You can always play someone a song and theyll appreciate it.. Your comprehensive live music resource for show listings, artist tracking, music news, photos, reviews and more. I met Jake Kirbo, who learned how to play multiple instruments from others at the ranch and was attending for the 32nd time. KERRVILLE, Texas The Kerrville Folk Festival is set to return for its 50th year this spring. Every year, he drives down from Boulder in his 26-foot box truck, packed to the gills with the entire 100,000-watt PA system. Technically, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, established in 1962, holds the mantle as America's eldest yearly music gathering, but it lasts just four days a fraction of Kerrville's gargantuan 18 days, the better half of a moon cycle. In 1978, Rod's partner Nancylee Kennedy purchased the Quiet Valley Ranch and the festival's been held there ever since. 2022 Spotlight Showcase Artists. That's why it's still a big event to me. There you will also find a rundown of the fests epic schedule of performances. AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Song Swaps During SERFA Conference, May 12-15. Please join us in congratulating the six winners of the 2022 Grassy . Quite the contrary, as evidenced by my own experience and countless other tales of openhearted inclusion. When thousands of music fans descend upon the Texas hill country this weekend for the start of the Kerrville Folk Festival, festival staff and volunteers will be ready with a simple greeting: Welcome home.. Akey contribution from Yarrow was his suggestion that Kerrville follow the lead of the influential Newport Folk Festival and create a showcase event for unknown writers who have no advocates, who have no one to connect them to a larger audience, as Kennedy recounted in his memoir. Four sets of 18 individual day tickets, plus a quarter page ad in the festival program. In addition to receiving cash awards and additional performance opportunities, being named as a New Folk Award Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor. After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2022 New Folk Winners by a panel of judges. One time he (Quarto) said, It's not how you look, but how you see., Quarto's wordshelped give Kennedy, a renowned conservative until his later years, a new perspective that he applied to the festivals identity. Besides 90 RV sites (for which theres a waiting list), theres plenty of space for tent camping with water, electricity and bathrooms available in the campgrounds. Bill Hearne from Santa Fe, New Mexico leads the crowd in a sing-a-long with Guy Clarks Rita Ballou accompanied by acoustic bass and lead guitar. More:Our 2019 interview with Shawn Colvin. There is something for everyone who enjoys music, camping, and outdoor activities. The latter a choose-your-own-adventure of pickin', singing, and listening is such an attraction that, even though it avoids overlapping schedules with the main stage, there's a detectable air of competition between the two. Performers will include many artists long associated with Kerrville. Kerrville Folk Festival May 25 - June 11, 2023 Quiet Valley Ranch 3876 Medina Hwy. Eventually the 18th day rolls around. Watching the younger generations grow up throughout the years and continue the traditions of the festival is what means the most to Sappone and so many others I was able to speak with. For him, the Kerrville Folk Festival has become a spiritual home for the Texas music style of songwriting, which is very much validating, and storytelling, and very poetic, all at once, he says. The 50th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival at Quiet Valley Ranch runs May 26-June 12, 2022. Kennedy, who died in 2014, was making plans to retire in the late 1990s and considered ending the fest. I ran into Andy Corwin, longtime folkie and attendee that performs with the Limeliters, who gave me a history lesson of the site. As reported by the San Angelo Standard in 1979, Blaze played a short set as part of a festival presentation called 12 Great Hours of Kerrville during which he sang an original titled "Springtime in Uganda." Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved. Like many who inhabit it, Muse's life has been dramatically altered by the Kerrville experience. A great way to support the festival and promote your business! Jack Motley and Friends perform on the Threadgill Stage. If youre in for the long haul, hop on Interstate 10 all the way to TX-16; Quiet Valley Ranch is right off the highway. Winners in the 1990s included Austin mainstay Slaid Cleaves and Maryland's Tom Prasada-Rao, who'll host this year's "In Memoriam" night on Monday. He works for the fest for significantly less money than he makes elsewhere and, most years, he donates part of it to the festival's foundation. A shush-camp concert series straight out of a fairy tale, Moontower features intimate performances that run from midnight till 3am, from up-and-coming artists, completely unplugged, under a canopy of Christmas lights and Hill Country stars. As a songwriter who spent five years volunteering at and attending Kerrville, I was deeply impacted by the community and in particular, the camp scene. Lucinda Williams was a