The festival was founded in 2002 as a small gathering of local musicians in Tyler Park, and steadily grew into a national attraction that now includes major touring acts and an economic impact of over $20 million per year.

[1] Forecastle was selected as one of Rolling Stone's "Coolest Festivals"[2] and has an annual attendance of over 75,000 fans at Louisville Waterfront Park.

Past headliners include ekoostik hookah, the Black Keys, Jack White, Jack Harlow, Beck, Outkast, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Tame Impala, Tyler the Creator, Sam Smith, My Morning Jacket, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Alabama Shakes, the Flaming Lips, the Avett Brothers, Widespread Panic, Cage the Elephant and many more.

[5] Before the pandemic, the 2019 line-up (July 12–14) featured the Killers, high-energy folk rockers, the Avett Brothers and 2019 Grammy-winning hip-hop, funk and soul performers Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals.

[8] The 2022 lineup featured Jack Harlow, Tame Impala, Tyler the Creator, Phoebe Bridgers, Porter Robinson, Rufus Du Sol and many more.

[11] In addition to the headliners listed above, some previous musical guests include Cage the Elephant, Modest Mouse, Run the Jewels, Pretty Lights, Phantogram, Jim James, PJ Harvey, Band of Horses, Jason Isbell, Nathaniel Rateliff, Robert Plant, She & Him, Spoon, Vince Staples, A-Trak, Sleater-Kinney, Tortoise, Umphrey's McGee, The String Cheese Incident, The Black Crowes and Del the Funky Homosapien.

The lineup included such acts as Wilco, Girl Talk, Sleigh Bells, Beach House, Andrew Bird, Bassnectar, Neko Case, Houndmouth, Sleeper Agent (band), and many more.

[12] In more recent years, the festival's lineup has shifted primarily toward alternative rap and EDM Forecastle has featured over 150 artists contributing a variety of installation work, as well as 2-D, 3-D, and mixed media.

Until 2012, a panel of local and regional curators designed the exhibition from artist submissions received from universities and community institutions across the south and midwest.