On the fourth Sunday of each May, The Big Singing, an all-day sing-along program of Southern Harmony shape note gospel music is held at the county courthouse. While other major singings still survive, The Big Singing, begun in 1884, is the only singing in the world to use the William Walker Southern Harmony system of shape-note singing. The Big Singing is also distinguished as the oldest continuously operating indigenous music festival in the United States.
Other annual events include Hardin Day and Aurora Country Festival, celebrated in the small towns of Hardin and Aurora. More recently, the area has become known for the annual Hot August Blues and Barbecue Festival and for the Kentucky Lake Bluegrass Festival, held at Kenlake State Resort Park. Marshall County is also home to Jackson Purchase barbecue, a unique style that is found in the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky.
