Rod Kennedy, founder of the Kerrville Folk Festival, dies

Rod Kennedy is founder and director of the Kerrville Folk Fest. Seen May 15, 1996 at Quiet Valley Ranch in Kerrville. Rod Kennedy is founder and director of the Kerrville Folk Fest. Seen May 15, 1996 at Quiet Valley Ranch in Kerrville. Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Rod Kennedy, founder of the Kerrville Folk Festival, dies 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — Peter Yarrow had just one wish Saturday: to fly in from New York on Sunday in time to see his dear friend Rod Kennedy just one last time, sing him songs and “give him a kiss on the forehead.”

“I wanted to tell him I love him,” Yarrow said.

He got his wish.

Yarrow is, of course, the legendary folk music pillar of Peter, Paul & Mary; Kennedy is the founder of the long-running Kerrville Folk Festival, a world renowned haven for singer-songwriters.

Kennedy, ailing for a few years and under hospice care last week, died peacefully Monday morning in Kerrville. He was 84.

Dalis Allen, festival producer for several years and one of Kennedy's caregivers, said he was “surrounded by love and music.”

The legendary festival, which began in 1972, presented the famous and the unknown in its long history. Always sitting near the stage listening was its flamboyant, encouraging music-loving founder.

From the beginning, it attracted a diverse audience interested in songwriters with gravitas, newcomers or legends. It captured the magic of the singer-songwriter boom of the early '70s, dovetailing with the birth of the cosmic cowboy, progressive and outlaw country movements with performers like Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Jerry Jeff Walker, as well as providing a home to Carolyn Hester and Mance Lipscomb.

Always involved was Yarrow, who started and hosted the New Folk concerts, celebrated birthdays there singing with his daughter and sometimes financed the festival when it was strapped for cash.

He praised Kennedy for “celebrating the new performers who are carrying on the tradition of songwriting ... and finding a community of friends.”

For a more complete story see the Tuesday San Antonio Express-News or ExpressNews.com.

hsaldana@express-news.net