Ole 60 is setting out to break records – even if its just so the new records take the place of some old ones.
The frontman of the up-and-coming “not your dad’s country” band, Jacob Young, stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about their song “Thoughts Of You” blowing up on TikTok, his upbringing in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his musical inspirations come from, and the band’s live shows, among other things.
One of those “other things” happened to be a fun fact about where the band is from: Owensboro, Kentucky. The city located in the western part of Kentucky is the fourth populous city in the state, and the highway that runs through the town (U.S. 60) is the inspiration for the name of the band.
As Jacob Young talked about some of the great things in Owensboro, Kentucky (like how it’s the self-proclaimed Barbecue Capitol of the World) and the state of Kentucky at large, Ole 60’s frontman mentioned that the band was really proud to be able to play in Owensboro’s “Friday After 5” concert series.
If you are to visit the official website of the concert series, it describes “Friday After 5” as a “summer-long free, fun, family-friendly concert and street fair festival on the Owensboro, Kentucky riverfront.” It’s a great way for Owensboro locals to enjoy the start of the weekend during the summer months, and Young spoke on how successful their latest appearance was at the concert series.
When Ole 60 played at “Friday After 5,” they almost topped the Downtown Owensboro history books:
“The ‘Friday After 5’ that we did in Owensboro this year – which is like a free concert series they do out there – it was the second largest public gathering in downtown Owensboro history. The ‘Fridays After 5’ are cool.
The first largest gathering in downtown Owensboro history was the last public execution…. maybe we’ll have to do it again (to top the list).”
@whiskeyriff True story. Listen to the latest Whiskey Riff Raff podcast with Ole 60.🥃 @Ole 60 #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #ole60 #ownesboro #kentucky ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
Back in 1936, Rainey Bethea was publicly executed in downtown Owensboro after he confessed to the rape and killing of a 70-year-old woman. Ole 60 brought a whopping 17,000 people to their Owensboro show, and believe it or not, 20,000 people showed up to see Bethea hang in the streets. It was the last public execution in United States history.
I would make a rather comfortable guess that the city of Owensboro, Kentucky would love for Ole 60 to return to their summer concert series and officially topple the record-setting attendance event that currently holds the top spot. I’d be willing to bet that Owensboro would be a little more open – and might even make a commemorative plaque – if Ole 60 did them the favor of setting a new downtown attendance record.
Jacob Young admitted that they should probably do another concert there, and you can hear the Ole 60 frontman talk about that and much, much more in the latest episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast.
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Cheers, y’all.
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