| Music Festival Name: | Kerrville Folk Festival |
| Location: | Quiet Valley Ranch, Kerrville, Texas, United States |
| Years Active: | 1972–present |
| Founders: | Rod Kennedy |
| Dates: | May, June |
| Genre: | folk, bluegrass, country, singer-songwriter, blues, jazz, Americana |
| Website: | www.kerrville-music.com |
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival with camping, held for nearly three weeks each year, in late spring/early summer, at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The festival draws around 30,000 people. It aims to present established artists and promote new talent.
The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by husband-wife team Rod Kennedy and Nancylee Davis[1] and has been run annually since then.
Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1983, notable for it being his last performance before his death. He then boarded Air Canada Flight 797 out of Dallas/Fort Worth, which caught fire over Kentucky and lead to the deaths of half the passengers on board, including Rogers.[2]
In 2002, Kennedy retired and the non-profit Texas Folk Music Foundation took over Festival management. The new board hired Dalis Allen as producer.[3] 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.
In 2020, the music festival's events were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event returned to an in-person festival in its usual location, Quiet Valley Ranch, the following year.[4]
In past years the event has featured well-known artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary, Lyle Lovett (1980), Emmylou Harris (2015), Willie Nelson (1973), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen (1983), Lucinda Williams (1974), Bill Davis, David Crosby (2015), and Nanci Griffith (1978).[5]
The festival places a strong emphasis on songwriting, and every year there is a New Folk Competition.to discover promising new singer-songwriters. Thirty-two finalists are selected from 800 entries to share two of their own songs in an afternoon appearance on the stage of the Threadgill Theater. From these finalists, six winners are selected, and in addition to receiving cash prizes, they are invited to perform a 20-minute set each on the main stage
A win at Kerrville carries considerable prestige in the singer-songwriter community, which 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 notable performers who have appeared as finalists in the competition without earning a win. Artists who have performed in the competition include:[6] [7]
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 entrants.
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.
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.
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 on Sunday, June 6, 2010.
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 on Sunday, May 31, 2009.
| Judges | Winners | ! colspan="4" align="center" | Other finalists | ||||
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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 on Sunday, June 1, 2008.
The 2007 New Folk Competition was held May 26 & 27.
The 2006 New Folk Competition was held on May 27 and 28.
The 2005 New Folk Competition was held on May 28 and 29.
The 2004 Competition was held on May 29 and 30.
The 2003 Competition was held on May 24 and 25.
The Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, called "Little Folk" is also hosted by the ranch over Labor Day Weekend. Both events share a website.
This list of past performers at the KFF is incomplete.[8]