Marfa’s eighth annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love this week announced its lineup for the three-day camping fête, set for Sept. 12-15. Ditch perma-clogged Austin and make the six-hour trip out west to El Cosmico, Liz Lambert’s “camping” haven.

M. Ward’s the Saturday pull, breaking from his work as “Him” with Zooey Deschanel in She & Him. Trans-Pecos boasts other jewels like local Americana troubadour Hayes Carll and occasional Shawn Colvin co-conspirator, Davíd Garza.

If you expect the frontier’s too wild for your taste, this isn’t desert spiritualism à la Burning Man. Lambert, proprietor of both the Hotel San Jose and Hotel Saint Cecilia here in Austin, took luxury camping seriously. Deluxe and standard scout tents are available for festival-goers, along with the usual El Cosmico accommodations.

I suggest the teepees, which come with an iPhone dock and two beds. I’ve “roughed it” before. An Austin, West Texas baseball match and artist workshops are also on the bill.

Thursday, Sept. 12

Hayes Carll
Nic Armstrong & the Thieves
Day Dyer
Hotel Brotherhood

Friday, Sept. 13

Junior Brown
Robert Ellis
Tift Merritt
Jenny O & the High Society
Charlie Mars

Saturday, Sept. 14

David Garza & the Cosmico Family Band with Margaret Cho
M. Ward
Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers
Will Johnson

This article appears in August 23 • 2013.

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