Folks have been gathering together at Quiet Valley Ranch for 52 years, forming essentially a little town centered around original folk music. They call it the Kerrville Folk Festival. Those who check out the festival for the first time are called Kerrvirgins and those who have been there before are called Kerrverts. Kids who are there (and who continue to go into adulthood) are called Kerrkids.
As you walk around the campsites, you see that many of them have names, and these groups often have the same campsite location year after year. And they secure their plot of land in an event called Land Rush, where they purchase a stake to reserve a ten by ten spot and line up in the parking lot, waiting overnight until they the doors open in the morning and they can pour in and find their plot.
When I came into this little village on a Saturday, I ran into a friend who had been there this whole time. He said he was tired, as this was the last weekend of the festival so he'd been there more than two weeks. Like many, he spent that time sharing music with others late into the night, every night.
This entire event is mostly volunteer led. And on this Saturday afternoon, they had live music going on at the Threadgill Theater where the volunteer staff was putting on a concert hosted by Bill Davis, and featuring Half Dream, Jesse Garcia and more.
Later on in the night, the live music performance moved to the Kennedy Outdoor Theater, a large space with food and craft booths, benches for seating and grass for dancing. I was able to catch Owen Temple and Kelley Mickwee and then Sir Woman performing.
When the late night concert gets out, folks walk back to the campgrounds, where all across the camp, people are strumming their acoustic guitars, singing their original songs. And for many, this is really where it's at. It's where the magic happens. The different camps generally have a leader who helps organize folks around a circle to share their songs and who welcomes unfamiliar faces into the group. If someone special or of high regard comes around they will actually led them skip their wait and share a song right away, they call this “breaking the circle.” But the folks here have an open heart and an open mind, they're welcoming and encouraging. I was able to check out music at Merrville, Camp Bayou Love, Honky Tonk Shit Show and Camp Dances with Armadillos. Earlier in the day I played some music at Pink & Plow Brewing Company. Good times.
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10 июн 2024
