Pipeman Interviews Wyatt Ellis at Bourbon & Beyond 2025

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Bourbon & Beyond is the World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Fest

Bourbon & Beyond Kicked Off America’s 8 Biggest Days In Music on September 11-14 In Louisville, Kentucky  

World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival Featured Headliners The Lumineers, Benson Boone, Alabama Shakes (Thursday), Phish, Khruangbin, Joe Bonamassa (Friday), Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, Jack White, Vance Joy (Saturday), Noah Kahan, Goo Goo Dolls, Megan Moroney (Sunday), Plus Dozens More Rock, Americana, Bluegrass And Alt Rock Artists Along With Elevated Bourbon & Culinary Experiences.  

The seventh Bourbon & Beyond welcomed fans from over 50 states and around the globe and over 120 music artists on five stages to Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend. The World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival was held from September 11-14 at the at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky and featured an incredible music lineup of music legends and rising stars with headliners The Lumineers, Benson Boone and Alabama Shakes on Thursday; Phish, Khruangbin and Joe Bonamassa on Friday; Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, Jack White and Vance Joy on Saturday; and Noah Kahan, Goo Goo Dolls and Megan Moroney on Sunday. The lineup also included Cage The Elephant, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Collective Soul, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Iron & Wine, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Switchfoot, Third Eye Blind, Ringo Starr & His All Star Band, Pixies, Lake Street Dive, Dashboard Confessional, Foreigner, Blues Traveler and many others.  

This year, Bourbon & Beyond’s newly expanded footprint doubled the square footage of past layouts, and made greater use of the Kentucky Exposition Center’s infrastructure, creating a more comfortable and resilient experience for fans. In addition, all festival passes included FREE access to amusement rides inside Kentucky Kingdom.

This year’s festival was packed with unforgettable performances, surprise collaborations, and historic moments that will be remembered for years to come.   Take some zany and serious journeys with The Pipeman aka Dean K. Piper, CST on The Adventures of Pipeman also known as Pipeman Radio syndicated globally “Where Who Knows And Anything Goes.”  

Check out our segment Positively Pipeman dedicated to Business, Motivation, Spiritual, and Health & Wellness.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, you love one too?

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yes, that's true.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
For see why for you young? This is the pipe
Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four C
Y Radio and I'm here with.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
I'm whyaet Ellis And man.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
You are a superstar. I don't even know. Eleven years old,
you write some songs and they end up debuting at
number one? How does that happen?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
It's pretty special, it's pretty special, and I've been honored,
and it's been just such a wild journey.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
I know, right, and you're thirteen and you're at what
that at the Opry? Right?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh yeah? God?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Like are you like the youngest ever to be there?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
I don't know about that, but it's such an honor
for me to get to play somewhere where all my
heroes had been and where they started?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
And how did this all start? What got you into this?

Speaker 2 (01:07):
I heard Rocky Top by the Ausburn Brothers and I
just got hooked on it and heard Bill Monroe, the
Stanley Brothers and everybody else and couldn't quit.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Oh man, that's so cool and a eleven years old?
How are you writing songs?

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Like?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Where did you even know how to write a song?
How did that happen.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, I started with instrumentals because that's what came naturally
to me.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, and it did come natural.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Then soon after that I got into writing lyrics and
it just was a natural progression.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Very cool. And then, so when was the first time
you picked up an instrument?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
The first time I ever played an instrument was I
started on piano at age six, But first time I
ever really picked up a string instrument when I was ten,
and I got serious with it in the mandolin.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Nice. And what prompted the change from piano to a
string instrument.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, you know, I wasn't a super serious piano player.
It was just like I know, blessings a kid, but
I heard Rocky Top and I got hooked on it.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Nice. And did you take lessons or did you just
teach yourself?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Both? I learned every way I could, just soaking it up.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
What would you say, it is the best thing you
got out of taking lessons and the best thing I
just doing it yourself.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Oh, I mean, getting to guests so much great advice
for from so many great players was amazing. But when
you go in yourself and learn it, it forces you
to use your ear a little more. So they both
are amazing.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, that's cool. And here you are at Bourbon and Beyond.
When you found out you were going to be doing
this gig, what was your reaction.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
I was pretty excited. It's a massive festival and it's
a fun time.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
And you've been having a fun time here. Oh yeah,
how was it at your set?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
It was great. It is a great crowd because that
did you Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
There's always a few people out there that like some bluegrass.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
That's right. A lot of people like some blue guys
they do they do. It's like the I've always think
that's the cool, chill thing to do out on your porch.
But then at a festival team Like, right down the
street from where I live, there's this park and every
week they have live bluegrass in the park, and to me,

(03:19):
that's what I think of that. That's blue that's it,
just like that community exactly one hundred. So how has
Danny Wimmer and their team treated you as an artist
here at Bourbon and Beyond.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh, the hospitality's been amazing. It's one of the best
I've been to.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Nice and your mom over here, what does she think
about all this whirlwind of what's going on?

