What to do at Louder Than Life? 10 recommendations for Thursday at the music festival

It's a special year for Louder Than Life , North America's largest rock festival. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the hard rock and heavy metal festival, which originated as a two-day event in 2014 at Champions Park on River Road.

Now held across four days at The Highlands Festival Grounds in Louisville, the crowd in 2023 swelled to 180,000 fans and should rack up similar numbers this year thanks to headliners including the mighty return of slash gods Slayer , plus Mötley Crüe, Slipknot , and Korn . But the headliners are only part of the story.

Also performing Sept. 26-29 are Disturbed , Judas Priest , Five Finger Death Punch , Evanescence , Falling in Reverse , Breaking Benjamin , The Offspring , Staind , Till Lindemann , Chevelle , Dropkick Murphys , Halestorm , Gojira , Seether , In This Moment , Anthrax , Sum 41 , Mastodon , Tom Morello , and many additional artists.

To help you plan your day, here are our recommendations for acts you must see while you're at the festival on Thursday:

Day 1: Thursday at Louder Than Life

START OF THE DAY :

• The first day of Louder Than Life is a good time to get the lay of the land. Grab a cold beverage and take a stroll to get a sense of where each of the five stages is located this year.
• Fresh off support tours with A Day To Remember , Sleeping With Sirens , and Stand Atlantic/The Faim , check out Point Noth at 1:40 p.m. on Main Stage 1.
• Next, at 2:15 p.m. on Main Stage 2, the Monterrey, Mexico trio of sisters who call themselves The Warning infuse rock music with a shot of adrenaline.
• Do you feel like easing into the festival? Badflower is a "not too heavy" Los Angeles rock band that plays Main Stage 1 at 4:05 p.m.

AFTERNOON:

• If you need a break from the sun, head to the Kroger Big Bourbon Bar to enjoy a sip of Kentucky’s finest bourbons and specialty cocktails.
• Marky Ramone , best known for the 15 years he spent drumming for the Ramones, is on the Decibel Stage at 6:20 p.m. He'll play classics from The Ramones.
• At 7:10 p.m., head to the Main Stage 1 for legendary punk band The Offspring .

EVENING:

• Five Finger Death Punch , the chart-topping hard rock band from Las Vegas, takes over Main Stage 2 at 8:15 p.m.
• Multiplatinum rock outfit Sum 41 is at the Decibel Stage at 8:20 p.m.
• Grammy Award winning Slipknot headlines on Main Stage 1 at 9:30 p.m.

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What to do at Louder Than Life? 10 recommendations for Thursday at the music festival