|
September 13, 2004
Since 1996 the Texas Heritage Music Foundation has been providing what could be described as “instant roots” for both natives and newcomers to Texas and Texas music.
Held the last weekend of September, this year that’s Friday the 24th, through Sunday the 26th, on the Schreiner University Campus, and called appropriately the Texas Heritage Living History Weekend, the event celebrates the birth of Jimmie Rodgers, the undisputed Father of country music.
But it doesn’t stop there. In addition to the Rodgers’ tribute at noon on Friday in the Pavilion by local actor Tony Navarra, there will be dozens of performers – singers and songwriters, real life cowboys and chuck wagons, Native Americans and teepees, historical and educational exhibits, storytellers and so much music you won’t feel the need to go to a club for a month.
If you are a Texas transplant (and the odds are getting better everyday that half the people reading this arrived within the past few years), then the woefully inadequate knowledge you now possess of Texas history and Texas music is holding you back in your social intercourse with native Texans. Not to mention the misinformation you think of as knowledge gleaned from movies, television, even textbooks.
For instance, did you know that there really was an Indian treaty with the US government that was never broken by either side? That’s right – the one between the Comanche tribe and the German community of Fredericksburg is it. Descendents of the folks who crafted this treaty will be on hand to inform your curiosity.
As to the music: Besides the Jimmie Rodgers tribute, there will be several other musicians performing around the Pavilion. For instance, Lost John Casner. If you’re a fan of Country Swing and glorious stories set to music, then Lost John is a must-see. He’s been performing a quarter century in Austin and environs, has known most of the people who created the genre, and has a marvelous soothing voice that relaxes and excites simultaneously.
If you like Blues, Gospel, Soul, Country, Western, or any combination of them, we will have several someones performing your favorites.
All of this is going to happen on Friday, September 24th, from 9 am to 3 pm. It’s FREE to the public, and invaluable as entertainment and education. You can come away knowing as much or more about Texas – and the music – than most native Texans.
On Saturday, September 25th, for Blues fans, a FREE seminar on Texas Blues music will be offered in the Cailloux Center from 10 a.m. to noon. The discussion panel will be moderated by Deirdre Lannon, the Project Administrator of Texas Music History Center at Texas State University, and will include noted blues author and historian, Roger Wood (The Roots of Texas Music; and Down in Houston—Bayou City Blues), music scholar Steve Davis, and the blistering performer, Karen Abrahams.
Here will be your chance to have those nagging questions answered, and collect (or pay off) on those multitudes of wagers you’ve made through the years. And if you’ve wondered about the methods of musicians to rip at your heart using voice and instrument, Karen’s expert exposition on guitar and mandolin will provide proof positive that it wasn’t just your imagination.
The weekend will wind up on Sunday, the 26th, with a Literacy and Learning Benefit Concert in Schreiner University's Dietert Auditorium at 3 pm, with The Bells of Joy, the longest running gospel group in Texas. Tickets will be $15 (discounts for 10 or more), proceeds to benefit the Wayne Kennemer Scholarship Fund and Families and Literacy.
We expect a sell-out for this concert, so if you are interested we suggest getting your tickets early – in Kerrville at Wolfmueller’s Books, Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Melody Corner, and Families and Literacy Center; in Fredericksburg at Hill Country Music on Main Street. If you live far away you can order your tickets on the
Texas Heritage Music Foundation website, www.texasheritagemusic.org, or www.familiesandliteracy.org.
During the course of one weekend the Texas Heritage Music Foundation is offering a distilled and concentrated learning experience that should provide all the foundation you need to be a thriving striving Texan. These instant roots will make your continued growth in the Texas culture a pleasant and rewarding experience – and remember, everything on Friday and Saturday is totally free. Awesome. Join us.
|