finalistin the mid-1970s. Prior to its first public performance, Rod Kennedy heard Bridger rehearsing it backstage and designated the song as the festival's official anthem, calling on him to come back and play it every year to close out Kerrville. (Photo by Aaron Polinard / 1Perspective Photography), Out There in the Fresh Air With Utopia, Old Settler's, and Kerrville Folk Festival, Crosstalk: The American Analog Set Due for Numero Group Reissue Treatment, and More Music News. Jacobs cites Jimmy LaFave & the San Antonio Orchestra as one of his favorite performances he's witnessed at Kerrville. "People talk about 'old Austin' Kerrville IS 'old Austin!'" The fest expanded to five days in 1973 and got a big boost when Willie Nelson, whod recently moved to Austin from Nashville, joined the lineup. Mefford worked his way up from a cashier to supervisor throughout the years and became a part of the Kerrville family. The festivals own future wasnt always assured. The 50th Kerrville Folk Festival - is a really big deal you don't want to miss! Its the goal of the entire festival, the entire culture even, to give performers the best experience theyve ever had. I headed back to the main stage to watch Shake Russell and was introduced to Bill Godfrey, who first attended in 2006. Get Tickets Designed to nurture and develop an artistic expression of songwriting, the Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running music festival in North America. More:Our 2018 interview with Michael Martin Murphey. The sprawling meadow that harbors most of the campsites has changed some over the years. Ray Wylie Hubbard, who played the first Quiet Valley Ranch event in 1974 en route to becoming a legendary Texas troubadour, is part of Thursdays opening-night lineup. Video Series: Little Orange Room Sessions, REVIEW: Mark Miller Standing On Shoulders, Kerrville Celebrates 50 Years The Hill Country Standard, Show Review: Molly Tuttle at Knoxville's Summer Sessions Americana Highways, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j78CXuGP_k, Show Review: Big Bend Songwriters Festival 2023, REVIEW: Victoria Hallman "From Birmingham To Bakersfield", REVIEW: Dave Hause "Drive It Like Its Stolen", REVIEW: Stephen Stills "Live at Berkeley 1971", Show Review: The String Cheese Incident at The Sylvee, Madison WI, Music Reviews: Blood, Sweat & Tears, plus Sir Douglas Quintet, Marc Jordan, Esther Rose, Muddy Waters, and Eddie Money, Contact Americana Highways Managing Editor here. The real White showed up days later to find his pass already gone, but the heat was on Blaze. Its been rinse and repeat now for the last seventeen years. As security called for backup, Blaze, already intoxicated, disappeared into the campground. It's why I have the friends I have. Godfrey only had one original song under his belt that first year, but he took his guitar and played that one song at every campfire and had an artistic awakening. Veteran Kerrvert Brian "QTN" Cutean spent three years collecting over 100 stories about the festival, now published in his book Uncurtailed Kerrtales: Myths, Legends, and Spontanacities, which will be available at the festival. A New Folk Competition finalist performs on the Threadgill Stage. There's also a water crew that fills all the coolers dispersed around the grounds. Don't miss this chance to experience his soulful voice and evocative lyrics live. Welcome home. According to an interview with Kerrville regular Elliot Rogers for Triplett's documentary Blaze Foley: Duct Tape Messiah, all volunteers were on lookout and not to let him in under any circumstances. There are wooden benches lining the hillside creating a beautiful amphitheater. It's basically the essence of my being," Berlin explains on the patio of Radio Coffee & Beer, an Austin institution owned by songwriter Jack Wilson, who volunteered at Kerrville for many years. Become a part of the 18 days summer music camp full of concerts, activities, and workshops, together with thousands of others who can't imagine their life without music. The Kerrville Folk Festival operates as a nonprofit with proceeds that support singer-songwriters. This year at the Land Rush, a huge thunderstorm rolled through that brought Corwin back to those early days. Sorting through the massive grid that shows whos playing this years festival, director Muse points out many legacy artists who are helping to celebrate the festivals 50th anniversary. A local storefront proclaims over three-dozen sold, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the billions of hamburgers McDonalds made at its franchises. That begat New Folk, a daytime eventin which a panel of judges (usually consisting of main-stage performers) selects six winners from a few dozen finalists each year. Out of more than 750 entries, 24 songwriters were selected as finalists, and from the finalists concerts in May 28th and 29th, six winners have been chosen. Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news, All questions answered (satisfaction not guaranteed). It was Berlin who launched the folk festival's newest official stage: Moontower. I was mortified, but I was also learnt indoctrinated. She took over as the festival's producer in 2002. It was like a creative home. She's come back every year since and recently realized she has spent a grand total of over two years on the ranch. She has reported on several high-profile stories during her career at KSAT and specializes in trending news and things to do around Texas and San Antonio. Its a golden year for a golden place: The bucolic hillside property rambles across 50 acres, and this year the festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. View the Spotlight Showcase Schedule. Here are just a few of the artists who will be featured: Michael Martin Murphey, Kathleen Edwards, Darrell Scott, Eliza Gilkyson, David Ramirez (full band), Kyshona, Ron Artis II, The Deer, Mikaela Davis, The Guthrie Girls, Darden Smith, Susan Gibson, and Walt Wilkins. Its a string of moments. The volunteer crews are spelled k-r-e-w and, if you spend enough time at the fest, you might end up with a Kerrville nickname that could stick for life just ask "Hippie Carl," "Spider," or "Secret Steve." They played dominos as the lightning flashed and booms filled the air. Accordionist and vocalist Joanna Howerton recalls the first time she pulled into the campground: "There had been a flood and we drove into the meadow until we realized we couldn't go any farther pulling our popup without getting stuck. Brodsky recommended that Corwin make the trip to Kerrville and Kennedy put him down as a special guest. Probably around half are larger jam-type scenarios where musicians get in the mix and play together in the middle of a big party and those parties go all night. For a lot of the songwriters, it'll be the first time they've ever met her, Muse said. People were pretty impressed when I first came here, and they were glad to hear harmonica, Sapone said. Austin, Texas 78711 It's a place of inspiration. Attendees can also enter the New Folk Competition for a chance to be selected to perform at the Threadgill Stage. on the road collecting the stories of Americana music. Austin songwriter Sara Hickman, who played the festival several times in the 1990s, headlines the evening show on June 6. The next year I was really excited to come back with more songs, Godfrey said. Not all camps are music camps and not all music camps are "shush-camps." It's tough love, baby, but it's love Texas style. For 50 years, this annual tradition has showcased the craft of singing and songwriting by spotlighting up-and-coming performers with established artists. Enter your email address to receive notifications of ALL new posts by email. Through floods, tornadoes, bankruptcies, sponsors pulling out whatever happened, he kept at it, she says. In 2019, KFF began . All the shows are presented on the Threadgill Theater Stage, and ticket sales are capped to match this capacity. He may not have liked that a person lookeddirty and half-naked around the campgrounds, but he allowed that that's who they were, and that they brought something to the table.. The 50th Kerrville Folk Festival - is a really big deal you don't want to miss! It is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America. The contest has remained an important incubator for songwriters into the 21st century. Join us for a night of timeless music with Sam Robbins, an "old soul singer-songwriter" evoking the classic sound of James Taylor and Neil Young with a modern twist. Its like, theres lightning strikes on the ranch and thunder was deafening, and there were seven or eight or nine of us and we were singing Beatles songs at the top of our lungs trying to be heard over the thunder and at that moment I had this epiphany and said it doesnt get better than this, this is like more fun than Ive ever had. I was given a gift of it already being this thing that everybody knew about and loved. Established in 1972 at the urging of Peter Yarrow, the Kerrville New Folk Concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles and is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. It is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. Several crews of peacekeepers help attendees check in upon arrival and watch over the parking lots and campground. It was the perfect opportunity for Sapone to join in the various jam sessions and he quickly networked with artists. . Don't miss these incredible performances! He released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, in May 2021, which garnered critical acclaim and radio airplay. I set out on the trail to Camp Mama Tried, an eclectic group of music lovers, artists and down-to-earth hippies that claimed the same land for the past decade. The 50th annual Kerrville Folk Festival has a much more inviting mixmaster, one paved with gravel and steeped in tradition. New Folk hit a home run right out of the gatewhen anupstart Lubbock band calledthe Flatlanders showed up in 1972. