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The Student News Site of University of Kentucky

Kentucky Kernel

The Student News Site of University of Kentucky

Kentucky Kernel

The Student News Site of University of Kentucky

Kentucky Kernel

Illustration by Anna Zheng

Coachella isn’t what it used to be, from its lineup to its culture

Sylvia Freire, Copy Editor September 24, 2025

Every April, thousands of people crowd around the festival’s performance stages to dance, camp out and experience the beauty of live music at Coachella. With every year, a new line up comes out and...

Lexington resident, Chelsea Marion, left, searches shelves of DVDs with her daughter during the store's closing week on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at CD Central in Lexington, Ky. Photo by Sydney Novack | Assistant Photo Editor

Passing the torch: Local record store closes, but its legacy remains

Hannah Piedad, Assistant Features Editor September 18, 2025

A gray, single-story building lined with wide windows sits at 377 South Limestone.  Since it was built in 1986, this building has been a second home for music lovers, serving Lexington’s music...

Illustration by Akhila Nadimpalli.

‘Forever Is a Feeling’: Lucy Dacus’s spin on her gamble on love

Sylvia Freire, Reporter April 19, 2025

“Forever Is a Feeling,” but this feeling wasn’t one that lasted for me. Lucy Dacus, the American singer and songwriter known for being a member of the band “Boygenius,” released her newest...

VIDEO: Kentucky history presented through the music of Anthony Philip Heinrich

Chloe Bradley, Broadcaster April 8, 2025

The 250Lex Music Series: Dawning of Music in Kentucky event is celebrating the 250th anniversary of Lexington, Kentucky. The event showcased the music of Anthony Philip Heinrich and featured the Transylvania...

Steve Baron, owner and manager of CD Central poses for a portrait on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at CD Central in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Christian Kantosky | Assistant Photo Editor

Local superstar: How CD Central connects to Lexington’s music scene

Sammy Wynn, Reporter February 21, 2025

In 1995, Steve Baron sat at his desk job in the University of Kentucky’s media relations department, but his mind was elsewhere. He was dreaming of something more, something hands on, something entrepreneurial.  He...

Illustration by Sarah Reed.

Sierra Ferrell: Deserved Grammy winner and true star

Hannah Piedad, Reporter February 14, 2025

I was on a high school choir trip to Nashville, Tennessee, and part of our itinerary was watching a country concert at the Grand Ole Opry. Having never been a fan of country music, I felt indifferent about...

University of Kentucky students play along with BOOMCat club members at the BOOMCats Fall 2024 Performance in the Esports Lounge at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Photo by Sydney Novack | Staff

UK club brings the boom

Zach Eads, Reporter November 27, 2024

The University of Kentucky boomwhacker club, known as the BOOMCats, hosted their 2024 fall performance at the Cornerstone ESports Lounge. The BOOMCats performed many songs at their semesterly performance,...

Illustrated by Tessa Kasman.

Jazz vs. elevators: More than easy listening

Aidan Dillard-Hijikata, Reporter November 3, 2024

“Tragedy has befallen a national monument; a treasure of the musical world is nothing to you but ambiance!” I dramatically, if a bit sarcastically, exclaim to my girlfriend.  Mere seconds earlier,...

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform Appalachian music during Appalachia in the Bluegrass performance on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at John Jacobs Niles Center for American Music in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Josie Zoeller | Staff

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker: Storytelling Through Song

Hannah Piedad, Reporter September 21, 2024

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, “old friends” of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music, made an appearance as a part of the “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” concert series.  The series of 12...

Illustration by Akhila Nadimpalli

Falling into the perfect playlist

Jennifer Sadler, Reporter October 9, 2023

If you’re anything like me, music consumes your life. Specific songs elicit certain memories and invoke particular feelings, and things like the weather or my mood can determine what’s on my Spotify...

Illustration by Akhila Nadimpalli

Maybe I’m just old-fashioned

Quézia Arruda Cunha, Reporter October 4, 2023

We live in a digital world where the new is always placed on a sacred pedestal. With the advent of new social media platforms, music has become remixed productions adapted for 60-second dances. We...

Illustration by Akhila Nadimpalli

Album review: Olivia Rodrigo conquers the sophomore slump on ‘GUTS’

Gray Greenwell, Copy Editor September 12, 2023

All eyes seemed to be on singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo in the lead-up to her second studio album “GUTS.” As is the case for Rodrigo or anyone like her in pop music — an unforgiving,...

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