chamber known for its warm acoustics and cathedral-like sound.

“My students don’t get opportunities like this very often,” said Travis Lowe, music director at Butler County High School and Middle School. “This is everything to them, these are core memories.”

For returning performers like the Heart of Kentucky Chorus, the chance to sing underground is both rare and remarkable.

“The acoustics are phenomenal, and the cave is gorgeous,” said Jim Lever, the group’s past president. “Being invited to sing here feels like a blessing.”

Park officials say the event grows each year as images shared online spark interest far beyond south-central Kentucky.

“People see how beautiful this event is and want to experience it themselves,” said Molly Schroer, Mammoth Cave public information officer. “It’s become something locals love, and now visitors travel from well outside the region to be part of it.”

Attendees said the combination of music and environment is what sets Cave Sing apart.

“You don’t realize how big it is until you’re standing down there,” said Charlene, who attended with family. “The acoustics were incredible.”

Michael Goodman, a former seasonal Mammoth Cave guide who has attended multiple Cave Sings, said the tradition has stayed meaningful through the years.

“The environment amplifies the music in a way you can’t recreate anywhere else,” Goodman said. “That’s what makes it special.”

After the final candlelit chorus of “Silent Night,” visitors returned to the surface for refreshments, and a quick visit with Santa, as another year of the enduring holiday tradition came to a close.