Railbird review: Noah Kahan, Chris Stapleton take music festival by storm

Two-day Lexington music festival Railbird had on-and-off moments with the rain, but the songs shone.

Nearly 45,000 people rocked and stomped in the Red Mile infield to the music of Chris Stapleton, Noah Kahan, Wynonna, Elle King, Counting Crows and Hozier, sometimes on stage together in unique collaborations.

A first for both Railbird and Chris Stapleton took place Sunday night when — prior to a performance of “Parachute” — the Lexington-born singer’s attention was caught by a young fan riding the rail who’d just graduated from his alma mater, Johnson Central High School in Paintsville, and brought his diploma for him to sign.

“Sign your JCHS diploma? Did you bring your high school diploma to a festival?” said Stapleton. “Hell yeah, I’ll sign it. That’s too weird man, thank you!”

Rain makes Railbird debut

The most notable first at this fourth iteration of the festival — the second to be held at the Red Mile — was the rain. While a persistent drizzle loomed over Saturday’s action, afternoon showers on Sunday had some running for cover.

Sunday’s first wave of weather came in the middle of a fiery performance from bluegrass mainstays the Infamous Stringdusters, who began their set beckoning for the sun to break through the cloudy skies with “Rise Sun.”

As they tore into “Down From The Mountain,” dobroist Andy Hall seemed to forecast the approaching storm as he sang the lines, “The air is thick like black clay mud, and rain clouds cover up the sun.” Soon after, the sky opened up but the band kept firing on all cylinders, only stopping briefly after an extended version of “Gravity” to wipe the rain blowing in off their instruments.

Dwight Yoakam set cut short

Pikeville native Dwight Yoakam’s set started late and was cut short due to heat exhaustion.

Yoakam, 67, said he was overheated and dehydrated. He returned a few minutes later, performed two more songs, then ended his set early. Later on social media, Yoakam said he was fine. He thanked fans and Railbird staff and EMTs for the quick response.

‘Quick spell of heat exhaustion’ forces Dwight Yoakam to end Railbird set early Sunday

Lexington native Nolan Taylor captivated a tightly packed crowd with a surprise appearance from fellow Railbird performer Sam Barber on “Driving You Home” — a song he recently recorded for the upcoming “Twisters” movie soundtrack — and a cover of Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly.”

However, a rendition of “68,” a song that gave his music career life when he was ready to call it quits, sent the crowd into overdrive.

Plenty of surprises

Besides rain, the other constant throughout the weekend was collaborations.

Fans witnessed Kentucky legend Wynonna welcome Turnpike Troubadours’ frontman Evan Felker to add harmonica on “Ain’t No Thing” and Marcus King for a set-closing “No One Else On Earth.”

King wasn’t without his own surprise guests as well, welcoming Nashville by way of Sandy Hook, Ky., native Leah Blevins to the stage for the gospel-infused “Down In The River To Pray.”

Additionally, Texas trailblazers Flatland Cavalry welcomed red-headed Okie Kaitlin Butts for a heartfelt duet on “A Life Where We Work Out,” and Turnpike Troubadours brought out Trampled By Turtles’ Dave Simonett for a set-closing, foot-stomping run through of John Hartford’s “Long Hot Summer Day.”

But the weekend’s biggest collabs were served up in a double dose from Noah Kahan.

The New England native brought the crowd to a fever pitch twice during his headlining Saturday performance, first by introducing Counting Crows’ singer Adam Duritz to perform the band’s “A Long December” — which they’d performed themselves only a couple hours earlier — and later by bringing out Hozier ahead of his Sunday set for the rousing “Northern Attitude.”

An action-packed Saturday

Kahan had fans singing along to his entire catalog, from unreleased song “The Great Divide” to established fan favorites like “Dial Drunk” and “Stick Season.” The occasion marked the continuation of the unassuming singer’s meteoric rise from playing sparsely filled club shows to headlining arenas and major music festivals.

While Kahan is relatively new to the big stage, Wynonna is well-accustomed to it.

The Eastern Kentucky native and Country Music Hall of Fame member celebrated her 60th birthday two days late in style from Railbird’s Elkhorn Stage, rocking out on “I Know Where I’m Going” before exclaiming, “I’ve still got it!”

Another veteran act in peak form was Turnpike Troubadours, who it felt like had the whole of Lexington singing along to hits like “Whole D*** Town,” “Pay No Rent” and “Mean Old Sun,” the latter of which is featured on 2023’s A Cat In The Rain, the band’s first studio record in six years following a years-long hiatus.

Joining them were Counting Crows, who whipped up an unexpected but out of this world cover of Taylor Swift’s “The 1,” as well as hits from their own catalog like “Mr. Jones” (although the ever-popular “Accidentally In Love” was omitted.)

Other Saturday highlights included Kaitlin Butts and her newly choreographed line dance for a cover of Kesha’s “Hunt You Down,” the crowd taking over singing from East Tennessee’s Josiah & The Bonnevilles on “Ghost” and Lexington’s Brother Smith lifting spirits early in the afternoon with a jam on “Happy Tune.”

Stapleton, Hozier, Elle King on Sunday

The final day of Railbird boasted a loaded lineup all day long, from Brent Cobb doing his best to “Keep ’Em On They Toes” to Iowa-bred Hailey Whitters performing her certified platinum single “Everything She Ain’t” and Alabama’s The Red Clay Strays leaving fans in awe with Brandon Coleman’s Elvis-esque voice and antics on cuts like “Wondering Why” and “Wanna Be Loved.”

But it was the heavy hitters of Chris Stapeton, Hozier and Elle King that elevated it to new heights.

King had the crowd rocking from start to finish with party anthems like “Ex’s & Oh’s,” “Baby Daddy’s Weekend” and “I’m Not Drunk, I’m Just Drinking,” but it was the highly anticipated cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant” that fans eagerly waited on and eventually received.

In a similar fashion, Hozier saved his best for last, closing out his evening performance with “Nina Cried Power” and “Take Me To Church,” preceding the first with a near 10-minute speech about the importance of activism in music.

He closed the latter by draping a Pride flag around his mic stand before thanking fans and leaving the stage.

Stapleton, Railbird’s fourth home state headliner in four years, delivered the finale.

Beginning with the hard driving “White Horse” from his newest album “Higher,” the country superstar jumped through his entire post-Steeldrivers discography as the crowd joined in harmony on songs like “Starting Over,” “Midnight Train To Memphis,” “Traveller” and “Broken Halos.”

His set-closing performance of fan favorite “Tennessee Whiskey” — which he began with a singing introduction of his band members, adding weight to the theory that he could sing the phone directory or dictionary just as beautifully — sent the crowd wild.

Even with the added wrinkle of weather, Railbird made out well.

Some areas got muddy Sunday but were far less than what would be expected from nearly 45,000 people stomping around. The Red Mile infield held up remarkably well while welcoming a record crowd, a good sign for the festival as it builds on a second successful year at its new home and begins planning for Year Five in 2025.