TEXARKANA, Texas - The Texarkana RV Music Park pairs finger-pickin' tunes with the RV lifestyle, and that continues with this week's Spring Fest Pickin' jam running through Saturday.
Jack and Lorretta Johnson have owned and promoted the park since 2010, and three times a year they host bluegrass jams billed as "Twice as Nice" out in this country setting on Sam Thomas Road off of Kings Highway.
Musicians bring acoustic instruments like guitar, mandolin, bass, fiddle and more to the park to congregate and play music. People interested in joining them or simply sitting back to listen are invited to visit all this week. It's free, too.
Maintaining the park and these jams keeps Jack busy, but he enjoys the people and the music even if it has him "running from daylight to dark," as he described it.
"There's no real charge to just come in and listen or anything like that. We do this just because we enjoy it," Johnson said, noting they've been doing so about 10 years. In addition to this June jam, there's one in March and then another in September or October.
They don't have a set time they start each day, but usually they play music in the morning and then restart around 2 p.m. After a supper break, he says, they may play from 6 p.m. to 10 or 11 p.m.
"It's just people that know each other and they're older guys like myself, and we just enjoy getting together. We enjoy each other's company for one thing and we enjoy playing together, you know. Everybody sings their own stuff, and we just have a good time doing it,"
Johnson said.
They play a mixture of bluegrass, gospel and country music. Johnson himself has been playing music (the guitar) for this past decade. He's always wanted to play but never had time until then.
"It's about keeping bluegrass music alive and going, and it's about just personal relationships, I'd say," Johnson said about the community they have there at the RV park, adding, "They're just good people." As he puts it, that includes no drinking, smoking or bad language.
"It's just a great time for me. I just personally enjoy it. There's a lot of work to it," he says. At some point, considering his age, he'll have to pass the RV park on to someone else. He said the park started in 1983 when a first festival was held. He says the Strange family ran it first, and then he bought it from another owner.
"We've got permanent people that live out here on the park," Johnson said. They don't get much business from the interstate highway, though.
And if people want to visit this week to listen or play, he invites them to join. "If they like good music, bluegrass music, country music, they should enjoy it," Johnson said.
With the coronavirus pandemic, Johnson said he's been cleaning the floors and disinfecting the space with a bleach spray. People play all over, but jams are also held inside. Bringing lawn chairs is recommended for visitors.
(The Texarkana RV Music Park is located at 64 Sam Thomas Road. For more information, call 903-244-0744 or email [email protected], or visit Texarkana RV Music Park on Facebook.)