Cave City, KY - Dinosaur World!!!
July 30th, 2025
Cave City, KY
Dinosaur World
Preface: This was by far the most peculiar Tyler Childers’ concerts we have ever been to and getting to see a couple new songs off the album was the icing on the cake! Read about our travels and tips we’ve learned, venue notes, details about the set, how it stood out from others, and our personal experience meeting very special people related to and in the band including Tyler Childers!!
The first time we’ve met Tyler Childers
Show Notes: DINOSAUR WORLDDDDD! This was our toughest show to get into to date but with a show name like “Tyler Childers’ - Super Secret Pop-Up” you have to make it happen. There's no telling what you're in for, especially with Childers. So we quickly made shirts for the show that read “I went to Dinosaur World and all I saw was Tyler Childers”, packed our bags and hit the road for our 7+ hour haul. We suspected we would see mostly new songs off the album but there is always a chance of the band switching things up on you. Healing Appalachia has recently posted Tyler would be playing the album in full, so we imagine not all songs will be played live until then, only speculation but we’ll see. We have a lot of learning to do with these new songs either way. The show was limited to 500 people, not the smallest show we have seen him perform to, but we very much enjoyed the intimate crowd. The crowd was littered with faces you'd never expect, like Mike Wolfe from ‘American Pickers’ WHAT?! He actually helped Chloe out at the water station and was super kind. But, we didn't have time to hang around, it was almost show time!!
As soon as the boys hit the stage you got further confirmation this show was going to be different; Matt Rowland’s in a wig, CJ Cain’s in shorts and no Reds hat, Craig Burletic’s in a shirt unbuttoned to nearly his belly button and donning specs, and Kory Caudill looking like he’s been walking elephants around a safari. It was as if these were the very guys stepping out of Jurassic Park. This was even a special day for the band, while I’m not 100% sure if he was just joking around or not, Childers mentioned a rule for the band is “No shorts onstage” but made an exception for this show with half of the band showing knees we have never seen before.
There were noticeable changes to the way the guys were playing. Matt was getting up and dancing with CJ and Craig while playing an accordion. This was a very wholesome moment where you could see in their face that all of them were overjoyed. The small stage didn’t allow for much movement so it felt as if James, Kory, and Jesse were limited and their ability to “show out” was too. But, that didn’t stop them from clearly enjoying this setting. James, who had the unfortunate seat directly in the sun while playing the pedal steel, was noticeably happy to get up and tear up the electric guitar when the songs allowed. Rodney and Kory were in their usual happy go lucky moods, it was clear they were getting in the same groove as usual and letting the music flow. Tyler had the most notable change in his demeanor. From a couple of songs without a guitar to screaming into the mic to end “Bitin’ List” Childers was clearly in an element not shown to fans before. Tyler seemed to be as happy as ever on stage. No pun intended, this is setting the stage for future shows to be even more creative, energetic, and electric than ever before.
The debut of Tirtha Yarta, playing Bitin’ Teeth, Watch Out, Eatin’ Big Time, Down Under, Getting to the Bottom, and Dirty Ought Trill for only the 2nd time ever, and then throwing in Snipe Hunt followed by Tulsa Turnaround (something Tyler’s apparently been planning for awhile) is just touching the uniqueness of this show. Standing in front of what had to be a 30+ foot dinosaur right off I-64 in Cave City, KY, Tyler and the boys shredded for close to an hour and a half. The setlist was highlighted by the songs off the new album being played in front of fans who already knew the lyrics despite only having 5 days to learn them.In addition to the new songs, we saw Oneida performed as it is on the new album. Tyler ended the set with 2 solo songs - Nose on the Grindstone and Lady May. This was also a rare occasion where “All Your’n” wasn’t played. Personally, we’ve been lucky enough to see All Your’n several times and this removal from this setlist was a great idea to us. It allowed time for the newer songs and truthfully in a crowd full of loyal fans All Your’n is a song that could slip from the setlist without much push back. The uniqueness of this show is unmatched at any show we’ve attended and the ability to attend this show isn’t lost on us.
