Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run annually since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired by the Texas Folk Music Foundation, a 501(c)3 Texas Non-profit Corporation.
| Kerrville Folk Festival | |
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| Genre | folk, bluegrass, country, singer-songwriter, blues, jazz, Americana |
| Dates | late spring/early summer |
| Location(s) | Quiet Valley Ranch, Kerrville, Texas, United States |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Founded by | Rod Kennedy |
| Website | www.kerrville-music.com |
The event draws around 30,000 people per year. Tickets (single day or season passes) are required for admission. Many patrons camp out on the festival grounds during part or all of the festival.
The festival places a strong emphasis on songwriting, though the performances encompass a variety of styles. The idea behind the festivals is to "promote emerging artists while giving our audience exposure to both new and recognized, seasoned talent", according to the festival's official website.
In past years, the event has also featured well known artists, including Peter, Paul and Mary, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, David Crosby, and Nanci Griffith.
The Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition
There is a yearly competition to discover promising new singer-songwriters called the New Folk Competition. Thirty-two finalists are selected from a field of 800 entries to share two of their original songs in an afternoon appearance on the stage of the Threadgill Theater. From these 32 finalists, six winners are selected by a small group of well-established performing songwriters. In addition to cash and other tangible prizes, the six winners are invited to the main stage to perform a 20-minute set.
A win at Kerrville carries considerable prestige in the singer-songwriter community. This is in part due to the peer-professional judging and the festival's long history of recognizing emerging artists who have later gone on to wider success. There have also been examples of notable performers who have appeared as finalists in the competition without ever earning a win. Artists who have performed in the competition include:
- Steve Earle (1978)
- John Gorka (1984)
- Nanci Griffith (1978)
- Tish Hinojosa (1979)
- Robert Earl Keen (1983)
- Mark Elliott (1993)
- Lyle Lovett (1980, 1982)
- Ellis Paul (1994)
- Slaid Cleaves (1992)
- Cosy Sheridan (1992)
- Johnsmith (1990)
- Anne Feeney (1989)
- James McMurtry (1987)
- Pierce Pettis (1987)
- Buddy Mondlock (1987)
- Hal Ketchum (1986)
- David Wilcox (1988).
2013 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2013 were among 31 songwriter-finalists who performed during the New Folk Concerts on May 25 & 26, 2013—chosen from up to 800 submissions.
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2012 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2012 were among 32 songwriter-finalists who performed during the New Folk Concerts on May 26 & 27, 2012—chosen from 800 submissions.
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2011 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2011 were among 32 songwriter-finalists who performed during the New Folk Concerts on May 28 & 29, 2011—chosen from 800 submissions.
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2010 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2010 were among 32 songwriter-finalists who performed during the 2010 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Concerts on May 29 & 30, 2010. Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund. They performed at the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners Concert at noon on Sunday, June 6, 2010.
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2009 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2009 were among 32 songwriter-finalists who performed during the 2009 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Concerts on May 23 & 24, 2009. Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund. They performed at the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners Concert at noon on Sunday, May 31, 2009.
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2008 Winners and finalists
The six New Folk Winners for 2008 were among 32 songwriter-finalists who performed during the 2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Concerts on May 24 & 25, 2008. Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund. They performed at the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners Concert at noon on Sunday, June 1, 2008.
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2007 New Folk competition
The 2007 New Folk Competition was held May 26 & 27.
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2006 New Folk competition
The 2006 New Folk Competition was held on May 27 and 28.
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2005 New Folk competition
The 2005 New Folk Competition was held on May 28 and 29.
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2004 New Folk competition
The 2004 Competition was held on May 29 and 30.
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2003 New Folk competition
The 2003 Competition was held on May 24 and 25.
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Kerrville Wine and Music Festival
The Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, called "Little Folk" is also hosted by the ranch over Labor Day Weekend, and the two share a website.
List of Past Performers
- David Amram
- David M. Bailey
- The Belleville Outfit
- Bobby Bridger
- Bob Brozman
- Hamilton Camp
- Mary Chapin Carpenter
- Guy Clark
- Judy Collins
- Dana Cooper
- Ronny Cox
- David Crosby
- Rodney Crowell
- Hondo Crouch
- Cypress Swamp Stompers
- Allen Wayne Damron
- Jimmy Driftwood
- Jonathan Edwards
- Joe Ely
- Deirdre Flint
- disappear fear
- Dixie Chicks
- Steven Fromholz
- Bob Gibson
- Eliza Gilkyson
- Emmylou Harris
- Vince Gill (as part of Bluegrass ReVue, in 1975)
- Jimmie Dale Gilmore
- Green Mountain Grass
- Nanci Griffith
- Grimalkin
- Butch Hancock
- Patricia Hardin
- Carolyn Hester
- Sara Hickman
- Tish Hinojosa
- Ray Wylie Hubbard
- Janis Ian
- The Indigo Girls
- Flaco Jiménez
- Jitterbug Vipers
- Robert Earl Keen
- Tom Kimmel
- Jimmy LaFave
- John A. Lomax Jr.
- Lyle Lovett
- Mary McCaslin
- Mercy River Boys
- Augie Meyers
- Willie Nelson
- Gary P. Nunn
- Odetta
- Tom Paxton
- Peter Paul & Mary
- Shawn Phillips
- Willis Alan Ramsey
- Tom Prasada Rao
- Gamble Rogers
- Stan Rogers (died on Air Canada Flight 797 after performing in 1983)
- Peter Rowan
- Tom Rush
- Shake Russell
- Tom Russell
- Peter Madcat Ruth
- Don Sanders
- Mike Seeger
- Martin Sexton
- Singing Christians
- Michael Peter Smith
- Bill Staines
- B. W. Stevenson
- Eric Taylor
- Trout Fishing in America
- John Vandiver
- Townes Van Zandt
- Jerry Jeff Walker
- Susan Werner
- Cheryl Wheeler
- Rusty Wier
- Dar Williams
- Lucinda Williams
- Peter Yarrow
- Steve Young
- The Steel Wheels
- Tim York and Michael Hawthorne as T & M Express
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kerrville Folk Festival. |
- Official Website for the Kerrville Music Festivals
- A History of New Folk Competition winners and finalists
- Official Website for the Texas Folk Music Foundation
- Texas State Historical Association: History of the Festival
- Kerrville Kronikle, 1988-2004 on-line
Archival Materials
- Kerrville Folk Festival records, 1958–2014, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University
- Tom Frost III papers, 2000–2003, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University
- Southwest Regional Folk Alliance records, 1989-2017, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University
- Texas Heritage Music Foundation records, 1989-2017, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University