Kerrville Named “Music-Friendly City”
Local band “Ghosts of the Pleasure Garden” performs at the event recognizing Kerrville.
Kerrville loves a good celebration, and this town has been celebrating live music for much of its history. Over 200 people came out to celebrate at the Arcadia on Thursday, October 26, when the Texas Music Office recognized Kerrville as the state’s 50th music friendly city. It’s a recognition that’s long overdue for a town rich in music history. Heart of the Hills Heritage Center joined the celebration and curated a small display of artifacts and photographs related to Kerrville’s music history gathered from community historians and organizations. Thanks to Toni Romero Box, Joe Herring Jr., Dr. Kathleen Hudson of Schreiner University, and Deb Rouse of Kerrville Folk Festival for sharing their collections and showing us all that Kerrville truly deserves this recognition!
Kerrville can trace its musical roots to before 1896, when a series of photos shows a parade marching through downtown Kerrville as part of Saengerfest. It was reported that it was the 14th annual Saengerfest, which dates the celebration back further to at least 1882, before the town of Kerrville incorporated in 1889. Saengerfest was a German singing festival that drew large crowds to Kerrville to enjoy singers and bands from Kerrville, Fredericksburg, and San Antonio. Our local historian, Joe Herring Jr., shares more about Saengerfest and the 1896 photos on his blog.
Photo of the 1896 Saengerfest parade, courtesy of Joe Herring Jr.
In the 20th century, Kerrville’s Mexican American community closed streets for parades and festivals that the whole town enjoyed. Parades with elaborately decorated floats, festivals that crowned kings and queens, and musical performances at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and School celebrated historical events such as 16 de Septiembre, or Mexican Independence Day. Our Lady of Guadalupe, which used to be on Francisco Lemos Street where Jefferson Street ends, was where the parades culminated, and the festivals happened.
Our Lady is long gone and unknown to many who have moved here more recently, but the memories of the place and the community that it cultivated are very much alive for many who celebrated 16 de Septiembre this year at the Doyle Community Center. Toni Romero Box shared photographs from past celebrations and musical instruments that her grandmother and great aunt played at past celebrations for our music display at the Arcadia.
Not surprisingly, country music has deep roots in Kerrville as well. Jimmie Rodgers came to town in 1929 seeking tuberculosis care, like many others who came here in the early 20th century. He is credited as being the father of country music and was among the first performers inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Dr. Kathleen Hudson organizes an annual tribute to Rodgers that has been at various places in Kerrville. This year’s celebration was at Arcadia Live which was fitting since the team at Arcadia recently discovered that he played there while he lived here from 1929-1931. Hudson shared her collection of Rodgers’s records, a CD tribute of Jimmie Rodgers songs, the Nelson Porterfield biography of Jimmie Rodgers, and cardboard cutout of Jimmie himself that greeted people at the music friendly celebration.
Kerrville Folk Festival, the music festival that put Kerrville on the map for folk music lovers around the country, has greatly contributed to the area’s growing music scene. The festival that started in 1972 as part of the Texas Arts and Crafts Fair has grown and found a permanent home at Quiet Valley Ranch and continues to reinvent itself with smaller festivals throughout the year, such as Welcome Home Fest. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, and The University of Texas famed football coach Darrell Royal attended the first folk festival held at the Kerrville Municipal Auditorium, now the Cailloux City Center for the Performing Arts. Deb Rouse, Executive Director of the Kerrville Folk Festival, shared festival programs, compilation records from the early years of the festival, and posters for our display. Joe Herring Jr. dug into his collection for photos of attendees and musicians at the first festival.
This short account of Kerrville’s music history barely scratches the surface, but it gives a glimpse into the diverse genres and musical talents that have earned Kerrville recognition as a music friendly city. There is so much more music history to learn about and share. If you have any memories, photographs, or unique artifacts about Kerrville’s music history, please reach out to Angela Kennedy akennedy@hhheritagecenter.org.
Toni Box works the Heritage Center’s music display in the lobby.
An adorable local girl enjoys live music in her music-friendly city.
