First event for the day was the ever-popular Ballad Tree. This event is hosted on Chapel Hill every afternoon of the festival, and hosted by musicians of renown. Friday’s host was blues picker Graham Warwick who, with his band, has won enough local and regional blues competitions that they will be traveling to compete in a national blues contest in January 2015. (As soon as I get the details, I’ll revise this note.)

The Ballad Tree is completely acoustic, and by that I mean, there are no mics, no hook-ups for guitars, nothing, except instruments and voices. And the breeze that cooled the afternoon down on the hill couldn’t silence those. Some stand nearer the crowd to be better heard, some stand a little farther away. And as I sat there and listened, I could only think two things: “There are some house concert promoters who should be here listening to these incredible musicians/songwriters/singers,” and “The music on the main stage tonight will be great, better amplified, under lights, and with a bigger audience, but the music tonight won’t be any better than it is right here.”

It opened with Graham and his guitar-picking sidekick, Emmett Smith. They, like all the others who followed, performed two songs. Then, after all 15 who signed up had performed, they each got another short second set.

Zoe Lewis

For photos of the Ballad Tree, click here:

The even concert was filled with bands I’d never heard of, and for me that is always exciting. Before the evening was out, I’d become a huge fan of the British-turned-American singer/songwriter Zoe Lewis.  Zoe had three other musicians with her: fiddle, drums, and doghouse bass.  She brought the crowd to its feet with her zany combinations of jazz, scat, funk, well, basically you-name-it-and-she-can-play-it genre. She was a 2002 Kerrville New Folk winner who now tours worldwide with her brand of energetic and outrageously entertaining music.

For Zoe Lewis band pix, click here

For a few other pix, click here:

Butch Morgan

Arrived on the ranch about 3:30 p.m., and excited to be here. Camping near old buddy Dorothy Hammond and her hubby, J.C. Dorothy worked the office as a volunteer decades ago, when I was here with the festivals, and she and J.C. just returned this year and are living on Quiet Valley Ranch. Of course, both are working as are hundreds of others here.

Also saw three old friends for the first time in ages, Steve Caruthers, who used to work in the office throughout the year while I did, too. He was bookkeeper and lots more. Good visit and plan more with him. Also Radar… not even sure what Radar’s last name is… but who cares, he’s really Radar, still smiling and happy. And Susan, my friend Susan Roads, still taking the best photographs of them all. And if you read this in the next day or two, stop and say a short prayer for her dad, who is having surgery Friday.

The music tonight was on the Threadgill stage, a 4-person song swap. Libby Koch from Houston, Ken Gaines also from Houston, Jaime Michaels fr0m Santa Fe, and Butch Morgan from Divine (according to his song about Eddie). What fun it was, and the crowd was singing along with their songs all through the 2-hour set. Great harmonies all around me. Libby has a voice and a smile to knock your socks off, Ken shows a lot of humor blended with other human emotions in his, and Jaime was a really pleasant surprise, and perfect blend for all of them. Of course, a lot of people in North Texas are already familiar with Butch Morgan, having played at the Pawless Fest and Wildflower! Fest over the years.

I’m going to try to keep up daily with this, but already think it’s going to be hard… there’s so much going on all the time, and so many incredible people to visit with. Some I’ve met, some I’m going to meet.

Still getting familiar with all the new ways this festival works, so don’t know if these performers have any CDs or not, but I’m for finding out.

Tomorrow (Friday) starts out with me trying to find a golf cart I can rent. I’d forgotten just how hilly this Hill Country ranch is, and just how much harder it is for me to negotiate these days.

For photos of the Thursday 4-some song swap, click here

Matt Hillyer, Eleven Hundred Springs

With a good supply of Bloody Mary’s under their belts, LJT festival-goers hit both other stages, the Allsop acoustic stage and the Bud Light main stage, with the enthusiasm of fans who knew it was going to end after this Saturday night. Thanks to Thom Shepherd and Coley McCabe for keeping the T-Birds Garage Pub stage moving every morning.

This particular festival-goer took full advantage of the Stephen Fromholz tribute hour, Saturday morning, to let go of some grief, not only for Fromholz, but also because it was happening about the same time that a tribute was being held in Kerrville for its producer, Rod Kennedy, who had passed away about 10 days earlier. Fromholz and Kennedy were so inter-connected that it was hard to think of one without remembering the other, too.

