Forecastle founder JK McKnight quoted Hunter S. Thompson “buy the ticket, take the ride” when he announced Forecastle 2014’s lineup, and the 2014 festival happened to coincide with the birthday of our gonzo native son.
Forecastle 2014 was threatened by the same intermittently stormy skies that dampened Forecastle 2013, but with much less drama, and far more outbreaks of perfect weather. Crowd estimates for Forecastle 2014 hovered in the 60,000 range.
This year’s Bourbon Lodge was the usual highlight (someone gifted our photographer with $60 in drink tickets).
Friday favorites included twenty one pilots, Outkast, JJ Grey and Mofro; and Gary Clark Jr. (Big Boi appeared to enjoy Forecastle 2014 more than Forecastle 2013, when he performed in a full-length leg brace).
Saturday’s lineup included Hurray for the Riff Raff, Soul Rebels, Spanish Gold, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Jason Isbell, and Dwight Yoakam, who prohibited photos entirely (his set included Little Sister; Guitars, Cadillacs; and Fast As You). Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings got our photographer’s vote for best Saturday performance, along with Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up.”
Saturday night’s headliner Jack White opened with “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,”; wisely covered Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky”; added an ode to Dwight Yoakam with a version of Hotel Yorba that threw in a little Buck Owens; and got roars approval for a cover of Hank Williams’ “You Know That I Know.”
The ladies from Lucius were gracious in a pre-show chat and put on a killer Sunday show, including a cover of (previous Forecastle headliners) My Morning Jacket. The Beck-produced Jenny Lewis (known for 2006’s Rabbit Fur Coat), played from her upcoming release The Voyager, and was joined onstage by the Watson Twins. Nickel Creek played “The Lighthouse’s Tale,” “This Side,” “Reasons Why and “Elephant in the Corn,” in their Sunday set.
The Replacements began to wind down the weekend on Sunday, joined on stage by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong (who kissed Paul Westerberg on the mouth during “Can’t Hardly Wait”). Louisville writer Jeffrey Lee Puckett tweeted “The Replacements just played a set so perfect @forecastle that Beck should consider canceling. Not joking.”
Beck’s headlining set included a Michael Jackson cover and a Busta Rhymes mash up.
PHOTOS BY WALTER CORNETT
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Benjamin Booker
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The Black Lips
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JJ Grey and Mofro
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Against Me
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Gary Clark Jr
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Twenty One Pilots
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Outkast
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Hurray for the Riff Raff
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Soul Rebels
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Spanish Gold
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Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
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Jason Isbell
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Band of Horses
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Matrimony
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Lucius
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Brett Dennen
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Trampled by Turtles
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Jenny Lewis
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Nickel Creek
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The Replacements
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