Louder Than Life couldn't hold a candle to us
The remnants of Hurricane Helene barreled across the southeastern U.S. last weekend, bringing heavy downpours and high winds to the Louisville area and forcing the Louder Than Life music festival to cancel its Friday performances.
But a dismal weekend forecast did not deter fans, who donned ponchos and rain boots and waited out the rain for a chance to see their favorite rock and metal bands perform. The Courier-Journal reported that about 150,000 people attended the event over Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hundreds of festival goers camped out at the Kentucky Exposition Center to attend the four-day event, which featured Slipknot and Offspring (Slayer was among the performances that got rained out Friday).
And while one Motley Crue rocked out to tens of thousands of muddy, diehard fans on Saturday, only 20 miles away, another motley crew of sorts entertained a much smaller crowd that evening at Dance with Steve and Donna studio in Shepherdsville.
It was the second gathering of a fledgling artists' collective in Bullitt County that my sister Cecilia Woloch and dear friend Donna Caudill helped me launch this summer.
Why are we doing this?
Our community is in crisis. I teach at Bullitt Central High School, and I lead a therapeutic writing workshop for inmates at the local detention center. Serving in these roles has shown me how much we are failing our once-thriving community.
In 2022, Bullitt County ranked 9th out of 120 counties in the number of fatal overdoses that occurred, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy’s Overdose Fatality Report. Last summer, the federal government designated Bullitt County as a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
My students, my own family, and practically everyone I know has been affected by the addiction epidemic. My granddaughter’s father died of an overdose in 2017. Drugs have caused many of our loved ones—including my daughter—to become ensnared in the criminal justice system.
What’s caused this to happen?
In the four decades since my childhood, Bullitt County has gone from quiet farm fields nestled between hills of hickories and red buds to a bleak landscape decimated by industrial parks and fast food. What used to be an idyllic ride through the countryside is now pockmarked by warehouses, stamped with giant logos, and covered in concrete. Most of the bowling alleys, game rooms, and skating rinks have closed down. The vast majority of mom-and-pop grocery stores and locally owned specialty shops have been replaced with megastores and retail chain outlets.
These days, there are few places where citizens can gather without the pressure to consume goods and services.
In this environment, it’s no wonder that young people are suffering, suicide is on the rise, and the addiction epidemic is raging.
How do the arts help?
Art gives us a sense of purpose and belonging. In our rapidly changing and increasingly polarized world, we need spaces where people from all walks of life can connect, express themselves, and build community.
People are hungry for this. Just look at the Louder Than Life music fest as an example. The event drew record crowds, despite the weather. Another indicator: the amount of time the average citizen spends staring at a screen, consuming entertainment. Various sources report that Americans spend an average of 7 hours a day online.
The arts are more hands-on than watching TV or scrolling TikTok. Instead of just sitting back and watching someone else’s world, the arts provide face-to-face experiences where people feel like they’re part of something.
As Bullitt County changes and grows, we want to make sure that the arts and local artists are part of the vision and planning, that in an increasingly mass-produced and corporatized landscape, the local and personal and creative are valued for their own sake, and for the sake of the ways that engagement with the arts can heal and empower us all.
Metal versus Mettle
Artists’ Social #2 drew a lively mix of familiar and new faces, roughly matching the turnout from our first meeting. A couple folks from our inaugural social missed out this time for Louder Than Life, but they don’t know what they missed. What we lacked in headliners, we made up for in heart and creativity. Our lineup was as eclectic and inspiring as they come.
Xander Thompson, a junior at Bullitt Central with a passion for culinary arts, shared insights from The Flavor Bible along with some delicious fruit, crediting his culinary teacher, Chef Sanchez, for sparking his interest.
Xander’s mom, Stacey Thompson, brought along some of the amazing pop art work she’s created and has promised to lead a workshop in the future to teach us her techniques.