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. In Kerrville's first three years, the now-famous New Folk Contest was not a contest, but rather a New Folk Concert. The Austin Chronicle offers its sincere apologies to Camp Moco Verde and the late John Albert. Head sound engineer Chris Jacobs met his wife the first time he came to the fest in 2000. He gave birth to this, Corwin said about Kennedy. Like a subliminal dinner bell, Kerrverts head to the main stage on the last night of the fest to "sway." Every diabetic on the ranch came to me, and they hugged me, and they counseled me on what I was facing, and I instantly had references and help, Mefford said. (830) 257-3600 Campgrounds are the heart and soul of the festival, where the music and singing never stops. The Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation hosts the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk songwriting competition, an annual Music Camp for Teens, instrument workshops and many other events to foster folk music education and appreciation. Be it ever so humble, the Quiet Valley Ranch about 10 miles southwest of Kerrville does indeed become home for manylongtime returnees wholl stay for the entire 18-day run, which begins Thursday and continues through June 12. Single-day tickets ranging from $30 to $50 and an 18-day full festival and camping package ($657) can be purchased at kerrvillefolkfestival.org. That very first weekend, memorial day weekend, I was camped down in the lower meadow, at camp synchronicity and they always put up a great sturdy tent with iron, steel pipes, stuff like that, Corwin said. We passed the guitar around and got hydrated for another warm afternoon. Mary Muse, Executive Director Over 30,000 guests come from all over the world to become part of this unforgettable event. Every year at the Quiet Valley Ranch, in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country, a real music marathon takes place. The six, to be announced during the evening concert on May 29, will receive a $650 cash prize and some Kerrville Folk Festival swag, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend to each perform during the 2022 New Folk Winners Concert at the festival on Saturday afternoon, June 4. As I was packing up my gear I spoke with harmonica player Gary Sapone, who first attended in 1981. This is a reference website. We were like, Well, what's going happen to the festival? And he said, I guess it's just probably going to go away. But when he decided to retire, the community said, Wait a minute. A group of devotees rallied to keep the festival going through separate purchases of the business and the property. Established in 1972 at the urging of Peter Yarrow, the Kerrville New Folk Concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles. They sway, loosely on rhythm, and sing together: "There is a reason, there is a rhyme, there is a season, there is a time, there is a purpose, there is a plan/ One day together we'll heal in the wisdom and we'll understand.". Soon he also waspresenting musical events at larger venues such as Austins Municipal Auditorium (where the Long Center now stands). Mayreau, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. When hit by hard financial times in 2002, it was festival regulars and volunteers who stepped forward to save it, narrowly avoiding foreclosure. It serves as a wind-down for those who have been up all night, or a ritualistic way to start the day for those who wake up early. Among them areHouston songwriter Bobby Bridger, whose song Heal in the Wisdom was adopted as the fests anthem in 1979, and eclectic composer David Amram, a 91-year-old New Yorker whollconductKerrvilles Symphony of the Hills orchestra. The Kerrville scene is not fucking around when it comes to shutting up, listening with your full attention, and giving the songwriter performing at that moment the respect they damn well deserve and don't get anywhere else, or at least not to this degree. In the Lyon and Grenoble metropolitan areas, and the Haute-Savoie department, INRAE units contribute to research activities at the Lyon-Saint-Etienne, Grenoble-Alpes, and Savoie Mont Blanc . Corwin was introduced to founder Ron Kennedy through long time performer Chuck Brodsky at the Folk Alliance and was quickly invited out to Texas. Bobby Bridger penned the song as a tribute to two friends who had recently passed away. It's said that a woman once left Kerrville in labor and returned two days later with her newborn baby. With roughly 500 volunteers per day working in 60 krews and no obvious hierarchical system, Kerrville runs much like the hillbilly version of the Apple iCloud, about which Steve Jobs famously explained, "It just works." Long-serving Kitchen Krew leader Stuart Vexler recalls opening the staff kitchen doors one afternoon to find a band rehearsing before their set. It was there the Amarillo-born musician met her songwriter husband. Flatlanders members Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock would all become Texas music luminaries in the decades to come. The first place I kissed my girlfriend, I remember where it was exactly, Corwin said. I was just an 18 year old kid wanting to fit in with some older kids I was living with. https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2449630646239232992. ), More:Our 2021 interview with Nobody's Girl. Yarrow is credited with introducing the idea of a songwriting competition and it really bridges the gap between the campers and the performers. If songwriting is what you are interested in, Kerrville is the place to go. For nearly 50 years people have gathered at Quiet Valley Ranch to celebrate the Kerrville Folk Festival. Performers include: Prepare to be excited, fest-fam! For more information, visit kerrvillefolkfestival.org. