For 18 consecutive days each year beginning the Thursday before Memorial Day, the Hill Country south of Kerrville comes alive with the sounds of songwriters sharing their creations with other music lovers.
That celebration of songwriting – the Kerrville Folk Festival – is the longest continuously-running music festival in the United States, says Deb Rouse, executive director since August 2022 of the nonprofit foundation that stages the event.
“We are, first and foremost, a songwriters festival,” she explains. “You won’t find cover bands or ‘tribute’ bands on our stage. We present original music performed by the actual songwriter. We also have a unique ‘campfire’ culture. On any given night, you’ll find multiple small groups of singer/songwriters gathered in a circle, swapping songs.”
Rouse adds that regular attendees consider themselves to be “family,” and they’re always ready to welcome newcomers and expand that family by building new relationships. The words she hears most often to describe the Kerrville Folk Festival experience are “magical” and “transformative.”
“You probably will have a moment at some point during the Festival when your soul is stirred,” she says, “whether by a song or by the grace of the people you encounter.”
Founded by Rod Kennedy in 1972, the original festival at Kerrville Municipal Auditorium drew 2,800 fans, and the following year 5,600 showed up. That prompted a search and subsequent acquisition of a more-spacious outdoor location – a 60-acre site nine miles south of Kerrville on State Highway 16. It was dubbed Quiet Valley Ranch to allay neighbors’ concerns about noise and traffic.
Six thousand patrons attended the first outdoor festival, a four-day affair in May 1974, and the event has grown in scope and participation ever since. Last year’s cumulative attendance approached 30,000 over 18 days that included three well-attended weekends. For the latest Festival updates as well as information about both tent and RV camping, visit KerrvilleFolkFestival.org.
In addition to evenings of live music, the Kerrville Folk Festival offers other activities such as YAPI (Young Artists Performance Incubator), concerts for children, a school for songwriters, workshops, and the Grassy Hill New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters.
“Each year, songwriters from around the world enter the Grassy Hill Competition by paying an entry fee and uploading two original songs,” Rouse says. “Last year, we had 950 entries. The entries are screened by two different ‘levels’ of listeners, all of whom are songwriters themselves. The 950 entries are then narrowed down to 24 ‘finalists,’ who are invited to perform their two songs live in front of the Festival audience and five judges, also songwriters. The judges then select six award winners, who each receive a cash prize, passes to a future Festival, a Texas concert tour the following spring as well as a great entry for their resumes.”
Since the Festival is first and foremost a singer-songwriter happening, the type of music echoing through Quiet Valley Ranch covers a broad spectrum.
“People who have never attended the Festival often have a slightly skewed idea of what ‘folk’ music is,” says Rouse. “They expect traditional music like ‘Turkey in the Straw’ or ‘Oh, Susanna.’ That really isn’t what our festival is all about. We feature original music of all genres; blues, jazz, pop and country are all represented. The key word is ‘original.’ Our festival and our community revere the songwriter.”
More than 1,500 top-notch singer-songwriters – including many nationally-known artists – have performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival during its half-century run. When the evening concerts conclude, the mellow mood and musical magic shift to the campfire jam sessions, producing a special kind of harmony in the Hill Country.
