The Cumberland Mountain Fall Festival is less than a month away, and it is expected to be one of the largest crowds in years. The event will take place in downtown Middlesboro on Oct. 4-5.

The weekend will include free live music, carnival rides, crafts, food, a car show, kids’ event area, Rock the Crater bicycle ride, the Magic City Mile Run and much more.

This weekend, there will be two pre-parties in both Somerset and Lexington to help promote the lineup.

On Friday, Bell County Tourism and Middlesboro Main Street will be at Jarfly Brewing in Somerset, with Luna and the Mountain Jets, Dave Shoemaker and Dalton Mills. Then on Saturday, they will invade one of Lexington’s most iconic music venues, The Burl, for our second pre-show featuring Josh Nolan, Chelsea Nolan, Dave Shoemaker and Jade Robertson. The show at the Jarfly is free, while tickets to the Burl show are only $15 at the door.

“We’re really excited to get to do these pre-shows at two of the best spots for live music in the Commonwealth,” Director of Tourism Jon Grace said. “Jarfly Brewing is an amazing meeting spot in downtown Somerset. It’s a hub for the Master Musician Festival and is helping foster a really incredible live music scene there. And then, anyone who’s been to the Burl knows what an incredible live venue it is. It’s become the home base for this revitalized Kentucky scene. Getting to go up there and being able to promote what we’re doing down here is really special.”

This year for the music lineup, there will be over 20 national, regional and local bands of all genres gracing the downtown stage.

Friday night will be headlined by Cincinnati’s own Arlo McKinley and the Lonesome Sound, with direct support with another Cincinnati band, the electric live band Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle. Other Friday acts include Wayne Graham, Joslyn and the Sweet Compression, Mama Said String Band, Luna and the Mountain Jets, Sean Whiting, Dan Conn, Jade Robertson, Dalton Mills and Sydney Adams.

Saturday’s acts will include Kentucky songwriting legend Chris Knight, who is releasing his first album since 2012, titled “Almost Daylight,” on Oct. 10. Supporting Chris will be another Kentuckian, rising country star Tyler Booth, along with John R. Miller and the Engine Lights, Charles Wesley Godwin, Short and Company, Josh Nolan, Locust Honey, George Molton, Dave Shoemaker, Tyler Smith and The StillRunners and Dakota Saylor.

“We are trying to continue to build off the great success of the Levitt AMP Middlesboro Music Series by having as many genres as we could throughout the Fall Festival weekend and bringing a few Levitt alumni back,” Grace explained. “I’m a firm believer that good music is good music, regardless of genre. That’s why we have everything from R&B, country, rock, blues, bluegrass/old time and Americana/folk. And some bands like Locust Honey that play such a wide variety, it’s impossible to classify them as any one thing. We’re really happy with how the lineup turned out. Every act on it is really, really good.”

To find out more information on the Cumberland Mountain Fall Festival, you can visit www.cumberlandmountainfallfestival.net or www.facebook.com/CumberlandMtnFallFestival.