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. And that's why I'm playing this year., Where: Quiet Valley Ranch,3876 Medina Highway, Kerrville, Cost: $30-$50 single-day; $657 full-festival pass; $137-$165 weekend pass; $350-$380 half-festival pass (all tickets include campground access), Full schedule and more information: kerrvillefolkfestival.org. Chosen from among more than 500 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted at the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 28 and 29, as part of the 50th annual Kerrville Folk Festival. It was an entertaining childrens show with frog themed costumes. Kerrville Folk Festival Celebrates 50 Years of Music, Community, and Lasting Memories Sara Hickman, Bob Livingston, Bill Hearne, and others reflect on their favorite moments at the annual fest Written by: Sarah Thurmond Published: May 24, 2022 at 6:31 pm Peter Yarrow performs at the Threadgill Theater. When he found out I was producing a folk festival at Kerrville, he asked to be included, Kennedy wrote in Music From the Heart, his 1998 autobiography. Mary Muse, who met her husband at Quiet Valley Ranch and is now the festival foundations executive director, recalls a dinner conversation she and her husband had with Kennedyaround that time. Another crew manages backstage hospitality, keeping the performers fed, hydrated in whatever way they choose, stocked with clean towels, and probably more that I'm not aware of because I've never been a main stage performer. Winner of the 2021 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition award, Sam has honed his craft as a full-time troubadour, performing over 150 shows a year across the country. The six winners will return for another afternoon concert on June 4. Its basically the essence of my being., The Dixie Chicks (now known as the Chicks) warming up to perform at Kerrville in the Nineties, One click gets you all the newsletters listed below, Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events. 3 on the pop charts in 1975. 2023, State of Texas, Office of the Governor, Texas Music Office The sound system is the finest quality Ive ever heard at a large festival and the attentive audience allows every note to be heard. New Folk Finalists slated to perform on Sunday afternoon, May 29, include Mark Ettinger (New York, NY), Jean Rohe (Brooklyn, NY), Robin Bienemann (Oak Park, IL), Siena Christie (Vancouver, WA), R.O. For 18 straight days and nights, the Festival offers concerts and . On June 2, songwriters Brian Cutean and Steve Fisher will co-host an in-the-round session at Crows Nest, and Johnson is returning for the first time in many years to introduce the event. As always, lots of Austin acts will perform as well, from Shawn Colvin to Shinyribs to Jackie Vensonto David Ramirez and many more. Scheduled to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on Saturday, May 28, from 1:30-4:30 p.m., are Jason Erie (Nashville, TN), Belle-Skinner (Albany, NY), Mike Ryan (Clifton, VA), Sarah Jane Nelson (Little Rock, AR), Jesse Correll (Nashville, TN), Calista Garcia (Arlington, VA), Ryan T. Miller (Madison, MS), Jana Pochop (Austin, TX), Kyle Rasche (Alto, MI), Beth//James Jordan & Mikaela Burchill (Austin, TX), Dan Weber (Richardson, TX), and Javier Jara (Austin, TX). 2007-2023 AcousticMusicScene.com. The Kerrville Folk Festival, the Foundation's flagship event founded by Rod Kennedy, celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2022. | Austin, TX. Kerrville Folk Festival - Celebrating Songwriters since 1972! (For Pettis, it was a generational thing: Her father, Pierce Pettis, had been a New Folk finalist in the 1980s. It's really the goal of the entire festival, the entire culture even, to give performers the best experience they've ever had. I think it's nothing short of a miracle that she was able to hold it together. There's also Fajita Thursday and Corn Dog Day where camper Davis Ethridge becomes the Corn Dog King and hands out hundreds of corn dogs. He was there at the table and I went over and said hi to him, and I had met him once before for about nine seconds five years earlier but he pretended he remembered me.. Every morning at dawn there's a show at Chapel Hill, the highest point on the ranch. The late Slim Richey, known as the most dangerous guitar player in Texas, had a camp that emitted Django jazz all day long. Kerrville Folk Festival Hours & Ticket Prices May 26th - June 12, 2022 Blues, bluegrass, acoustic rock, jazz, and folk music. You not only remember the events, you remember how you felt at that moment, what you were smelling at that moment, its so vivid.. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. Hearne performed at the first festival in 1972 and has learned how to interact with the Kerrverts like a front porch picking session. May 26, 2022 to June 12, 2022 Where: Quiet Valley Ranch 3876 Medina Highway, Kerrville, TX 78028. I just had to keep it going. Contact us at americanahighways@gmail.com for an ad rate sheet! People tend to get sad and nostalgic, even though they're fighting burnout.
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