Louder Than Life 2025
Wrapped Up 8 Electrifying Days Of Music Performances In Louisville,
With America’s Loudest Rock & Metal Festival (Sept 18-21) &
Bourbon & Beyond A Week Prior (Sept 11-14)
Bringing In A Combined, Record-Breaking Attendance Of Over 450,000 Fans
Louder Than Life Returns September 17-20, 2026
First Headliner Revealed: My Chemical Romance
Plus Many More Acts To Be Announced
Early Bird Tickets Will Go On Sale This Fall At
For the past two weeks, Louisville, Kentucky was the place to be for music fans. Starting with Bourbon & Beyond, September 11-14 and followed by Louder Than Life, September 18-21, the destination city played host to eight incredible days of music performances from nearly 300 artists and a combined, record-breaking attendance of over 450,000 across the two festivals. Both festivals took place at Kentucky Exposition Center and were produced by one of America’s leading independent producers, Danny Wimmer Presents. New this year, festival passholders were able to enjoy free rides at Kentucky Kingdom; the attraction welcomed more than 100,000 attendees over the course of the two festivals.
Louder Than Life not only continues its reputation as America’s Loudest Rock & Metal Festival with the 2025 edition, but the 11th year of the event also marked the biggest festival in the history of DWP, and breaking rock festival records in North America. There were a number of once-in-a-lifetime moments over the course of the four days that added to the specialness of Louder Than Life, including:
Thursday
- The return of thrash metal giants Slayer
- Rob Zombie’s performance of Astro-Creep: 2000 in full
- Shavo Odadjian & Igor Cavalera performing with Down for the band’s first time back in Kentucky in 10 years, celebrating 30 years of NOLA
- Cavalera playing the brothers’ iconic Sepultura record, Chaos A.D., in full in a very rare, special performance
Friday
- Avenged Sevenfold’s only U.S. headlining show of the year
- All Time Low performing their new single “Butterflies” for the first time
- Powerwolf in their U.S. festival debut, inviting Machine Head’s Robb Flynn on stage for “Demons Are The Girls Best Friends”
Saturday
- Deftones’ hits-driven headliner set and last date of their U.S. tour (which will be followed by a hometown show at Aftershock October 3)
- Bad Omens’ live debuts of “Specter” & “Impose”
- A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese guesting with Stone Temple Pilots
- I Prevail dedicating “Hurricane” to their former agent Dave Shapiro who passed away this year
Sunday
- Bring Me The Horizon & Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain performing “a bulleT w/ my namE On” together for the first time ever. This was also Bring Me The Horizon’s first U.S. festival headlining appearance and North American tour launch
- Evanescence inviting Paul McCoy of 12 Stones to perform “Bring Me To Life” (original studio co-vocalist on the song) and livestreamed their entire set to over 13,000 viewers from around the world
- Knocked Loose’s hometown headlining show
- Three Days Grace live debut of new song “Kill Me Fast”
Louder Than Life also featured performances from Lamb of God, Mudvayne, Spiritbox, Dream Theater, Motionless in White, Cypress Hill, Acid Bath, Lorna Shore, Bruce Dickinson, and many more.
The festival’s 2026 dates were just announced, along with the first headliner: My Chemical Romance, set to headline one night. Louder Than Life will return September 17-20, 2026 with additional acts to be shared in the coming months. Early bird passes will go on sale later this Fall, fans can sign up to get priority presale access now at louderthanlifefestival.com.
Here’s what media had to say about Louder Than Life 2025:
“Louder Than Life 2025 roared back as the undisputed heavyweight of American rock festivals, taking over its new grounds with a scale and ferocity that felt unstoppable — and proving once again how far it has outgrown its own legend. Each new chapter raises its magnitude in an utterly uncompromising way, and this year the dial broke clean off.” — Metal Injection
“Louder Than Life isn’t just keeping pace with the biggest festivals in the country — it’s setting a new standard for the music industry.” — LEO Weekly
“Louder Than Life 2025 was bigger than ever.” — Courier Journal
“Louder Than Life festival hit Kentucky this weekend with another huge lineup.” — Rock Sound
In addition to music performances, this year’s edition of Louder Than Life featured various partner onsite activations, award-winning beverages and delectable eats from partners including Acathla Clothing, Al Capone, Angel’s Envy, Basil Hayden, Beatbox Beverages, Black Shades, Blackcraft Cult, Bud Light, Cutwater Spirits, Demons Behind Me, Dimebag Hardware, Drew Estate, Eargasm, Elijah Craig, Fxck Cancer, Huber’s Starlight Distillery, Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Knob Creek & Rye, KREWE, Kroger, Maker’s Mark, Middle West Spirits, Milagro Tequila, Old Forester, Park Community Credit Union, Voices for Consumer Choice and Citizens for Tobacco Rights, Parlor Root Beer, Red Bull, Strüng, Take Me Home, The Music Experience, The Taylor Foundation, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, To Write Love on Her Arms, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, Voices for Consumer Choice and Citizens for Tobacco Rights, White Claw, and Willett Distillery.
According to Louisville Tourism, it is estimated that Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life together generated nearly $43 million in local economic impact in 2025. The back-to-back festivals also drove some of the highest hotel demand of the year, with overall occupancy reaching more than 80% citywide. These preliminary estimates highlight the tremendous tourism and economic value of the festivals, which bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Louisville and fuel spending across hotels, restaurants, bourbon attractions, and local businesses.
Louder Than Life is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America.
To learn more about Louder Than Life, please visit:
Website: https://louderthanlifefestival.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louderthanlifefestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LTLFest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louderthanlifefest
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@louderthanlifefestival
#LouderThanLife
Louder Than Life’s crowd and grounds by Logan Rouse
Slayer by Steve Thrasher
Avenged Sevenfold by Steve Thrasher
Deftones by Steve Thrasher
Bring Me The Horizon by Steve Thrasher
Rob Zombie by Nathan Zucker
Evanescence by Steve Thrasher
Bad Omens by Steve Thrasher
Sleep Token by Adam Rossi
Fans taking in the newly expanded grounds by Jordan Pantoja
Rides at Kentucky Kingdom available to Louder Than Life pass holders by Jordan Pantoja
The University of Louisville marching band playing “The Black Parade” to help to announce 2026 headliner My Chemical Romance, by Steve Thrasher
About Danny Wimmer Presents: Since 1995, music industry veteran Danny Wimmer has been producing concerts and festivals, both large and small. In 2011, he founded Danny Wimmer Presents, a live entertainment company that produces the largest rock, metal, and alternative music festivals in the U.S. By combining A-list talent, bringing exceptional creativity to life, and curating local cuisine and culture, DWP is recognized within the industry for delivering exceptional entertainment experiences to fans, artists, sponsors, partners, and host cities. DWP creates unforgettable and all-encompassing festival experiences, leaving both attendees and partners with lasting and meaningful impressions. From 2020 and on, DWP has been an innovator in the digital content space with over two dozen international livestreams, acclaimed social series Offstage with DWP, DWPresents Channel on Twitch, which has garnered over 25 million worldwide views since its launch in mid-2021, and The Power Hour, a weekly show dedicated to the world of rock, on AXS TV. The 2025 DWP festival lineup includes Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival and Welcome To Rockville.
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