Hello all,

Apologies for this rather long post but since some have expressed interest...

I recently joined this group, and since I live in Austin, Texas I took advantage
of cheap airfares to attend the festival n Lubbock from August 28 through 31. It
was well worth my time from beginning to end. In form, it's something like a
wedding ceremony followed by a reception, at least in the way that a
celebration follows serious business! The Buddy Holly Center is not a huge
building, but the space is used well and interestingly. There's a gallery with a
permanent exhibition on Buddy's life (guitars, clothing, childhood toys, his
personal record collection, even his Cub Scout uniform), a small theater
continuously showing a short documentary on his life (along with a few Big
Bopper videos!), two galleries for temporary exhibitions, and a gift shop.
There's also a courtyard, where Butch Hancock (who also has a photo exhibit
on view) performed on Thursday evening.

The action then moved to the International Cultural Center on the Texas Tech
campus, where a songwriters' panel featured Taj Mahal (who was late getting
in because of travel delays), Stacey Earle, Mark Stuart, Trish Murphy, Kevin
("son of Bob") Montgomery and Robert Reynolds. The artists talked
fascinatingly about their craft and played one number apiece.

Friday was the major day for the panels, where "Buddy Holly: Lyrics, Music,
and Cultural Memory" was followed by one on the local legend C.B. "Stubb"
Stubblefield, whose barbecue joint was the focus of the Lubbock music scene
in the '70s and early '80s (Stubb later moved to Austin and sold the restaurant;
he died in 1995). The panel was put together by Sharon Ely (wife of Joe) and
featured Joe, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen (who created a large statue of Stubb
that graces the site of the former barbecue) and his wife, actress Jo Harvey
Allen. A luncheon next door featured performances by Holly imitator John
Mueller (who was out of 'uniform' but still good) along with Taj Mahal (a very
cool guy who also gave the keynote speech), Kevin Montgomery, Reynolds,
and some others. Maria Elena and Buddy's brothers Larry and Travis
attended.

The afternoon panel featured Maria Elena, Carolyn Hester (a folksinger who
had known Buddy in the Village in the '50s; Buddy also produced some tracks
for her which remain unreleased), and Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch (who
played with Buddy on the Winter Dance Party tour). They talked about
Buddy's days in New York and the notorious conditions on the last tour
(Bunch, who had been hospitalized for frostbite before the Clear Lake date,
mentioned that some on the bus had set newspapers on fire to keep warm,
opening the windows to let the smoke out). I was amazed that the auditorium
was less than half-full for this amazing panel.

Saturday there was a panel at a downtown club on 'the business of music'
(which I skipped) and a tour of the BHC gallery with Bill Griggs (Lubbock's
number-one Holly fan and historian). Griggs also moderated a panel on '60s
West Texas music, with the likes of Tommy X Hancock, and George Tomsco
of the Fireballs. In the late afternoon there was another courtyard concert with
Willis Alan Ramsey and Beth Wood, which I skipped.

On Sunday there was a free concert on the Center grounds, on two stages:
the courtyard (softer, more folk-like music) and the parking lot (rock). The
highlights for me were Ponty Bone (Texas zydeco) and the Texana Dames,
and, in the courtyard, Kevin Montgomery and the Roadtrippers; Montgomery
did a lovely version of "Wishin'," which his dad and Buddy sang back in the
day. And of course, who could forget Maria Elena getting up on stage during
the set by Patricia Vonne (a Texan of Mexican heritage who sings in English
and Spanish), playing castanets and dancing!

I was surprised that the seminar and festival wasn't better attended; I heard
that the reason it had to be held the weekend before Buddy's birthday, and
not this weekend (Sept. 6-7), was that the National Cowboy Symposium had
dibs on the stage! (I heard this from the owner of the eccentric and wonderful
Hi-D-Ho diner, which is well worth a visit if you visit.) However, there were
quite a few Brits who made it to Lubbock, as well as people from Spain,
Canada, and all over the US...

Lubbock is a friendly place where everybody seems to know each other, and
the same goes for everyone attending the festival. The only thing I regret is
missing out on the Saturday night jam at Moose Magoo's bar (because I didn't
hear about it until after the fact -- aargh!). Montgomery, Reynolds and Al
Perkins jammed with Joe Ely, Mueller, Allsup and Bunch for three hours
(reports Montgomery himself on his website). You've gotta check the local
paper for listings...

By the way -- happy 67th, Buddy, wherever you are...

Wes


--- In NotFadeAway@yahoogroups.com, Naomi Reid <naomi_reid21@y...>
wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> I would like to go to it, but I live in England so i cant. Let me know what it
was like won't you? By the way, what actually happens there?
>
> Naomi
>
> voxxjaguar <djf1965@h...> wrote:
> thanks for posting this, jon
>
> is anybody here going to this?
>