By Cheyenne Young
On a Saturday morning in late May, I woke up, cut my overall pants into overall shorts and hit the road. After a two-hour drive on a winding country highway with a sky as blue as the rolling hills below were green, volunteers greeted me with a warm “Welcome Home” when I pulled into Quiet Valley Ranch for the 54th annual Kerrville Folk Festival.
Founded in 1972 by Rod Kennedy, the 18-day festival is as much a pillar for the town of Kerrville as it is for the folk music community. Every year, the festival hosts the New Folk Competition where 24 emerging songwriters are selected to perform at the famed Threadgill Theater. The competition has been a right of passage for many songwriters over the years, and many a household name has played the stage.
This year, Austin favorites The Tiarras, The Bright Light Social Hour, and festival volunteer veteran Raina Rose took the main stage both weekends of the festival. Acts from farther down the road included Mon Rivia from Chattanooga, TN, Andy Frasco & The U.N. from Los Angeles, CA, and The East Pointers, a two-piece all the way from Prince Edward Island, Canada.
It would have been a disservice to call it a night after watching the shows on the main stage. There were many camps set up with stages and tents for friends and strangers to come together across the grounds, most of which have been established for years and serve as landmarks for festivalgoers.
I happened to pitch my tent 15 feet away from the Mama Tried stage, which became a fast favorite of mine. The Mama Tried stage is kept up by Cameron Rowe and Sam Simons, who have been coming to the festival for 12 years. When I asked them what keeps them coming back, Sam said it was music and friends, while Cameron said it’s the community. “I’m a bass player, so getting to accompany so many different artists and play different songs for two and a half weeks is like going to music college–it’s fantastic!”
Hogan and Moss and the Old Weird America took the Mama Tried stage, playing a Townes Van Zandt cover at Camp Bayou Love the following weekend. Volunteer staff performed at Staff Rekkerds, and A Different Thread played at Paige’s Guitar Lounge.
The show didn’t stop with the late-night jam sessions; creativity in all shapes was welcomed, at all times. A 2 a.m. puppet show at The Porch was followed by a Kerrville documentary screening by Clint “Lunchbox” Spearow at Staff Rekkerds. There was a trash-ion show put on by the volunteer trash crew at camp MILF; a carnival at The Vortex; and a comedy show at Mama Tried.
There was even a mud wrestling competition down in The Meadow where the beer team’s own Leo was a winner. And, at 3 a.m., I followed the sound of a cheering crowd to find a burlesque show. The following night, a crowd gathered for a fire-spinning show put on by a man known only as The Fire Wizard. Finally, those who stayed awake long enough to welcome the new day were treated a sunrise jam on Chapel Hill.
Despite the late-night programming, families have been attending the festival for generations. Jonina Sims, who has attended the festival for 39 years, describes it as “home”: “Chapel Hill is my favorite place on the planet…It’s like Cheers…where everyone knows my name. The music is real, it’s everywhere–the place lives and breathes music Especially for musicians…you’ll love it!”
Jesse Garcia, a songwriter who goes by the name Fool of Ideas, said this was his fourth year coming to the Kerrville Folk Festival. “I meet lots of magical people who are amazing songwriters and have become lifelong friends of mine. It’s a place to build community and meet people who might normally be on the fringe of day-to-day society, but, out here, everyone [can] participate, and you meet really interesting and fascinating people…. I love this place.”
Two highlights among many stand out for me. One was when Texas legend James McMurtry sang “Copper Canteen” under a bright blue moon. And, second was Eric Folkerth’s memorial show honoring festival members and others who were victims of the devastating floods that claimed the lives and homes of so many in Kerrville and surrounding areas last year. The continued resilience of the Kerrville community and people coming together to rebuild is inspiring, and relief efforts are ongoing.
I spent most mornings reading and working on crossword puzzles along the Guadalupe River, and in the afternoons, I visited a two-story antique store, ate apple ice cream on red picnic tables in Medina and visited nearby watering holes.
When I first arrived at the Quiet Valley Ranch, I had never attended the festival before and didn’t know anyone. When I left, I had a new playlist, new friends, more bug bites than Kerrville stars in the sky (but no ticks). To my beer team crew: Cheers! And to the Kerrville Folk Festival—same time next year?
Check out KOOP’s Alana King’s The One-Seven Playlist for the Kerrville Folk Festival.