Copious Notes

Miranda Lambert performing at Rupp Arena in January 2010. © Herald-Leader photo by Mark Cornelison.

• See video from last year’s Barnstable Brown Gala.

Country star Miranda Lambert tops the lists of celebrities who will be attending the 2011 Barnstable-Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala in Louisville.

Lambert, whose star has been steadily rising the past few years, will be joined by Kentucky natives and fellow country stars Wynonna Judd and Montgomery Gentry at the May 6 party. Also coming in from Music City will be LeeAnn Womack; Kix Brooks, formerly of Brooks & Dunn and Travis Tritt.

As with every year, the list, released Tuesday morning by party co-host Patricia Barnstable-Brown, includes celebrities from music, film, sports and reality TV. And there are newcomers and perennial guests such as singer Taylor Dayne, hip hop pioneer DMC of Run DMC, former *N Sync member and TV regular Joey Fatone,  Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Winter Olympics star Bode Miller, chart-topping group Boyz II Men and Nick Lachey with his fiancee Vanessa Minnillo.

Former UK basketball star Patrick Patterson greeted fans at the 2010 Barnstable-Brown Gala. © Herald-Leader photo by Jonathan Palmer.

Barnstable-Brown is also bringing back University of Kentucky basketball stars DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson, along with Coach John Calipari.

Joining them will be numerous other human athletes including Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and and NFL quarterback legends Terry Bradshaw, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers and now at Fox Sports, and current New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and figure skater Johnny Weir – who made a big splash at last year’s Derby – will also be there. If there is any need to comment on all the sporting action, ESPN’s Erin Andrews will be in the house.

Twin sisters Priscilla Barnstable and Patricia Barnstable-Brown at their 2010 Derby eve gala. © Herald-Leader photo by Jonathan Palmer.

Making her first trip to the gala will be Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin. Also making their BSB debut will be teen heartthrobs Kevin and Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Sports Illustrated swimsuit and Victoria’s Secret model Marissa Miller and fellow supermodel Niki Taylor will also be on the red carpet.

Law & Order SVU star Christopher Meloni will be there along with original Law& Order star and former presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Music is always a big part of the party, so in addition to Lambert, Judd and the others, party attendees and people standing around the gates are likely to hear Salt-n-Pepa and Freddie Jackson.

This will be the 23rd edition of the gala hosted by Barnstable-Brown and her sister Priscilla Barnstable. The gala is a fundraiser for the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at the University of Kentucky.  Last year’s edition raised $1 million.

• Check out Jonathan Palmer’s slide show from the party.

Paparazzi darlings Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson, shown at Rolling Stone's 40th anniversary party in 2007, will be marquee guests at this year's Barnstable-Brown Gala. AP Photo by Matt Sayles.

Several guests on the list for the 2010 Barnstable-Brown Gala are known for being able to cut a rug. But they all could get pointers on the John Wall Dance from the man himself when he and teammate Patrick Patterson and coach John Calipari turn the red carpet blue at the annual Derby Eve bash.

John Wall doing his dance at Big Blue Madness in October. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Herald-Leader staff.

The players will be enjoying one of their final Bluegrass throwdowns before the NBA draft along with some other sports luminaries, including flashy figure skater Johnny Weir and fellow Olympian Bode Miller. Representing the NFL will be Barnstable-Brown perennial Tom Brady and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, along with MLB slugger Barry Bonds.

Of course, if there is dancing to be done, there will need to be music. Last week, Patricia Barnstable-Brown, who co-hosts the gala with her sister Priscilla Barnstable, announced three members of the Jackson Five - Tito, Marlon and Jackie – will be coming. They’ll be joined in a tribute to their late brother Michael by R&B and Broadway star Jennifer Holliday.

There are plenty of other returning party regulars who know all about getting the party going by spending a few minutes on the stage, including country starts Travis Tritt, Rodney Crowell, Nicholasville’s John Michael Montgomery, and Little Big Town, who will be fresh off performing the National Anthem at the Kentucky Oaks.

Party regulars and boy-band veterans Joey Fatone and Nick Lachey will be back along with R&B stars Smokey Robinson, Taylor Dayne, Salt-n-Pepa and rap icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, whose band name, Run-DMC, was invoked by the Thoroughbred Daily News as the headline for the story announcing filly Devil May Care will be in the Derby.

Over the past decade, the Barnstable-Brown Gala has grown from a big local party movie stars attended to a national event for the celebrity media such as People magazine and Access Hollywood. No doubt, the paparazzi will have their zoom lenses trained on Ashlee Simpson and husband Pete Wentz, bassist for Fall Out Boy, which is currently on hiatus.

There will probably also be plenty of questions for Terry O’Quinn as Lost heads into its final episodes, and if anyone wants to talk politics, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer will be there to moderate.

Rounding out this year’s guest list, as reported in the Louisville Courier-Journal this morning, will be beautiful people Marisa Miller, Rebecca Romijn, Vanessa Minnillo and actor Jerry O’Connell.

According to the Courier-Journal, the formal release of the guest list for the Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala adds a couple of names to the lineup we reported yesterday morning.

Brooke Shields. Photo by Jon Ragel | NBC.

Chief among the additions is Brooke Shields, a 1980s teen film star whose recent roles have included NBC’s Lipstick Jungle and playing Hannah Montana’s mom on the Disney Channel hit. Also added are some old B-B party friends: original Supremes member Mary Wilson, Darryl McDaniels (D.M.C. of Run D.M.C.), Taylor Dayne, and country star Lee Ann Womack.

They will join a guest list topped by paparazzi magnet Paris Hilton, bad boy rocker Kid Rock and self-proclaimed redneck woman Gretchen Wilson.

As best we can Google and Nexis, this will be Shields’ first Barnstable-Brown Gala since 1994. At the race, Saturday, Shields will wear a hat custom-made for her by designer Rachel Roy. After the race, it will be auctioned off by the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation with proceeds going to benefit the Barnstable-Brown Foundation, which supports diabetes research at the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. The party is also a benefit for the foundation. The hat benefit is sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka, which last year paired Kentucky-native Molly Sims with designer Eric Javits.