The Bourbon Capital of the World Rocks Summertime Fun

BARDSTOWN, Ky. - June 20, 2017 - PRLog -- Sweet Tea Trio, Alabama's Country Female Artist of the Year for 2016, and new Summer Sundown live music and bourbon evenings kick summer into high gear in Bardstown, KY. In addition to back-alley ghost treks, train excursions (mayhem and murder served on the side), splashy outdoor theatre and more, the Most Beautiful Small Town in America will have a Master Distillers series on tap, plus beach bash and Buttermilk Days Festival. Plan your adventures here (http://www.visitbardstown.com/).

On stage

Summer headliners include two outdoor theatre musicals – "The Stephen Foster Story" and "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" – at the amphitheatre in My Old Kentucky Home State Park; Live at the Park concerts – also at the amphitheatre – including a 1970s music review, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap and a tribute to Aerosmith; and Sweet Tea Trio performing at the free, family-friendly Bourbon City Street Concert.

Sweet Tea Trio – Victoria Camp, Savannah Coker and Kate Falcon – have joined forces to give country music fans their first taste of an all-female trio since groups like the Dixie Chicks and the Pistol Annies. They are one of four musical acts that will entertain at the Bourbon City Street Concert, including Southern Edge, Shotgun Serenade and Kaleb Cecil. The concert begins at 7 p.m. on Sat., July 8, on North Third Street in downtown Bardstown. Bring a chair and enjoy. Beer and concessions will be available.

On tap

Barton 1792 Distillery presents a new event with its Summer Sundown Series on the Patio featuring monthly musical events, good food and bourbon sampling served on the side. Summer Sundown takes place on the patio in front of the Visitor Center the third Thursday of each month. Country singer Sarah Martin performs on July 20 and Pollo will have a truck onsite serving up gourmet chicken. On Aug. 17, Country music duo Joseph and Martina Costa, also known as "Terra Bella," will perform, and Wok 'n Bowl will be offering Vietnamese food.

Summer Sundown begins at 5:30 p.m. Lounge on Barton 1792's patio, enjoy delicious food and hear great music. Limited seating is available; guests are welcome to bring a chair. There is no charge to attend the event, however food and drink sales will be offered. Barton 1792 will also offer complimentary tastings. The series will continue into the fall for September and October.

The Master Distiller's Series at the Kentucky Bourbon Marketplace takes place on Thursdays, June 22, July 20 and Aug. 17, with bourbon tasting flights, complimentary cocktails and one-on-one time with Master Distiller John Hargrove of Barton 1792 Distillery.

On Fri., July 21, the Downtown Beach Bash gets underway at 10 a.m. with live music, great deals at Bardstown's proliferation of independently-owned shops and plenty of beach happenings. Later in the summer, catch the Buttermilk Days Festival, Aug. 24-26, which includes a homemade wine tasting, arts and crafts, music by bands and DJs plus an old-school street concert on Saturday and plenty of food vendors, games and prizes.

In the alleys and around the bend

Join internationally renowned paranormal investigator Patti Starr on one of her Saturday evening Ghost Treks. These guided walking historic tours through the shadowy streets of Kentucky's second oldest city meet downtown and include the Jailer's Inn, Pioneer Cemetery and the Old Talbott Tavern. Bring camera, audio recorders and camcorders to collect evidence of Bardstown's paranormal activity.

Amateur sleuths united for Kentucky Railway Museum's (KRM) Murder Mystery Theatre on Aug. 19. Dinner and play begin at the Sherwood Inn adjacent to the museum and tickets include play, meal and 90-minute train ride. Clue: Leave the little ones at home. (Evil laughter ensues.)

But bring the kiddos for KRM's Great Train Robbery weekends (June 24-25, July 15-16, Sept.16-17) when those nefarious outlaws known as Clayton's Wild Bunch come thundering along on horseback to stop the train and separate passengers from their valuables.

More excursions, including murder mysteries, take place in vintage linen-draped splendor aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train: Bourbon Run –July 29 and Aug. 19; and Murder Mystery – July 8 and 22, Aug. 12 and 26. The dinner train's gourmet four-course meal includes house specialties Golden Spike Salad, prime rib with the chef's secret-recipe rub and apple dumpling dessert with a homemade cinnamon sauce.

Choose your summer adventure and click www.VisitBardstown.com. Bardstown has 18 distinctive bed and breakfast inns, 17 individually themed vacation rentals, eight brand name hotels – some with swimming pools – and three campgrounds. Additionally, dozens of locally-owned restaurants offer dining for every taste – from a burger and milkshake at an authentic soda fountain to fine dining with vast bourbon menus, patio seating and historic settings.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Dawn Przystal (mailto:dawn@bardstowntourism.com), Executive Director – Bardstown-Nelson County TCC, 800-638-4877 x 114

Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission (http://www.visitbardstown.com/)

HI- and LOW-RES photos available.

ABOUT BARDSTOWN (http://www.visitbardstown.com/), KY | Located in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country and situated at the trailhead of the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, Bardstown, KY is the Bourbon Capital of the World. It is home to six distilleries, including Barton 1792 and Willett Distillery, and these four Kentucky Bourbon Trail® distilleries: Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark, Jim Beam and Four Roses' second campus. Three new distilleries will open within the next year. Major attractions include the outdoor musical, "The Stephen Foster Story," My Old Kentucky Home State Park, the highly regarded Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, The Kentucky Railway Museum and Whisky Magazine's Visitor Attraction of the Year – the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three wineries, a haunted tour and numerous religious attractions. www.facebook.com/BardstownKY