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| Tommy Alverson's Family Gathering 2009 | Music Reviews Page |       |
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Tommy Alverson's Texas Music Family Gathering Review
Some of what we really like about this fun Texas music festival includes: Great Camping - Loyd Park has over 450 campsites plus a handful of cabins for rent by Tommy's music fans. All of the sites are under the trees, the vast majority have full hookups, and some are right on the water. In addition to full hook up sites, there are plenty of primitive sites and 8 one and two bedroom cabins that sleep 6. Tommy told me that he was surfing the net looking for a place to hold last years event and actual found Loyd Park on Texas Outside - how cool is that! To learn more, read our Review of Loyd Park.
Fantastic Value - How many times have you gone to a music event where the beers are $6 to $8, food is outrageous, if you want to sit you can rent a small chair, and the ticket prices are out of sight! That's not the case with Tommy's Family Gathering - you can bring in your beer, wine, or whatever; food vendors offer a variety of food at pretty reasonable prices; and the ticket prices are a steal for what you're getting. And camping or local hotels won't cost you an arm and a leg. Good Vendors - Joe Dye, one of Tommy's crew who is in charge of the vendors, does an excellent job in selecting those who serve a variety of food from fajitas to cajun food - the crab bisque and catfish poorboy were excellent! There are also vendors selling pearl snap shirts, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats just in case you want some new western wear to dance around the stage. You can buy jewelry, get a massage, bid on some silent auction items, or get your face painted.
Tommy's "Share The Stage" Attitude - All of the musicians seem to have a real fondness for Tommy and many of them will bring him out to join them in a song or two - and the crowd loves it. During Tommy's set, he consistently asks whoever is left to come out and pick, fiddle, or sing with him.
Fun Loving Dedicated Music Fans - The Family Gathering attracts real Texas country music fans and each year you'll link up with people you met at one of the previous Family Gatherings - some of whom have attending all 12 of Tommy's gatherings. This is a small group of fans of all ages who love to party, love Tommy Alverson, and love Texas country music. Seems like one big family and you don't see any real rowdies, beer bonging or flying beer cans, and no fights - everybody is here for a good time and great music.
Showcasing The Up and Coming Singer/Songwriters as well as Some of the Legends - each year Tommy introduces us to some of the younger up-and-coming Texas singer songwriters and this year was no exception. It's a real joy to experience new sounds and songs and personalities and none of the Nashville stuff! In a previous year, Tommy helped kick start the fabulous Tejas brothers and this year some of the new talent included: Zane Williams, Josh Michael, Kyle Bennett Band, and Charlie Shafter Band. The legends this year included: Larry Joe Taylor, Johnny Bush, Terri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines, Amos Staggs, Cornell Hurd Band, Walt Wilkins, and Davin James.
Some Of The Best Musicians In The State - this seldom happens at most of the music events we attend, but to a tee, we truly enjoyed each and every band. This years fantastic lineup included:
Some of the music highlights included: Zane Williams and Josh Michael were very good; Terry Hendrix & Lloyd Maines are always a couple of our favorites and her stage presence and personality is hard to beat; we had never heard Perfect Stranger and really enjoyed them; we love the Tejas Brothers and Dave can bring the house down, but his tribute to Rusty Wier (who is fighting cancer) with Tommy and their rendition of Rusty's "Don't It Make You Want To Dance" was fantastic; Larry Joe and his island songs can't be beat nor can Davin James and his pickin' and passion; Randy Brown's infectious smile and hardcore honky-tonk and western swing are hard to top, but Ed Burleson and Johnny Bush are both excellent; the Black Top Gypsy's Heather Stalling's is fun to watch and her fiddling is unbelievable; Tommy's set is always one of the best and this year was no exception; and I could have listened to Walt Wilkins and The Mystiqueros forever - hated to see their set end.
Tommy and his crew (Gary Newell, Joe Dye, Neighbor Dave, James the MC, and many many more) always do a first class job of keeping the show running smooth and on time. This is one of the best run and managed festivals around. However, Tommy does have an occasional problem with the rain and this year was no exception. Thursday night got interrupted by a short burst of rain, but quickly resumed without missing a beat after an hour break. Friday went off without a hitch and was a warm day and cool evening with a full moon, but Saturday it rained/drizzled all day and evening and then starting pouring around 2 AM. But a little rain didn't discourage Tommy's fans - everyone bundled up, brought out the rain gear, and stuck around till the end of the show - true country music and Tommy Alverson fans!
In fact, it rained so hard on Saturday night that Joe Pool Lake rose and started to take over some of the campsites, forcing the campers to evacuate. We were camping in a wooded area with a dirt roads and when we tried to leave Sunday morning, we went 5 feet and immediately buried the rear wheels up to the frame of our 27,000 pound motor home. For the next two hours, as we waited for a heavy duty tow tuck to arrive, we watched fans slip and slide in the mud and two very dedicated hard working 4 wheel drive trucks towed trailers and cars through the slush back to the road. Our tow truck finally arrived, started backing up to our site to tow us out, and immediately slipped off the side of the muddy road and was stuck. For the next two hours the tow truck driver tried all sorts of techniques to free his very expensive tow truck, but finally ended up having another huge tow truck winch him out. After strategizing with the driver on the various alternatives, he swore he would get us out and reluctantly decided to try to back in one more time to get us. Long story short, he made it to us, but to try and get in a postion to pull us out he had to go further down the road, only to find out it was worse - he kept trying for the next 3 hours to inch his truck forward and backward to get some traction and back to us. He finally called for help and another tow truck with a wench to wench us out from the paved road. But his cable wasn't quite long enough, so he backed off the road 15 feet and immediately got stuck. Another tow truck, who was called by some of the vendors to tow them out, arrived and towed the tow truck and our motor home out of the muck. After 9 hours of playing in the mud, we were finally on our way home!
Our thanks to Tommy for another fantastic Family Music Gathering - can't wait for #13. If you like country music, make sure you add this event to your 2010 calendar
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Tommy Alverson's Texas Music Family Gathering number 12 was a wet but fantastic event - way to go Tommy, you did it a again. For the second year in a row, this Texas music festival was held at Loyd Park on the banks of Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie. This fun three day festival had 30 of some of the best singer songwriters in Texas. You'll find this and other fun music events, cruises, and performances on 
There is usually a party going on in the campground after the event and up until it starts each afternoon. All the campers are friendly and welcome you to join their party or singing around the campfire. The Family Gathering is also a chili cook off and the aromas from the smokers and chili cook off teams drift throughout the campground. A shuttle service (a trailer with hay bales) circles the campground to bring you to and from the stage, which in some cases is quite a hike from the campsites. If you are not camping, there are plenty of nearby hotels in Grand Prairie, at least one of which usually has a special rate for Tommy fans. 
