He was a former big band singer and race car driver, a Marine, and a lover of classical and folk music. Kennedy ran the festival with input from the performers. ![]() Johnson and Lady Bird were in the audience with Longhorns football coach Darrell Royal that year, when the fest was still held at the Kerrville Municipal Auditorium downtown. Kennedy and Peter Yarrow of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary got to work, and in May 1972, Steven Fromholz, Carolyn Hester, Bill and Bonnie Hearne, John Lomax Jr., Mance Lipscomb, Michael Martin Murphey, and eight other acts performed on the main stage at the first Kerrville Folk Festival. This community of musicians and the University of Texas students who filled out their shows created a culture conducive to Kennedy’s next move. The Monterey International Pop Festival in California and Woodstock in New York were defining events of the counterculture era of the late 1960s.Įven then, Austin clubs attracted a range of talented singers and songwriters who found success on the fringes of the recording industry but felt it constricted their musical vision. This year’s milestone fest runs May 26–June 12.īack in 1972, America had entered a new era of music festivals. It has played a significant role in launching the careers of scores of international musical stars and, in doing so, continues to shape the trajectory of American folk music. It’s the longest continuously running folk festival in America. ![]() Now, as the festival approaches its 50th anniversary, time has proved that Kennedy picked the perfect location for an annual celebration of songwriters. Between the folks gathering in the Hill Country and the large contingent of artists, musicians and students in nearby Austin, the Kerrville Folk Festival was meant to be. So in 1972, when the people behind the inaugural Texas State Arts and Crafts Fair reached out to music impresario Rod Kennedy about providing entertainment for their Memorial Day weekend event in Kerrville, Kennedy saw an opportunity. Buffalo Bill made a fortune and built his Wild West show into an international empire by following one simple rule: Perform where people are already gathering.
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