Summer in Terlingua.

Sometimes May can be the hottest month of the year. Not this year. Right now, it’s 69F at noon and tonight will fall to the 50’s.

In the summer, the crowds thin out. Some river guides move to places that are “in season” in the summer. Some locals migrate to their summer homes in Colorado, New Mexico – anywhere that’s cooler than here.

The music continues. The Boathouse is still down for the count, but the Starlight Theatre and La Kiva have picked up the slack.

And then there’s the porch. Between the Starlight Theatre and the Terlingua Trading Post there is a covered cowboy porch, with benches against the wall.

This is where Terlingua watches the sun go down in the East. Continue reading “Terlingua Porch in the Summer”

The 1st Annual Viva Terlingua Music Festival is now just a fond memory, a hard-drive full of videos and photographs, and something to look back on as we plan next year’s festival.

By any standard, the fest was a success. By the standards I set out with the sponsors when we were planning it, it was a raging success.

Over 30 musical performances in two locations- performers from California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Old Mexico, and all over Texas joined us in the beautiful Big Bend of Texas. Many of them had never been here before. They’ll be back.

There were several highlights – Joe King Carrasco on Thursday night at the Starlight Theatre was legendary. People will be talking about that show for a long time.

Andres Cantisani, Aaron Todd, and the duo, Tahoma, jamming at the Thirsty Goat Saloon in Lajitas was a magical moment.

The New Vagabonds were definite crowd pleasers.

At the top of this page there’s a menu tab that says “music videos.” Any time you want to see and hear Terlingua Music, that’s the place to go – and I’ll upload videos from the festival as I get them done.

Movies – we had movies.

The Grove, Texas, is a documentary about a ghost town, somewhat like Terlingua, and the man who kept it going – and what it was like when he got old and had to sell it.

The Road to Austin, Gary Fortin’s masterpiece about Stephen Bruton’s final musical performance, features Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Kris Kristoffersen, Eric Johnson, and a cast of Austin’s finest pickers in a gorgeously produced film.

Local favorite, Crystal Allbright’s “Hoops For Rain,” was a trippy celebration of hula-hoops and cinematography.

We learned a lot about putting on a film festival this year, and next year’s festival will be much bigger.

Photography- Butch Hancock brought out several of his amazing photos for our exhibit. Crystal Allbright and Fran Brothers, among several others, also displayed their photos.

I exhibited my photos of Terlingua Musicians. Continue reading “The Story of the Viva Terlingua Festival”