As an example, the bumper stick on the guitar case, which presumably held one of Fromholz’ guitars, held the adage, “It’s Fromholz Fault,” which began on one of the numerous Kerrville Festivals On The Road tours in the early 1980s. So much easing among the traveling musicians on the bus, and that saying became the unofficial slogan of the tour. Then, when the next festival came to Kerrville, and sure enough, there was Fromholz playing it, someone tagged his daughter Darcy on the back, in white shoe polish, with “It’s Fromholz’ Fault.”

Then, one performer, Matt Martindale, said to the audience that he knew he wanted to be a songwriter after listening to one of the early Kerrville Folk Festival tapes. And there were several other statements and songs that brought the two men, musician and producer, together in heart. Unashamedly, this fan cried through most of it, for both old friends. But then, that’s what tributes are for.

For photos of performers at Steven Fromholz tribute, click here

Davin James came up, and you can see the sequence of hat switches in his set of photos. First he used his hat to fan LJT, who sat in with him. Then, it was back on James’ head. Then, he put it on LJT’s head, and then Larry Joe threw it to this fan. Davin went on and played, saying once, “I can’t believe I lost my hat,” but he did get it back after the show.

For Davin James pix, click here

The remainder of the line-up went as one would expect — perfectly. No one can find fault with Ray Wylie Hubbard at all, Jason Boland & The Stragglers always are a treat, and there were Eleven Hundred Springs, the Tejas Brothers, Brandon Rhyder, Reckless Kelly. Larry Joe Taylor’s band closed it all out with the power they always deliver with their, especially, Coastal & Western style of music.

Beer hair!

The beer slingers turned and went home, and I took my by-then-glued-together hairdo to lay it down in the van before heading out Sunday morning. There’s a pic… and I can’t blame the beer slingers for the gray hairs also in the picture, although they might have added a few to the set.

Larry Joe Taylor will host Rhymes & Vines festival — the 9^th one — on September 18, 19, and 20, back at Melody Mountain Ranch. Watch his Website: LarryJoeTaylor.com, or call 254-968-8505.

For Terri Hendrix photos, click here

For Ray Wylie Hubbard pix, click here

For pix of 1100 Springs, Click here

 For Tejas Brothers, click here

For Brandon Rhyder pix, click here

Jason Boland & The Stragglers

Larry Joe Taylor band, click here

For crowd and other shots, click here

What a day of great music this Thursday was! From bands like newcomers Prophets & Outlaws to the legendary Gary P. Nunn & The Bunkhouse Band, and lots in between, this was maybe the best coverage of Texas music in the event. Well thought-out line-up.

The acoustic (afternoon) stage featured those Prophets & Outlaws, added Tommy Alverson and his band, plus Nashville songwriter Keith Sykes (often a co-writer with Larry Joe), and Max Stalling with his band. Clay McClinton was to have played, but had to cancel out, as he had to do with all his gigs for the remainder of 2014 in order to recover from injuries sustained a serious car crash. In his place, Larry Joe and everyone held a live auction, raising money to help their crony Clay out. More than $35,000 was raised during that short hour. Amazing.

It was incredible to see people of all ages enjoying Gary P.’s band. Gary has been making Texas music since the first reinvention of Texas music in the 1970s. He was one of the leaders in that first wave, Progressive Country and/or Redneck Rock, whatever one wanted to call it then. He invited the audience to the front for his last song, saying he wanted ‘female dancers.’ They came, and they stayed while Gary P. and the band continued it the set with one last last song. Men and women of all ages rockin’ out. Security allowed it, since it was requested.

For Prophets & Outlaws photos, click here

For Tommy Alverson pix, click here

For Keith Sykes photos, click here

Dancing to the music of Gary P. Nunn

For Max Stalling photos, click here

For Gary P. Nunn pix, click here

Meanwhile, on the big stage, aka the Bud Light stage, Mark McKinney opened up and brought the style and energy of today’s Texas music during his hour-long set.

Mark McKinney pix, click here

Following him were Sean McConnell, then Casey Donahew Band, Wade Bowen, and finally Randy Rogers Band, all leaders in today’s Texas music.

This all brought the beer-slingers into breakneck speeds, sloshing suds back and forth through every set from in front of the set.

Casey Donahew Band pix, click here

For Wade Bowen band photos, click here

For staff and other photos, click here