Kerrville Folk Festival—the zesty fest in so many areas!

Mary Jane Farmer | February 6, 2019 | Reply

Ellis Paul

Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer

t’s a few months away, still, but Kerrville Folk Festival is releasing its list of performers in waves, a few last week, a few this week, and let’s hope more next week.

And first on this agenda is to bookmark this Website. It has all the info and a place to sign up to get all future-released information. It is: KerrvilleFolkFestival.org.

The Kerrville Folks Festival, held every year since 1973, after it’s inaugural event in a downtown venue in 1972, at Quiet Valley Ranch of Kerrville, Texas, runs from May 23 though June 9, and offers the best in guitar, ukulele, songwriter, and yes even harmonica, schools during the weekdays between the weekend concerts. There’s also a Professional Development Program for schoolteachers, and organized bike rides through the Texas hill country terrain. This is the one festival, too, where there’s a daily 12-Step group meeting, helping to assure a connection between sober and clean festival-goers who might otherwise have a harder time of it.

Kevin Russell, ShinyRibs lead singer

Music goes on, during the daytime, mostly on the Threadgill Stage in the center of the campgrounds. Then, before dark even begins to threaten to settle in, it moves to the main stage, aka the Kennedy Stage, in the theater area. There’s crafts and food vendors in both places.

The ages-old New Folk songwriter contest is still accepting entries, and will until later in February. Use that Website above to learn more about this classic and prestigious contest and get in on this action.

So far — and remember that this is a folk festival, not necessarily a Red Dirt or Country or Rock festival — there will be performers that first weekend (May 23-26) by Ellis Paul, Bonnie Payne, Rising Appalachia, Ruthie Foster, Nobody’s Girl, Ley Line, Patty Larkin, Crys Matthews, Dave Gunning, Three Women & the Truth, Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson, and Gretchen Peters.

Then, on that second weekend (May 31-June 2), ShinyRibs, Pokey LaFarge, Willow City, Danny Schmidt, John Craigie, Freddie & Francine and Mipso.

And the third and final weekend (June 7-9) festival-goers can give a good listen to Verlon Thompson, Rodney Crowell, Sam Bush, Shawn Camp, Bobby Bridger, and Jeff Black.

And many others will be added with the passing of time. Some could easily be those Red Dirt or Country or other genres, after all, Randy Rogers and Hayes Carll have played Kerrville.

They are sending line-up updates ‘wave on wave’ as our buddy Pat Green would say! On that Website, KerrvilleFolkFestival.org, there’s a spot to learn more about the New Folk songwriting contest, and also to go ahead and get your tickets while they are discounted.