One of the top events that dominates the social calendar of Kerrville in Kerr County in the spring/summer is the Kerrville Folk Festival. The festival was founded by Rod Kennedy. For close to four decades, every year the festival runs non-stop for 18 days. This major event kicked off in 1972 and since then has grown in size and stature. However, the event in 1972 spanned only three days between June 1 and 3. For song writers and singers, performing at the annual Kerrville Folk Festival acts as a launch pad for handing out their business cards as once might say. This festival is a platform for performers and craftsmen to show you all they have got to offer.
The festival, held at the beautiful Quiet Valley Ranch, brings together over 30,000 people. For close to three weeks, people can let themselves be mesmerized by varied genres of folk music – both conventional and upcoming. You can hear musicians strumming traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, country, blues, Americana, acoustic rock… you name it, it’s there. Songwriters consider the Kerrville Folk Festival to be their Mecca. In fact, big labels like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen, and Lucinda Williams started off early in their careers at the camp grounds of the Kerrville Folk Festival before making it big in the US music industry. No surprise that talented songwriters today vie to play in this annual festival. The best thing about this event is that you can hear original, fresh lyrics written by song writers who often double up as the singers. It has also become an ideal business meeting ground for songwriters and music companies scouting for fresh talent.
The concerts run all through the festival days, so visitors can drop in early mornings, late nights or weekends. The festival remains largely a family affair. However, it has achieved cult status as being the longest and largest annual celebration of originality in song writing in the US.