After the show Daniel was able to talk to Rodney and Matt, which were two members he’d yet to meet at shows. These moments are truly few and far between at Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps show so we make sure to take advantage of it when the guys are willing to come talk to fans. Aside from the band members, Daniel was able to talk to a other people while there as well: Dylan AKA Trill was also at the show and we spoke with him about going to Tyler concerts and his dedication to being up early in the morning; Trill said this is part of what makes him the best dog trainer in Tennessee. Tyler was also graceful enough to hang out and speak to the people who had stayed after the show ended. This was our first real chance to meet Tyler and we waited toward the end of the line to do so. Tyler took ample time to speak with everyone who’d waited around to meet him. While in line we made friends with people from Texas and Kentucky alike. We were introduced to a young lady who sings country music and met a couple of people who wanted photos of our shirts. After waiting our turn for what felt like an eternity we were greeted with a handshake and instant inclusion. Tyler was more than happy to speak with us and seemed to light up when we mentioned the amount of times we’d come to see him and the band perform. He also autographed our setlist and Dinosaur World water bottle.
Venue Notes: With this being such a unique show for everyone involved there’s bound to be different experiences getting into the venue between the showgoers but for us it was more of a breeze than we anticipated, at least getting parked. Also, accommodations and the line for doors were mere yards away from where we parked. Dinosaur World was just off the highway exit with enticing outdoor decoration lining all the way past the entrance for the parking lot.
As we pulled into a gravel parking lot to find only about 3 more spots left we got more giddy with excitement. It was sinking in: “THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING”. We strolled up to the actual entrance of the park and were greeted by a massive archway accompanied by a huge Pterodactyl jolting out of it.
But, the most beautiful site of all, considering it was well into the 90s, was numerous water refill stations and cups provided before we entered the show.
As we all filled in for the concert, they directed you to go through the gift shop which had even more drinks and snacks. Unfortunately these drinks and snacks were not free but duh we can't have everything given to us. We always remember it's helpful to support local businesses and venues. It helps out in SO many ways and encourages artists and venues to make stuff like this happen more often!! The gift shop was a nice detour as it was air conditioned and had many options for keepsakes but alas we couldn't stay long.
There was still a lot unknown to us at this point so we didn't explore too much. There was a lot of space for everyone to walk around and was spacious enough that you didn’t feel like you were on top of the people walking around you. This also made it so you didn't have to rush to get to the stage. We personally very much appreciate that as some people don't always have respect for others, this made it easy for everyone.
There were cool little Snipe cut outs and little Easter eggs for Tyler and the new album all around the park as you walked through. The only thing we really felt that needed more attention were the walkways when exiting the park. It was completely unlit and lacked directions on where to go. This actually left a couple attendees in pitch black trying to find their way out. We learned that Dinosaur World usually closes at 5 p.m. so it makes sense that they wouldn’t have lit up walkways, however hosting an event like this seemingly should have made them install some sort of guide lights. But, truthfully, that was the only notable issue we saw. We agree it was an experience we never would have thought of and it blew us away.
The entrance to Dinosaur World!!!
Parking Notes: Parking at the venue was super easy; though we think we got lucky. If we had to guess the parking lot on site could hold about 100 cars. We were lucky enough to be in the lot on site and didn’t have any issues getting in or out.
There is also additional parking at an RV lot that sits next door to Dinosaur World and it actually had a quicker and easier way to leave the concert at the end.
Most importantly parking at Dinosaur World was FREE if you were able to park in the lot. We were told that the RV park was charging $40 for parking in their lot but we were unable to confirm this ourselves.
Travel Notes: This was what we’d consider a ‘longer’ trip. It was about 7 and a half hours for us to get there. We typically would have gotten a hotel the night before and the night of the show but we were unable to do that this time due to work.
We made it to the show leaving the morning of and nearly made it back home the night of. Due to the quickness of the turnaround time for this show we didn’t really stop to take in much of the things along the way.
Honestly though being a quick turn around here wasn’t a bad thing. The majority of our route to this show was rural areas tucked away off the highways we took; and that’s just fine! It made for a beautiful ride and even though it might have been lacking major attractions it was beautiful.