A few fateful hours swept away Robert Earl Keen’s July Fourth plans. Scheduled to headline Kerrville’s Fourth on the River, the Hill Country community’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Louise Hays Park, the singer-songwriter woke up to the worst flooding in the Hill Country’s living memory. Torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to surge more than 20 feet in a few hours, resulting in catastrophic flooding that devastated Kerrville, washing away the entire stage in Louise Hays Park and and killing more than 130 people throughout the area, including 27 campers at Camp Mystic in Hunt.
Within days the longtime Kerrville resident had organized a benefit concert “REK and Friends: Applause for the Cause” on Aug. 28. The concert, which raises money for the Community Foundation for the Texas Hill Country, sold out in five minutes. Outlaw country giant Miranda Lambert (performing with longtime collaborators Jon Randall and Jack Ingram) will play along with emerging stars like Pug Johnson and legendary singer-songwriters Ray Wylie Hubbard and Terry Allen.
Texas Highways: How did you end up moving to Kerrville and what keeps you here?
Robert Earl Keen: When I graduated from Texas A&M, I moved to Austin, worked for the government, made music, and went to tons of Kerrville Folk festivals. I thought I went as far as I could go in Austin as a musician, and then Steve Earle told me to go to Nashville. I moved there, got married, but when it came to my career, people said that I couldn’t get through a door if it was made of paper. When my wife got a job in the Hill Country, it was a good time to get out of Nashville.
When we got to Kerrville, I had my hands in my head for three months thinking about what I was doing with my life. Soon some friends asked me to play around the area, and that’s what led to Kerrville becoming home.
Now I stay at a ranch we bought 30 years ago. The nearest neighbors are a mile away. I write songs in the building we call the Scriptorium. It’s one of those stone structure buildings like what you find in Fredericksburg, and doesn’t have A/C. I go there to read books until I can’t, then I play the guitar, and then I go back to reading books and writing. If I was a novelist, I’d have moved down here earlier.
TH: What inspired you to organize “REK and Friends: Applause for the Cause”?
REK: We raised a family here. Both my girls went to [Camp] Mystic. One went there for eight years. When the younger went, she stayed in Bubble Inn—one of the camp’s oldest structures that the floods destroyed. The older daughter grieved outwardly. The younger one won’t even talk about it. They were born here, grew up here, and were troubled by the disastrous floods.
TH: How did the benefit concert take shape?
REK: We started really early on this. We got the word out; we secured Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels as a venue really early. What appealed about Whitewater was the idea of it being in the Hill Country, and the infrastructure of Whitewater was ready for a big show like ours.
TH: The benefit concert got sponsorship from Buc-ee’s. How did that come about?
REK: I’ve known [Buc-ee’s founder] Arch “Beaver” Aplin for a long time. And I’ve never asked for a favor. I called up Beaver and made my pitch for their sponsorship. If you know Buc-ee’s, you know they’re careful about what causes they support. But when I asked Beaver, he said yes right away and upped the donation to a million!
TH: How did you go about recruiting so many great acts?
REK: Our timing was good, and people also volunteered their time. My manager, Kelly Thomas, got Cross Canadian Ragweed. I called in yet another favor from Tyler Childers to come play. Ryan Bingham was also interested in playing really early on. I had just been out in Santa Fe doing the podcast with Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, and they wanted to participate.
TH: Speaking of Americana Podcast: The 51st State , what changes have you made to it since launching it back in 2019?
REK: We revamped the podcast in April. We now got this video component, and we’re thinking of Americana in terms of more than just singer-songwriters—we’re talking to folks in fashion [such as Rodger and Jackie Chieffalo, owners of the Fort Worth-based clothing store Chieffalo Americana]. I enjoy having to dig a little deeper on the interview questions now that we have a variety of guests. Our current episode is with Evan Felker from the Turnpike Troubadours. The next episode is a two-parter with Jo Harvey and Terry Allen. There’s no one like Terry and Jo Harvey; they are pure artists.
Although the concert is sold out, a free livestream of “REK and Friends: Applause for the Cause” will be available on DirectTV, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Veeps starting at 3:55 p.m. on Aug. 28. The concert benefits the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.
