In the spirit of the Kerrville Music Festival, we're celebrating the fine acoustic/folk musicians of North Texas!

Beanstock's Coyote Stage has been host to several up and coming acoustic musicians, and is located in a natural ampitheater nestled inside the Coyote Ridge Ranch. State-of-the-art audio equipment/engineering combined with the area's natural acoustics have made for a truely incredible sound! Meet some of the past performers at Beanstock Acoustical Music Festival...

Click here to re-live Beanstock 2001!

A little bit about our performers....

E-Flat Porch Band
Rudy Littrell and Duane Brown (also known as the"Two Bald Guys") have been playing together for over 6 years. Their band name comes from the porch they practice on in McKinney, Texas, which is resonant to the key of E-Flat. Their second CD, Pork Chop Night, was recently released and features their unique assortment of "angst-free" blues and folk music. It was named after Duane's original song, "Pork Chop Night" which debuted at the Oklahoma Pork Council annual meeting.

They have played at many festivals, including the Tucson, Arizona Folk Festival, Beaver's Bend (Oklahoma) Folk Festival, Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio, Texas Arts and Crafts Fair in Kerrville, Richardson's Wildflower Festival, the Denton Blues Festival, and the Texas Heritage Festival at Six Flags.

The E-Flat Porch Band is on the Touring Artist Roster of the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Rudy Littrell A self-proclaimed "recovering percussionist," Rudy has the coordination to play 4 instruments at one time--acoustic bass, high hat, harmonica, and a wooden soda pop box.

Duane Brown Duane has been making music since he was a kid, when he strummed the broom and sang Roger Miller songs for the neighbors.

Chris Davies When her busy schedule allows, talented singer and songwriter Chris Davies joins the guys on mandolin, guitar and vocals. She recently completed her first CD, Southern Wind, which features her original songs, with accompaniment by Rudy and Duane.

For more information call Adah Leah Wolf, 972-548-7186.

Bill Kisinger
Born in Seymour, Texas to a fourth generation Texas farming and ranching family. He now resides 10 miles north of McKinney, Texas, and works in Stonebridge Ranch as Survey Manager for Petsche and Associates. Bill has numerous original "cowboy" songs which draw from his experiences in the rodeo and from life in general. Who else could sing so eloquently about a "Cancer-eyed Cow"?

Mike and Bonnie Cruciger
Mike and his 14 year old daughter, Bonnie Cruciger, represent the joining of two generations to continue the folk-bluegrass music tradition.

Mike is a veteran folksinger, learning the guitar as a young teenage boy in the early 1960s. He left New England for Houston, Texas and was a sought-after coffeehouse performer. Austin, Texas was Mikeís next destination where is passion for the 5-string banjo became a reality. By 1983, Mike was performing with Austin area bluegrass bands.

Married with three children, Mike and his wife, Laurie, moved to Dallas, Mike became better known in the Dallas folk scene when he joined Lu Mitchell and Catch-23, where he played banjo, guitar and harmony vocals. By this time, Mike was also working as a soloist performing children's concerts at venues, which included Dallasí West End Festival, Addison's Oktoberfest, public libraries and area elementary schools.

This is the time that Mike's daughter, Bonnie got into the act. She would accompany Mike to performances where she soon became a featured soloist and was on TV two years before she began school. Following in her dad's footsteps, she began guitar at age 12, and soon became interested in the mandolin. Her dynamic voice and her musical ability soon surpassed her years and now Mike and Bonnie Cruciger are featured performers at Six Flags over Texas during the Fall Harvest Festival. They have just released their new CD, "Those Were the Days" and are performing at area acoustic music venues. Mike and Bonnie impart a fresh new look and beautiful harmonies on the traditional music that they believe in and respect.

The New Hokum Boys
The New Hokum Boys pay homage to the great jug bands of yesteryear. Their band name is a tribute to the band "Hokum Boys", the duo of Tampa Red and Georgia Tom Dorsey who were influential pre-War blues artists. Charley Lee plays many stringed instruments, including guitar, mandolin, banjo, slide guitar, and harmonica as well. Mike Geldon plays electric bass. Lee and Geldon first made music together in the mid-seventies. After a multi-year gap in music during which both raised families, they joined together again in 1996 as the New Hokum Boys, playing a variety of acoustic music. Their selections include traditional music from the late 1800s, country blues, gospel, rockabilly, and contemporary tunes as well. They are joined by master harmonica player Tom Ellis. This core of three musicians is often joined by others who add to the mix.

Lee, who grew up in Memphis, lists Furry Lewis and Sleepy John Estes among others as great influences on his music. "I was very much influenced in the 60's by the Blues revival," says Lee. "Our band is our way of paying homage to those early musicians of the last century."