Art: Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Arlo Guthrie is one of the card-carrying folkies who plays the getting-more-eclectic-every-day Kerrville Folk Festival. Thu-Jun 12, in Kerrville, TX. For more information, go to www.kerrville-music.com PHOTOS: 1 A D V E R T I S E M E N T A D V E R T I S E M E N T The Kerrville Folk Festival By Billy Walters The Kerrville Folk Festival is taken very seriously by those who fervently insist that a great time can be had in the titular town. And since the scenery alone in the gorgeous-to-a-fault Texas Hill Country is worth the price of admission, these folks are probably right. Of course, this doesn’t even take into account the massive amount of shockingly talented songwriters and performers who, since the fest’s origin in 1972, have played the annual love-of-good-song event. It’s a happening that, combined with the soul-healing locale, is pretty much as close to heaven as some people are gonna get. Returning is the usual cast of hardcore troubadours — Jimmy LaFave, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Russell, Ellis Paul, Butch Hancock, Darrell Scott, et al. — and the mix of refined East Coast perfectionism with the rustic sweetness of Southern storytelling in rhyme is more magical than you might think. Even though past faves Martin Sexton and David Wilcox aren’t making the scene, there’s still no reason for a folk fan not to make the three-hour drive from Cowtown. As usual, there will also be dabs of electrified, non-acoustic sounds, including the country blues of Gary Clark Jr., the Tejano-flavored rave-ups of Los Texmaniacs, the Western Swing of Asleep at the Wheel, and the hick-rock of rednecks extraordinaire Reckless Kelly. With more than 100 acts slated to play, the festival’s bound to stage some duds. But no worries: That’ll just free up some time to hit the bike trails or tube down the Guadalupe. A word of caution: Unless you’re partial to hack-a-thons, try to avoid the campfire jam sessions. Leave the pickin’ and a-grinnin’ to the pros. Email this Article...