Texas Music Reunion 2019 in Nemo, Texas
After 20 years of running Tommy Alverson’s Family Gathering Music Festival, Tommy finally brought it to an end – and thousands of his fans (including us) were very disappointed. But in 2018, Glenn Sanders, a long-time fan of Tommy and country music, decided to continue the tradition of good music and good times with the Glenn Sanders Texas Music Reunion. This year was the second annual Texas Music Reunion held at Sandlin’s Camp in Nemo and it was superb with camping, a great crowd, BYOB, and 24 talented country singer songwriters.
Where’s Nemo you ask? Like Dory and Marlin in Finding Nemo, we also had a challenging time finding Nemo. The settlement of Nemo began in the mid 19th century and since then Nemo’s population has never exceeded 60 persons – but in October it swells to over 500 country music fans looking for a fun few days of music. Nemo is 6 miles north of Glen Rose and 20 miles southwest of Cleburne. The festival is held just outside of Nemo at Sandlin’s Camp along the Brazos River – a beautiful, heavily treed, and gently rolling setting for a music festival. What makes this festival fantastic is a fun loving friendly crowd of music fans, camping next to the river or under the trees, and three days of great country music! And it’s like a big family reunion with the vast majority of the fans having attended several of Tommy’s past music festivals. Seems like everybody knows somebody and by the end of the festival you’ll most likely have made several new friends that you can’t wait to see again at next year’s Texas Music Reunion.
The Music at Texas Music Reunion
This year there was a pre party for the Reunion held at Del Norte Tacos in Godley. Bullet Creek, Terry Rasor, Coby Wier, Andie Kay Joyner, Doug Rose, Anna Stockdale, Bryan Martin, and more played for several hours. We heard it was fantastic!
The music at Sandlin’s Camp started at 4 and included:
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Karen Spradlin
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Kim Carson
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Proud Country
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Travis Smith and 0 Dark 30
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Bullet Creek
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The Hamiltons
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All of the above were new to us (Karen Spradlin was a Radio contest winner) and we enjoyed them all, but Travis Smith, The Hamiltons, and Bullet Creek were our runaway favorites – don’t miss an opportunity to listen to them!
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Riley Gilbreath
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Kerri Lick & the Seducers
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Terry Rasor Trio
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blacktopGYPSY
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Davin James
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Larry Joe Taylor
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Max Stalling
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Fans Enjoying the Music
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Ellen Hundred Springs
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Riley Gilbreath was also a radio contest winner and for a 15 year old he is an outstanding singer and banjo player – he’s going places!
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Skip Pullig (Radio Winner)
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Bryan Martin and Anna Stockdale
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Jamie Richards
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David Byboth Trio
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Tom McElvain, Robby White and Jeff Hopson
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Coby Wier
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Steve Helms Band
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Tommy Alverson
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Thomas Michael Riley
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Doug Rose, Dave Thomas, and Brett Watts
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What an excellent day of music – David Byboth Trio was new to us and we loved him; the song swap with Doug Rose, Dave Thomas, and Brett Watts was really enjoyable; it’s hard to beat Thomas Michael Riley and his songs and infectious personality; and of course Tommy was fantastic!
Texas Music Reunion Fans
In addition to great music, a large part of what makes this festival fun are the fans who attend – they are friendly, outgoing, love to party, and enjoy country music. A large number of the people who attend Texas Music Reunion were the same people who love Tommy Alverson and attended his Family Gathering. Each year we get to reacquaint with some good people we’ve met at previous festivals and get to meet several new people that we look forward to meeting again at next year’s festival. 
Over the three days at Texas Music Reunion you’ll see lots of hugging, high fiving, back slapping, and kissing as friends meet up once again. No wonder Glenn calls this a “reunion.” See some pictures of the fans of Texas Music Reunion.
The Festival is BYOB and lawn chairs and it’s hard to beat sitting under a sprawling oak tree, sipping a cold beer, relaxing in your lawn chair, and enjoying some excellent country music – that’s my kind of weekend! Plus occasionally taking a dip in the cool Brazos River.
And of course, there is always lots of dancing at Texas Music Reunion! The Reunion is also very kid and dog friendly.
Camping and More at Texas Music Reunion
Sandlin’s Camp encompasses several acres along the bank of the Brazos River and this beautiful property is covered with big oak trees and lots of space for campers and plenty of room to camp within a minutes walk to the stage, which is set under the trees with lots of room in front for dancing and lawn chairs. If you wanted to and several people do, you could sit outside your camper and listen to the music. The accoustics at the stage are great. Plus you can hang out around the campfires until the wee hours of the morning pickin’, singin’, laughin’, and drinkin’ – everybody is always welcome around the campfires and several of the artists are usually hanging around playing. And you don’t have to worry about driving home. If you don’t own a camper, there are several places to rent one, including Glenn Sanders’ RV Rentals USA just up the road in Cleburne. Or Glen Rose is only 6 miles away and they have some great lodging ranging from B&Bs to cabins to motel rooms. You can run a generator at your campsite or gather some friends and rent a big generator that supports up to 8 campers.
General admission tickets are $35 a day or $100 for all three days – what a deal to listen to over 20 great country singers. We typically get VIP tickets which include: festival tickets for two, one RV site with electricity, two back stage passes, a complimentary meal each day (the fired fish and shrimp were great!) and complimentary beverages back stage. Back stage is also a great opportunity to meet and greet the performing artists.
This year, food trucks were serving BBQ, burgers, and Mac & Cheese plus there were vendors selling Pearl Snap Shirts, jewelry, and clothing plus a massage therapist. The merchandise booth sold the artists CDs, koozies, hats, and t-shirts.
I was very impressed with how well run this festival was after only one year of experience. The sound guys were great, the set changes quickly, and I think every band started on time – amazing for a new festival. Thanks to Charlene and Gary Newell, the Sanders, Joe Dye, the volunteers, James Mills the MC, and lots of other people for making this festival fun for all of us.
Author: Mike Sharp
I have a passion for travel and outdoor activities, and now I'm enjoying retired life. I will continue my traveling, golfing, boating, and enjoying life all across the great state of Texas.