Kierstyn Mattingly, a junior at Bullitt Central, did not participate in the open mic, but she did bring some mind-blowing art to display (see photo above). I wanted to buy the piece for my sister, but when I inquired about it, Kierstyn apologized. “I don't think I am selling it because my mom really loves it,” she wrote in an email. Kierstyn is among the many students I’ve met at BC who create art for the sense of satisfaction it gives them.
Zi Zheng is another student who shares the urge to create. A sophomore at BC, Zi presented some of her amazing artwork, while sharing a bit about her style and the inspiration behind her work.
Also during the open mic, Cheryl Brandreth captivated us with an essay about hiding in department store clothes racks. Her story turned into something much deeper than expected:
“To disappear was an adventure, a holy discipline I’d been practicing my whole life the way devout nuns recite prayers while fingering rosaries. To disappear was the way to stay hidden when bad men were searching for you, the way to be lost but found, to be known only to yourself, to God. I thought of us hiding inside the clothes racks, together, unafraid.”
Our featured reader, Cecilia Woloch, brought the evening to a thought-provoking climax by reading an introduction to her forthcoming poetry chapbook LABOR: The Testimony of Ted Gall. By researching Gall’s life, my sister connected our father's experiences as a first-generation American to a broader narrative about the labor movement, and how individuals like Ted Gall shaped the fight for workers’ rights.
“I came to feel that Ted Gall was the kind of man who had shaped my father’s character,” she wrote. “I felt I could hear his voice in the written testimony he’d left behind. And so, I took notes, and a group of those notes became a long poem.”
Other participants included Kim Anderson, who shared an engaging story of her experience learning tai chi, and Rosey Green, who read a heartening rumination on swallowing hard truths.
The night included an exhilarating dance number by studio owners Donna Caudill and Steve Davis, as well as a fun and captivating burlesque performance by The Salty Sparrow and Audrey Holcomb.
I had the honor of hosting the open mic, bearing witness to all this creativity and being uplifted and inspired by it.
Sierra Holcomb, who runs Salt the Earth Ministries, added a quirky touch to the evening with artwork created by her rescue animals. At her animal sanctuary, Sierra has devised an ingenious way for the animals to "earn their keep" by creating paintings. She places small canvases with paint in ziplock bags, then covers them with peanut butter and hangs them up. As the animals eagerly lick off the peanut butter, they unknowingly create abstract patterns on the canvas, which Sierra and others enhance with a human touch.
After the open mic, Cecilia led a discussion on next steps for our guild, and Donna shared ideas from the Bardstown arts group on establishing a brick-and-mortar arts center in Bullitt County. That is our ultimate goal—to create a permanent space in our community to support local artists, writers, musicians, dancers and others who make art or practice an art form.
Together, we’re building something unique—a network that connects artists and supports creative expression right here in our community. And while Louder Than Life certainly drew the crowds, we found our own inspiration right here, close to home. We hope you’ll join us!
Artists’ Social #3 will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Dance with Steve and Donna studio, 181 Cox’s Drive, Shepherdsville, from 4 PM to 6:30 PM.
For more information, contact Bobbi Buchanan at bobbibuch@gmail.com.
Special thanks to the James Baker Hall Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women for supporting Bobbi Buchanan’s work in the community and at the Bullitt County Detention Center.
What a wonderful write-up of a wonderful afternoon!
Meanwhile after our 21st century Bullitt County Central Library allowed me to feature Shepherdsville’s Alma Lesch legacy exhibit in 2023 I have worked again with the library to present EAST meets WEST uniting Japanese painter Nobuo Fukuoka (1989-1999 dated works) whose work I have been collecting since first meeting the artist in Manhattan selling his work on the street! After finding him on Facebook after learning he returned to Kyoto after 9/11/2001 from NYC the works exhibited present the diversity and the color of a typical day in The Big Apple.
Also on exhibit is a Louisville painter who has swept awards at Kentucky State Fair in this century Jody Baum.
Folk art from Kentucky is showcased behind glass from my personal collection.
And my love for Bernheim Forest for over fifty years is represented by a series of multi media works.
The exhibition runs through Memorial Day ‘25.