For a cool 51 years, Kerrville Folk Festival has brought world-class songwriters to small-town Texas for 18 days of near-religious folk consumption. This fall, the Austin institution will reboot its sister event, Welcome Home Festival, under the leadership of booking wizard and longtime Kerrville attendee Amy Sue Berlin.
“I grew up in Pittsburgh, and Kerrville is the reason I live in Texas,” says the 40-year-old Berlin, who first attended the festival at age 10. “It gave me one of my greatest gifts, which is seeing the humanity and individuality of each and every person.”
Welcome Home’s high-impact relaunch lineup invites national alternative folk figures like Kinky Friedman, Laraaji, Kimya Dawson (the Moldy Peaches), Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief), Lomelda, Twain, and more, with weekend tickets starting at $180. Named after the traditional greeting between Kerrville festivalgoers, the smaller gathering takes place October 12-15 at Quiet Valley Ranch. The longtime home of the main May festival sits around 2½ hours from Austin.
Before taking the reins at Welcome Home, Berlin began her Kerrville booking career nearly two decades ago as an organizer of popular (but unofficial) concerts at her campsite. Five years ago, Kerrville incorporated her gigs as a formal section of the festival. Located at the late-night, neon-lit Moontower Stage, Berlin’s productions (curated under trade name Moontower Productions) excel in bringing young talent that exists outside the traditional trappings of folk onto Kerrville’s hallowed grounds.
At last year’s festival, Berlin recruited R&B powerhouse Daniel Fears and neo-soul ensemble Sir Woman, both of whom will return to Quiet Valley for Welcome Home.
“There are so many interesting people that come [to Kerrville], and whoever you are, you have a home,” explains Berlin, who also releases her own introspective folk. “But for me, there was always a split between what was happening on the stage and having representation of everyone, especially young people.”
If Kerrville’s main fest is a world-wise eldest child with a seemingly boundless knowledge of folk history, Welcome Home is its hip younger sibling.
“There are so many interesting people that come [to Kerrville], and whoever you are, you have a home. But for me, there was always a split between what was happening on the stage and having representation of everyone, especially young people.” – Amy Sue Berlin
“When you look up the definition of folk, it’s defined as relating to the traditional art or culture of a community or nation,” says Berlin, who shares Welcome Home booking duties with twin siblings/musical duo the Brother Brothers. “For me, there’s so much that we can focus on when bringing music to this festival, and far as I’m concerned, a lot of genres can slide into folk.”
Look to ambient innovator Laraaji as a case study in Berlin’s quest to broaden the scope of the genre. Known for past collaborations with Brian Eno, the New Age veteran composes stress-melting soundscapes with help of the electric zither, a Victorian-era mix between guitar and harp.
“Laraaji is an interesting one because he doesn’t focus on songwriting, but there’s no doubt that it’s folk when you listen,” muses Berlin. “We’re pushing the envelope here in a lot of different ways with this lineup, but to me, there are ways to tie it all right back into the whole route of folk and culture.”
Berlin booked Laraaji with the help of friend/contemporary folk revolutionary Adrianne Lenker, a longtime Kerrville attendee who also headlines this year’s Welcome Home. “Adrianne had a lot of influence on the lineup,” says Berlin. “She’s always loved Laraaji and asked me to reach out to him.
“She and I have spent many hours talking about what we can do to preserve the quality of the festival while also bringing some change that encourages youth to come,” she continues. “We don’t want to become corporate like some bigger festivals, but we talk a lot about the importance of reaching diverse groups.”
Up-and-coming talent, too, runs deep in the Welcome Home lineup, and Berlin points to 28-year-old Corrine Savage, aka Corook, as one to watch. The nonbinary singer-songwriter made a splash on TikTok in April with “If I Were a Fish,” a delightful ode to self-acceptance: “If I were a fish and you caught me/ You’d say, ‘Look at that fish!’/ Shimmering in the sun/ Such a rare one.”
Berlin views Corook’s playful lyrics as an anthem for the attendees of Welcome Home, where “the more eccentric they are, the more they’re loved.”
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s the theme for this festival,” says Berlin. “Let’s make a space for all of the weirdos and all of the beauty.”
This article appears in July 21 • 2023.