Preparations continue for busy weekend in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Less than 24 hours from now, tens of thousands of country music fans will pack Kroger Field for Chris Stapleton’s long-awaited concert at the stadium—the first concert ever held there.

It’ll be a busy weekend overall in Lexington. Keeneland is sold out, and the forecast is perfect. Naturally, there’s a lot of excitement for the concert, which has been two years in the making.

“This is shaping up to be an all-star weekend for the city,” said Mary Quinn Ramer, the president of VisitLex.

Fans and city officials alike are excited for country superstar and Kentucky boy Stapleton to fire away .

“I personally am so excited,” Ramer said. “There is just a palpable energy that you can feel all throughout the city.”

VisitLex is expecting tens of thousands of travelers to be in Lexington for the weekend, giving a true bounce back after a long two years.

“Our hospitality industry is tickled that we are humming and that we have people in our hotels, in our restaurants, shopping. That they are enjoying our different attractions,” Ramer said.

VisitLex says hotels across town are booked solid for the weekend, and very few Airbnb’s are left. With Keeneland also going on this weekend, it feels like things are starting over— for the better.

“If Elton John was any indication, we were sold out that weekend. I even had a couple restaurants tell me it was the best night they ever had. I think Chris will deliver very much like in the same spirit of Elton, which is awesome to have two huge shows in one month here in Lexington,” Ramer said.

There’ll be plenty of fun to go around during a weekend that should be as sweet as strawberry wine.

Proceeds from the concert are going to Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind hometown fund. The fund will support local and national organizations impacting Kentucky.

Copyright 2022 WKYT. All rights reserved.