5 Candidates for the First Concert at Kroger Field

The home of the Kentucky Wildcats’ football team will temporarily transform into a concert venue.

Kroger Field will soon host its first concert. We do not know when or who will headline the first show at The Kroge. That will be announced next Wednesday morning. Until then, we can wildly speculate who will be the first musical act to go Krogering in Lexington. I have a few in mind.

Kenny Chesney — The country music star actually played the first concert at the stadium formerly known as Papa John’s. If Louisville can get him, so can Lexington. He may not have the same draw as he did 20 years ago, but it would be worth it just to see him invite his friend Tim Couch onto the stage, like he did once upon a time at Rupp Arena.

Darius Rucker — If Ryan Lemond has any pull at all, he’s working behind the scenes to make sure his favorite musician of all-time is belting tunes at The Kroge. Hootie and the Blowfish are currently on tour, but they don’t have a stop in Lexington. Kroger Field could be a fun grand finale.

Taylor Swift — Arguably the biggest name in the concert game, she’ll leave tear drops on her guitar when she sees Drew Franklin screaming in the front row.

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Drake — The hip-hop star promised Kentucky fans a free concert for students almost a decade ago. That promise could finally be fulfilled, although that offer may have been taken off the table when he decided to become a fan of (insert team name here).

Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers — In an ideal world, Kentucky’s football stadium will be opened as a concert venue by Kentuckians. The Backstreet Boys may have fit the bill perfectly in 2000. In 2019-20, it belong to this country music trio. Even though lining up schedules for all three may be difficult, they’ve all worked together. Childers’ latest album was produced by Sturgill, who once performed alongside Stapleton on Saturday Night Live. None of them are exactly big stadium acts, but you better believe the entire Commonwealth will clamor to see Kentucky’s big three open up The Kroge.