Thompson, Exile to be Apple Festival music headliners

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

PAINTSVILLE — An “American Idol” and a country band with a familiar name will be the music headliners at this year’s Kentucky Apple Festival.

The Johnson County festival announced on its Facebook page Monday that this year’s “American Idol” winner, Noah Thompson of Louisa, will headline the music show on Friday, Sept. 30.

The headliner for the Saturday, Oct. 1, music show will be Exile, a band that is familiar to past festival-goers.

The Apple Festival said more details will be posted at a later date.

The Apple Festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was announced for 2021 before its board announced in August 2021 that it had made the “difficult decision” to postpone the festival until 2022 after consulting with local health and emergency management officials.

The Apple Festival announced in February that the dates for this year’s event are Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and that the theme is, “An Apple Tradition with Country A-Peel.”

Just days after the Apple Festival was cancelled last year, the city of Paintsville announced plans for a replacement event to help non-profit organizations. The Paintsville Autumn Fest was held Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in conjunction with a previously announced event at Alley on Main, a local entertainment venue.

That event, Alley Fest, will return this year with a lineup that includes Johnson County native Crystal Gayle. Alley Fest will be held Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.