The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by husband-wife team Rod Kennedy and Nancylee Davis[1] and has been run annually since then.

[4] In past years the event has featured well-known artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary, Lyle Lovett (1980), Emmylou Harris (2015), Willie Nelson (1973), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen (1983), Lucinda Williams (1974), Bill Davis, David Crosby (2015), and Nanci Griffith (1978).

Thirty-two finalists are selected from 800 entries to share two of their own songs in an afternoon appearance on the stage of the Threadgill Theater.

From these finalists, six winners are selected, and in addition to receiving cash prizes, they are invited to perform a 20-minute set each on the main stage A win at Kerrville carries considerable prestige in the singer-songwriter community, which is in part due to the peer-professional judging and the festival's long history of recognizing emerging artists who have later gone on to wider success.

Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund.

Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund.

Winners received a cash honorarium from the Texas Folk Music Foundation, Vic & Reba Heyman, and the Jim Ross Memorial Fund.