Tilman, TX | 4.11 - 4.14.2019
Photos by: Brad Coolidge
Old Settler's Music Festival, held annually since 1987, had a stellar lineup this year, including some heavy hitters like 3-time Grammy winner Brandi Carlile and 4-time Grammy winner Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit with Amanda Shires. The festival’s 32nd year was held April 11th to the 14th 2019 in its new home (since last year) of Tilmon, Texas, a small town just southeast Lockhart, Texas. As one of Central Texas' signature music events, the festival features Country, Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Bluegrass music from local favorites, and nationally award-winning artists from around the world.
The festival is represented at numerous music events including the International Folk Alliance Conference, the Americana Music Festival & Conference, South By South West (SXSW), the International Bluegrass Music Festival's World of Bluegrass, and the International Music Festival Conference.
The Festival arguably hosted two of its biggest headliners to date, Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, the latter of which performed a rare acoustic set and headlined the night of April 12th. Jason always has his go-to acoustic songs in his normal set, but his entirely acoustic set at OSMF presented fans with a rare opportunity to hear unusual variants of many of his normally electric songs live. Amanda Shires, who had her own electrifying set early that day, joined Jason and the 400 Unit on stage (of course), providing angelic harmonies and fiddle accompaniment.
Brandi Carlile headlined the 2nd big night on 13 April. Her latest and sixth studio album entitled “By the Way, I Forgive You,” produced by Dave Cobb was released on February 16, 2018. “By the Way, I Forgive You” went on to become the highest-charting album of Carlile's career, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard 200. It also reached the number 1 position on the Billboard Top Rock Albums during the same week. The first track from the album, "Every time I Hear That Song", was listed on Former President Barack Obama's year-end playlist. The album received critical acclaim from critics, leading Carlile to receive 6 nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, the most nominations for a female in 2019, including the all-genre Album and Song of the Year categories. She won in three categories: Americana album and both best American roots song and best American roots performance (for “The Joke”).
The entire 2019 OSMF Lineup and more can be found on the Old Settler’s Music Festival Website.
