Louder Than Life Announces Slayer as 2025 Headliner
Louisville, KY’s Louder Than Life festival is returning in 2025 with SLAYER as a headliner. This is the 11th edition of the Danny Wimmer Presents festival to be held at Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, September 18-21, 2025. Additional headliners and the full lineup for Louder Than Life will be announced this winter. Early bird passes will go on sale in November. Make sure to get on the LTL mailing list to be sure you get all the updates on first access to passes! You can sign up here.
“We can’t wait to welcome fans back to finish what we started this year and celebrate the return of Slayer,” says Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. “Our team is hard at work finalizing an incredible lineup that we can’t wait to reveal this winter. It’s going to be epic, and we can’t wait to see everyone back in Louisville next September.”
Some announced benefits for 2024 passholders who were affected by the weather cancelation on Friday, September 27. Single-Day Friday pass holders can receive a full refund, or a credit applied to the purchase of 2025 passes while Weekend pass holders can receive a 25% refund or a credit applied to the purchase of 2025 passes. Fans will receive emails with all the details, including how to activate their offer.
The festivities started on Wednesday, September 25 as the city of Louisville illuminated its iconic Big Four Bridge in green in honor of the 10th annual gathering of the Louder Than Life fans known as “Loudmouths.” And the celebration continued into Thursday, September 26 as Mayor Craig Greenberg honored the festival’s milestone anniversary with the ceremonial breaking of a guitar and bourbon bottle accompanied by flyover jets, accompanied by DWP CEO Danny Hayes, and introduced by SiriusXM host Jose Mangin.
“What an incredible 10 years it’s been, and it’s all thanks to you,” said Danny Hayes, CEO of Danny Wimmer Presents from the stage on Thursday. “We’re so grateful for the amazing Loudmouths who show up every year, and even during a Hurricane, you came out to celebrate our 10th anniversary with us. You are rock and roll!”
The Louder Than Life 2024 weekend also offered a range of memorable artist performances across five stages. In keeping with the anniversary theme, Slipknot marked 25 years of their self-titled debut album, released in 1999; the band performed numerous hits from the landmark record, in their signature attire from 1999. Mastodon also celebrated the 20th anniversary of their classic album Leviathan by playing it in full. And Saosin marked 20 years as a band in their set.
Other highlights included additional headlining performances from Mötley Crüe and Korn, who also played the first Louder Than Life festival in 2014. Plus, Gojira, fresh off their much-talked about appearance at the opening ceremony of the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris; one of Till Lindemann’s (Rammstein) first solo shows in the U.S.; Spiritbox welcoming a wide range of guests including Poppy on “Soft Spine,” Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer on “Circle With Me” and Architects’ Sam Carter on “Yellowjackets”; and Josh Katz from Badflower guesting during Dead Poet Society’s set. Disturbed was also joined by a special guest vocalist as part of a unique contest with Louisville radio station Alt 105.1, in partnership with The Fox Den. Local singer Katelyn Webb won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing on stage with the band, performing Ann Wilson’s part in the song “Don’t Tell Me.”
In addition to the incredible music performances, Louder Than Life offered Louisville’s finest spirits and top local cuisine at attractions including the popular Headbangers Hall, with celebrity bartenders including members of Breaking Benjamin, Finger Eleven, Nothing More, and Biohazard, as well as Kroger’s Big Bourbon Bar which had a curated selection of bourbon and specialty cocktails.
LEO Weekly said of Louder Than Life, “If you’d told me ten years ago that Louisville would be the music capital of the world for even a day, let alone for two weeks, I would have [never believed it] … To this day, I’m still in awe of how DWP made this happen … shining a spotlight on our city for the whole world to see, and turning our city into something I never dreamed possible: a music mecca!”
Metal Injection also shared, “Danny Wimmer Presents has redefined the rock festival experience in the U.S., turning it into a masterclass in music promotion since 2011. Nowhere is this more evident than at Louder Than Life, Louisville’s premier rock festival, which has grown from its modest beginnings with 36,000 attendees to nearly 200,000 rock enthusiasts in 2024. As the festival celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, the goal was clear: not to only maintain but to amplify its legacy, delivering a multi-day spectacle that aimed at rocking harder, faster, and most importantly, louder than ever before.”
Louder Than Life is produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America.
To learn more about Louder Than Life, please visit:
Website: https://louderthanlifefestival.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louderthanlifefestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LTLFest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louderthanlifefest
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@louderthanlifefestival
#LouderThanLife
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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