Speaker 2 (03:43):
It's a whirlwind. She's very supportive and it's a good time.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
If you didn't have music, now, what's your passion? What
would you do if you didn't have music, I'd be outside.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
I'd probably be a fishing guide or something.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Do you fish now? Oh yeah, okay, what's your best
fishing story?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Best fishing story. That's a good question, that's a really
good question. I would say the time that I was
fishing and I stepped in a fire ant hill ool
and I threw my rod on the ground and then
picked it up and reeled in the biggest fish I
ever caught.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Really.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, wow, that's pretty cool because listen those red ants,
yeah there mean oh yeah, man, I've had my experiences
with them, So you're pretty cool that you were able
to catch a fish after that.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
I just kind of waited in the pond a little
ways to get them off me. But other than that,
it went pretty smooth.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
See you are a true bluegrass boy, aren't you.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, there it is. So what other things do you
dream of in the near future in this industry? Is
there somebody you want to tour with? Is there something
you really want to do?

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Because you were ready a common you know, I'm just
a long for the ride at this point, and I'm
happy to do anything that I can and just happy
to be out here making music.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
See. I love hearing that, because sometimes that's not the
case a lot of times too, even with kids your age,
like not necessarily the case, because they see how much
work there is involved and that becomes not fun anymore.
So what do you do in your mind that keeps
it fun all the time?

Speaker 2 (05:23):
You don't really have to try when you love it
like I do, and have great band members around you
that have the same passion.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
That's right now. So the band members that you have,
how did you pick them?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
We just kind of gravitated towards each other there. I
think they're the best of the best. And this music,
I said, it's like a community and we just kind
of fell together.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
And how do you find like the old school bluegrass
people accepting you into that community.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
It's just that's where I started, and in a bluegrass community,
like it all starts with the roots, yeah, and it
goes from there. And I think that's just the way
it is. It's always been that way, super connected, super open.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
I love it. And who do you really want to
see here? At Bourbon beyond.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I'd love to get to see everybody, but we're actually
having to head out in just a couple of minutes
because I'm playing in Arizona tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Yes, that's some road trip for it is?

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yes, Well, how you feel being on the road like
that and traveling all over.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
It's a lot of fun and you get to see
a lot of new places.

Speaker 3 (06:32):
See. I love that because, like sometimes I bring my
youngest daughter to festivals with me and she's like after
one day, she's like, Dad, I'll know how you do
this every weekend because I'm done already. It takes a
special person.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Right it does. Yeah, Yeah, you really gotta love it. Yeah,
you gotta love it, and you gotta look at it
the right way.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
See that's what I'm talking about right there. You definitely
have to look at it the right way, and it
has to be a passion.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
Nice.

Speaker 3 (06:56):
You don't get in this business because you want to
get in this business. In this business for your love
of music. That's the key. Tell everybody how they can
hit you up on socials on the web. Check out
everything you have.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, you can find me everywhere every social platform pretty much,
and every streaming platform and if you know my name,
Wyatt Ellis, you shouldn't have a hard time finding me
on there.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
So now, like your friends in your neighborhood that your are,
your contemporaries, your age, what do they think about this
whole whirlwind of what you're doing.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
I don't really think about it.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
You know. It's try to stay grounded and try to
stay normal.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yeah, I love that. So like your friends that you're
hanging out with at home, it's just you just being
normal and then you go out and play bourbon and
beyond exactly. I love it. Well, thank you for doing.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
This and thank you for having me.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
You're right, dude, means you're going to be in this
business a long time and I look forward to it
because you are.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
It's gonna be There's gonna be a fun ride.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
There. You go and tell everybody about your newest single too.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
Yes, it's called country Boy rock and Roll featuring Trey
Hensley and Michael Cleveland. Like I said, you can find
it on all streaming platforms and yeah, enjoy it.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
It's number one on the Bluegrass Charts today.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
It's wild. And then Michael Cleveland I interviewed him earlier.
He's like one of the best fiddle players in the world.
How did that happen.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
Oh, we're buddies.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
That's the way it is in bluegrass, and we have
fun picking with each other.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
That is amazing. You're amazing, and thank you. Thanks for
being on the Adventures of pipe Man.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
You got it.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Thank you for listening to the Adventures of plate Man
on w for CUI Radio.