Hey folks! What a great time we all had at Kentucky Music Week 2023! Right now, we are tentatively planning to bring the festival back to Bardstown. The dates are June 23-28, 2024. We will post classes and artists at a later date. Looking forward to seeing everyone at KMW 2024!

Kentucky Music Week offers a full five days of instruction in a wide variety of traditional arts including all levels of fretted dulcimer and hammered dulcimer, classes in ukulele, guitar, banjo, fiddle, autoharp, penny whistle, vocal classes, old-time craft classes, and much, much more! Over 170 class choices are offered this year with something for everyone!

Festivities begin with a huge welcome party and jam session Sunday evening. Week-long evening activities include concerts by instructors, open stage opportunities for participants, bonus afternoon workshops, lots of jams, an opportunity to visit area attractions, campground jam, Mardi Gras Party and Finale’ Jam!

A wonderful week is planned full of music classes, jammin’, making new friends and seeing old ones again in beautiful Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

 

Location

North Bullitt High School will be our class location for 2023! North Bullitt High is all on one floor, with plenty of parking, access to all the classroom space we need for instructors, a large gym for vending and a smaller gym for dance classes, and so much more!

We are sure you will love our location this year!
Address:
3200 East Hebron Lane
Shepherdsville, KY 40165

Lodging

Our host hotels this year are the "Best Western Shepherdsville" and "Super 8 Shepherdsville" in Shepherdsville; and the "Hampton Inn" and "Sure Stay Best Western General Nelson" in Bardstown, along with several others listed on our Lodging page. You MUST say you are with Kentucky Music Week in order to receive our discounted rate! Also, be sure to tell the hotel/motel any special needs you might have.

Grandma's RV Camping is our camp grounds for this year. The Campground Jam (held Monday night) will be at Grandma's Campground.

You must make your own reservations with the motels or campgrounds directly. Phone numbers and other information can be found on our Lodging page. Jamming information is listed with each motel and campground.

Some hotels and campgrounds will fill up early, however, there are always cancellations closer to KMW. There are also a number of Airbnb's in Shepherdsville and Bardstown. Please contact us if you need help at info@kentuckymusicweek.com.

Food During Kentucky Music Week

Breakfast is usually included with your motel rooms. Best Western Shepherdsville, Hampton Inn, and Sure Stay Best Western General Nelson offer a full breakfast buffet. Most others have Continental breakfast items. There are many restaurants in Shepherdsville that offer a great breakfast.

Lunch offers several options: lunches will be catered in each day for those that want to purchase the lunch plan; you can purchase items from the concession stand; area restaurants are a short drive away or bring your own to the school.

The KMW lunch plan offers a different option each day. These include fried or roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, slaw and biscuit, Italian buffet with salad and bread, sandwiches with pasta salad, slaw, and chips, and more! All lunches come with dessert and either iced tea, lemonade or bottled water. If you have food allergies, need a vegetarian option, or special food requirements you may not want the KMW lunch plan.

Luncheon Salads are available at the concession stand with day-before pre-order. Concession stand is located right across the hall from the cafeteria and you are welcome to eat lunch there if you want.

Supper is on your own, however, there are many restaurants throughout Shepherdsville and Bardstown that are close to motels. A list of suggested restaurants will be provided in your Welcome Packet. Some restaurants give discounts to Kentucky Music Week participants! Your KMW name badge is your ticket for these discounts.

Evening Activities & Jam Info

There is rarely a dull moment at Kentucky Music Week. Sunday, after you check in, there is a Welcome Party and JAM at the school. Great music and jam leaders, with hot snacks, and drinks available throughout the evening.

Jam Info: All motels listed here will have areas assigned to us for evening jams. There will also be Jam leaders in most locations on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. The other nights you can still jam on your own, but Sunday night is the huge jam at the school from about 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Tuesday and Thursday nights are our concert nights and they usually run until about 10:30. You are always welcome to go to each jam location to play together. The motels ask that you clean up after yourselves when you are ready to leave for the night so the area is ready for their breakfast early the next morning.
#1. In Shepherdsville at the Best Western Shepherdsville at exit 117, Dana and Hank Gruber will be leading the slow to medium jam on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights.
#2. In Shepherdsville at the Super 8, exit 117, Stephen Seifert will be leading the medium to fast jam on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.
#3. In Bardstown, at the Sure Stay General Nelson, Rick Thum will be leading that jam. The Jam Building (the Carriage House) is only available to us on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings.
#4. In Bardstown, at the Hampton Inn, Dave Haas will be leading that jam. It is a medium-speed jam, and although Dave will be leading it Monday and Wednesday in our usual jam room, Friday's jam will move to the lobby. You are welcome to use their jam room any evening except Friday as late as you want. You are also welcome on Friday to go over to the Sure Stay General Nelson for our Friday Jam and Party. It is our last night!

Monday evening is our Campground Jam at Grandma's RV Campground. Bring your own folding chairs and anything else you might need. In case of bad weather, alternative jams are available in the hotels mentioned above.

Tuesday and Thursday are our concert nights, they will be held in Shepherdsville this year. Location information will be provided in your Welcome Packet that you will receive when you arrive.

Wednesday night you are on your own! You can tour historic Bardstown, KY or dine in any of the resturants in Shepherdsville or Bardstown. Jams will also be held at the hotels mentioned above.

Friday night is our Grand Finale' Jam at host hotels (listed above). It's always a big party night and one last chance to join together to play some favorite tunes!

Please check out our new online learning school, Kentucky Music Institute. Artists sharing their timeless skills in visual arts and music.