Buchanan Dam church putting on toe-tapping gospel music festival
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BUCHANAN DAM — With several acres of blooming wildflowers surrounding their church, Genesis Lutheran Church members decided not to “hide it under a bush” but let it and their love for the community shine. And to do it, the congregation is inviting everybody out to the Genesis Lutheran Music Festival on May 2.
“We had this idea — our praise band — that we had actually been doing this informally for a few years,” said Joyce Weaver, a Genesis member. “We’d have these, basically, just jam sessions out here, and one time I was sitting in a church council meeting, I kind of said, ‘Why don’t we have a music festival.’”
The reaction was, “Yeah, why don’t we?”
So Weaver, who used to host jam sessions for 10 years when she lived in Austin, put the word out to area musicians.
“In a matter of days, I was able to fill all the time slots,” Weaver said. “We’re just so blessed to have so many good musicians in this area. And they all volunteered their time at no cost.”
The first Genesis Lutheran Music Fest is 1-8 p.m. at the church’s Oasis Park, located at 15946 Texas 29 East, about a mile east of Fuzzy’s Corner. The event is free and includes free hot dogs, hamburgers, tea and other assorted items.
This isn’t a fundraiser for the church, though the youth will be selling a few items for a mission project they’re working on.
“We just wanted to do something to bring the community together,” Weaver said. “We want everybody to come out.”
The lineup features a selection of musicians from Killeen to Austin and back to Llano. The music includes:
• 1 p.m. — The Light of the Word (a Christian soul group from Killeen)
• 2 p.m. — Christ Lutheran’s Hearts in Spirit, which features Texas Swing Hall of Fame inductee Fred Frieling (stage name is Jess DeMaine)
• 3 p.m. — Riana Bass and Friends
• 4 p.m. — McKenzie Jones of Llano
• 5 p.m. — Stan Troy of First United Methodist Church of Burnet
• 6 p.m. — Ron Donaho of the First United Methodist Church of Marble Falls’ WOW Service
• 7 p.m. — Ness Rodriguez of Cross and Spurs Cowboy Church
• 8 p.m. — Genesis Lutheran Praise Band
“It’s the multi-award-winning Genesis Lutheran Praise Band closing out the show,” Weaver said with a laugh, referring to the group earning a few “Locals Love Us” honors from The Picayune readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners.
People can come and go as they please. There are several good shade trees at the park, so people can bring their lawn chairs and set up under those.
The musicians may even have some CDs, artwork or other items to sell as well.
But at the heart of the event is just bringing the community together.
“I just want it to be a big old picnic,” Weaver said.
Call Weaver at (512) 755-0257 for more information.
daniel@thepicayune.com