Luckenbach, the tiny Texas town of lore and song, is also a town of unexpected music. Luckenbach was first made internationally famous by the Waylon Jennings song, but there's a little more to the town's musical texture. I spoke to Theresa Britt from nearby Fredericksburg.
"When I moved to Fredericksburg in 2010 I had a bunch of community members request that there be some sort of group for strings in the community, and Fredericksburg’s got kind of a reputation for liking the arts."
The problem is, no orchestra is taught in the local schools.
"There was kind of this little void."
So Britt formed a series of string-oriented orchestras, some with just young people, and one featuring a wide range of ages.
"Now, for the last three years I think we’ve been doing this event Bach at Luckenbach, Texas."
They take the classics out to Luckenbach, the place known for longnecks and homespun guitar-driven country music.
"We bring out our community orchestra and play violins where you’d typically have fiddle and guitar and singer/songwriters."
Summer Camp the week before for the younger players will culminate in this night, and in this performance on June 11th.
“We have all different groups performing. You may hear the community orchestra, you may hear the children’s ensemble, you may hear some of the children playing duets and solos and things like that.”
The event is music-based, but it's a whole event for those wanting to make an entire evening out of it.
"We will have dinner for those who are hungry—you need to sign up for that in advance. Tickets for the meal and the show are $25. If it’s raining we play in the dance hall."
And if the weather’s good it’s held outside under the trees, and under the stars. That dance hall, by the way, is the one where Jerry Jeff Walker recorded the iconic Viva Terlingua album. That's a lot of fame for such a small town.
For more on the event, go here.
