There may not be more perfect a band to play the inaugural Conroe Crossroads Music Festival than Folk Family Revival, the resilient road-warrior, roots rock ’n’ rollers who got their start in nearby Magnolia, Texas, and now call Conroe home. They’re essentially inseparable from the Conroe music scene.
“Conroe is special to us,” lead singer Mason Lankford says. “We’re good friends with a lot of the folks that own these venues and help put this festival together. We feel personally involved in this festival.”
Since their 2011 debut, Folk Family Revival has embraced every inch of where they come from. “We love Conroe’s music scene, and we love our community here,” Lankford adds, “from folks like Rodney and Joyce Poole, Charles Tullis, Graig and Pixie Jones and Jay and Ruthie Martin who started the wheels rolling 20 years ago, to new ones like Adam and Joanie McFarland, Frank Jackson, Eric Burns, and Keath and Ally Krueger, not to mention songwriters like Drew Daniels and Charles Peters. We’re proud of all of ’em. All the bartenders and musicians and venue owners — we all know each other, and we all hang out and play songs together. It’s a cool place and a cool time to be living here.”
So cool, in fact, that the band is doubling down on the area and building out a recording studio and rehearsal space above the Corner Pub, a seminal venue of the Conroe scene and one that will host Conroe Crossroads performances throughout the festival. The band has also been working on a handful of friends’ albums since the pandemic. But don’t worry — even though they haven’t put out a new album since 2019’s Electric Darlin’, they plan on recording and releasing new music as frequently as monthly once the space is ready to go.
And what has the band been up to since live shows have resumed? “A lot more work, a lot less dishes,” they joke. When it comes to festivals like Conroe Crossroads, that work sure does feel a lot like fun, too. “We’re gonna have a really good time,” Lankford says. “We always perform better when we know the ins and out of the event. For everyone else, this is gonna be one for the books. We hope everyone shows up with their best attitudes and dancin’ pants, ’cause we’re gonna boogie.”
Conroe Crossroads is produced by Texas Music and sponsored by Visit Conroe. Find more info and get your tickets at conroecrossroads.com.
