Lone Star Fest – April 22-23, 2016

South Oaks Baptist Church
5925 U. S. Highway 287, Arlington Texas  76017

Lone Star Fest 2016 was held on Friday and Saturday, April 22-23 at South Oaks Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas.  The festival featured performances by Flatt Lonesome, Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, Bobby Giles & Music Mountain, Pine Island Station, the Coleman Brothers & The Lone Star Boys, The Herrins, Robertson County Line, and Pearl & The Polka Dots.  Bill Monroe’s last banjo player, official Blue Grass Boy Blake Williams, packed the house with his storytelling workshop entitled “Life on the Road with Lester and Bill.”  Williams also emceed a portion of the festival and stepped in on banjo with the Coleman Brothers to play a crowd-pleasing rendition of Monroe’s GRAMMY-winning tune Southern Flavor.

Attendees enjoyed a great two-day stage show and a load of jamming all around the South Oaks Baptist Church Activities Building.  Many festival participants also attended the guitar, mandolin, banjo, and dobro workshops that were conducted on Saturday by Kenny Smith, Buddy Robertson, Jacob Burleson, Kelsi Robertson, David Hallmark, Michael Stockton, Robert Duke, John Meyer, and Paul Harrigill.  Festival attendees Jacob Williams and Dalton Bartlett received instruments through the Play It Forward! free instrument lending program on stage with help from Blue Grass Boy Blake Williams.  More photographs are available in our Lone Star Fest photo gallery.  Festival photographs courtesy of Bob Compere.