Editor’s note 7:20 18-03-22: Due to COVID in the group, the Folk Family Show performance at the Continental Club has been postponed.
Original story:
For Houston’s Folk Family Revival, COVID-19 allowed them to regroup and focus. “My calluses disappeared on my fingers, my voice changed, I was inspired by new ways of writing, and then I came back with a lot of energy for music and a lot of direction,” says singer and guitarist Mason Lankford .
Folk Family Revival have been hard at work writing new songs to record in the recording studio they are currently partnering with Adam McFarland to build above the Corner Pub in Conroe.
The band will perform with Charles Peters & The Backwards 8 on Saturday March 18 at the Continental Club. This show will serve as a warm-up to the road to River Retreat, Splice Records’ annual music festival on the Guadalupe taking place March 24-27.
“We have played every year. This is the first year that we haven’t officially played,” says Lankford, describing how festival organizer and Splice Records founder Shaun Brennan always strives to keep the lineups fresh year-round. after year.
“He calls it Splice Records, but it’s more than just a record label. If you want to go to a fucking good gig and party in Houston, just look for a Splice Records gig, that’ll be all there is in Houston.
Although the group is not officially performing, they will be bringing their well-known and immersive Zen City campsite to the River Retreat. “We’re going to be there every night, all night,” Lankford says.
He and his bandmates launched Zen City eight years ago at the Kerrville Folk Festival and it has become a staple at many Texas music festivals.
Lankford describes Zen City as a collaborative effort between several bands, artists and festival-goers that became a place to relax and enjoy after-hours picking and smiling bands that took to the main stage earlier in the day and festival-goers looking to keep the party going. “It’s like a songwriter’s circus afternoon,” Lankford describes.
Folk Family Revival is part of the Splice family and released their 2019 album electric darling on the local label. The well-received rock and roll concept album electric darling took Folk Family Revival on the road, but as Lankford describes it, sometimes to play in empty rooms.
“I started thinking about it and I thought, why are we playing these shows that aren’t necessarily for everyone? What’s the point of that other than maybe playing your songs and humbling yourself a bit?
“It took a little while to close and we never would have closed if we didn’t have to,” Lankford says. He and his bandmates; Barrett Lankford, Caleb Pace and Nick Odom decided to use the time to fulfill their intentions as a group.
“Let’s focus on what we want to do and set goals here instead of just spinning wheels and grinding all the time. Instead of sweeping the net, let’s laser focus on the important stuff.
“Instead of casting a wide net, let’s laser focus on the things that are important.”
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Lankford describes how that’s exactly what the band did. The group is currently recording new material and they plan to release a new single every two months, not only allowing them to write more music, but also to master the recording process as a group and keep the content fresh. fan layout.
Folk Family Revival maintained the music fort in Conroe and Tomball with all band members residing between the two areas, both of which have their own vibrant music scenes that span Houston.
“Before, Conroe was just putting people in the prison system, that’s how they made their money,” Lankford describes the changing city. He explains how 18 years ago community leaders and bar owners came together to form the non-profit Friends of Conroe, which came together to move Conroe from a dry county to a wet county.
They further promoted the city by regenerating its music scene beginning with the historic Crighton Theater and the Sounds of Texas music series. Three years ago, Conroe joined the list of music communities in Texas, which allowed them to develop the economic development of the music industry in their city.
In April, Conroe will host a new music festival, The Conroe Crossroads, featuring three days of live music all around their beautiful and cozy downtown area and Folk Family Revival will perform.
For Lankford and his bandmates, it’s clear that fostering community and music-centric good times is key. “Go see shows in Houston and tell me Houston doesn’t have a good music scene,” Lankford challenges.
“You can’t expect to have Austin in Houston and you can’t expect to have Dallas in Houston, it’s just a different thing but it’s great. It’s also more diverse in my opinion,” says -he.
“We are the port city, everything comes into Houston from the rest of the world. Our culture is very diverse and the music reflects that. There’s more Tejano, there’s more Hip-Hop, it’s not just that hipster country stuff.
Folk Family Revival will perform with Charles Peters & The Backwards 8 on Saturday, March 19 at The Continental Club, 3700 Main, 9 p.m., $10-20.
