Pickin' In The Pines & The Links At Lands End Golf Course

For you true music and pickin' lovers T. Roy Millers' twice annual Pickin' In The Pines is a must attend event. According to T. Roy if you ask a musician what Pickin' In The Pines is, they will tell you it's "An Acoustic Jam Fest". This is the musically correct explanation. Music fans that attend year in and year out will tell you it's even more then that. It could also be called "Pickin', Campin', Vistin', Barbecuin', Story Swappin', Relaxin', Sippin', Strollin', and Listenin' in the Pines. It's a weekend event, so most folks arrive with tents or self-contained camper trailer and it's BYOB.

Pickin' in the Pines is in the east Texas pines and the stage and camping is set among lots of tall trees -- a very pristine site and all your worries and troubles immediately disappear as you sit under the trees and stars, sipping a cold one, and listening to some excellent pickin'. This year the music started around 7:30 Friday and Saturday night and ended around midnight with the small (150 to 200) dedicated crowd clapping for more. This years line-up included: Dal Mayfield, Tim Steele, and Kyle Redd playing in the round; Jim Bob Laird, Houston Marchman, Kim Carson, Candace Kunz, T. Roy Miller (talk about excellent pickin' -- wow!), and Kevin Welch (outstanding!).

A large part of what makes this event fun is the pickin' and jamming that goes on during the day and around the campfire well into the very early morning. Bring your guitar, flute, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, and mandolin and wander from campsite to campsite and join in with the other pickers. If you don't pick or sing, relax in your chair and listen to some excellent jamming.

The camping and concert grounds are located on acres of the most breathtaking property East Texas has to offer. It's easy to pick an excellent shady spot to set up your tent or park you RV/trailer because there is an abundance of tall magnificent trees. The entire property is pristine unspoiled scenery at its best. There are no water or electric hooks ups but there is a hot water shower and restroom for the guys and gals. If you can't camp out, you're still welcome to "come and go" just for Friday and/or Saturday night concerts if that is your preference. BYOB and cook your own food or visit Cinda N Rella's Culinary Carriage for some excellent burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and other good stuff .

Saturday, after listening to more music around the campfire and drinking some coffee, we headed over to play golf at The Links at Lands End on Lake Fork which is about 20 minutes away. Great golf course and we rated it an 7.8 out of ten -- click here to read the review. You could also play golf a one of the many courses in Tyler -- to locate a course, go to the Texas Outside golf home page After golf we walked from the campsite to Pine Mills Catfish (903 857-2021) for a shrimp and catfish dinner -- not bad for a restaurant out in the middle of nowhere!

After staying up until 4:00 AM listening to some great pickin' and jamin' around the campfire, we slept in and then visited some friends in Holly Lake. If you're looking for a very nice small community centered around a couple lakes with a golf course, club house, tennis, and more, Holly Lake is outstanding.

Pickin' In The Pines is a kid and dog friendly event, is for the serious music lover, and is a heck of a bargain at $25 per day for tickets and $5 per night to camp. T Roy hosts this event the third weekend of May and September -- don't miss it. Visit their web site to find our more about Pickin' in the Pines.