Eighteen straight days and nights of picking, strumming and late-night song swaps are headed back to Quiet Valley Ranch this spring, as the Kerrville Folk Festival returns to the Texas Hill Country for its 54th year. The songwriter-centered gathering will run from May 21 through June 7, filling the ranch near Kerrville with nightly concerts, workshops and informal campfire sessions across three weekends and the midweeks in between.
Advance discount tickets are on sale now and available through May 20, and organizers note that every pass includes access to both the concerts and the campground. According to Kerrville Folk Festival, buyers can choose from several pass options, with detailed camping information posted on the festival site.
Single-day tickets range from $38 to $90, while full-festival passes run roughly $856 to $978. Half-festival and weekend passes are also on the menu, and children 12 and under get in free. Organizers estimate the event draws as many as 30,000 people each year, as reported by MySA.
Lineup and schedule
The 18-day run stacks headliners and rising songwriters across three weekends and the intervening midweeks. Performers such as Jamie Lin Wilson, Joshua Ray Walker, S. G. Goodman, Brandy Clark and James McMurtry are slated for different nights, giving regulars plenty of incentive to hang around for more than one evening. The complete nightly lineup and showtimes are listed on the festival's schedule page.
Camping, rules and parking
Campground access is included with every ticket, and the ranch offers tent and RV sites within walking distance of the Kennedy Outdoor Theater. Festival rules prohibit drums, generators, stereos, firearms and concealed weapons, allow only certified service animals, and require campground parking permits or sleeper-vehicle permits for anyone parking or sleeping in a vehicle, details noted by MySA.
A little history
Founded in 1972 by Rod Kennedy, the Kerrville Folk Festival has presented more than 1,500 singer-songwriters and is widely acknowledged as the longest continuously running music festival in the United States. The festival's history is chronicled by the Texas State Historical Association, and Kennedy's passing in 2014 was reported by Texas Public Radio.
