Filled with music and family stories, this short documentary provides a snapshot of 1980s rural Texas life as it tells the story of Texas Style. A folk style of playing, Texas Style is characterized by a strong concentration on bow work, clear notes, and a slow pace. In general, the tunes are passed from one generation to the next, rather than of being played off of sheet music. From rodeos to fiddle contests to family reunions the film follows various fiddle players as they perform and discuss their craft.

Comanche County Lavaca County Gustine Hallettsville

fiddle fiddles rope swing Texas Style Alan Govenar Bruce Lane children guitar acoustic guitar music bluegrass country music Texas style fiddling H.D. Westmoreland, Sr. barbeque Barbeque Cook-off Halletsville Fiddlers' Frolics meat spoons musical spoons buffet bbq cowboy hats Texas Shorty Jim Chancellor old time olde timey dancing square dancing upright bass still photos historical photos J.D. and Esther Overton country western music Sybil Westmoreland horse Valerie Morris Julie Morris Billie Overton folk tunes

folk music Vane Elms Cari Elms dominoes Vic's Tavern bar beer Lone Star barbershop barber clown balloons marching band parade Gustine Gustine, Texas Homecoming Rodeo and Fiddlers Contest flags floats bicycle Bryant Houston frog frog race frog kicking Eithne Hannigan Western swing armadillo Chili Cook-off Irish fiddle Irish jig armadillo racing armadillos spitting contest tobacco spitting Gustine rodeo rodeo rodeo events Wes Westmoreland boom mic

clapping Robbin Westmoreland family tradition Westmoreland Family Reunion prayer grace horseshoes Andrea Cantrell confederate flag Thomasson Solomon Franklin Allsup Morris Deatherage Westmoreland Folklore Southwest Alternate Media Project Institute of Texan Cultures Humanities Research Center University of Texas at Austin Texas Memorial Museum Texas Folklore Society Library of Congress Center for Contemporary Arts Breea Govenar Slim Richey Barto Rile Vaughn Cunniff National Endowment for the Arts Texas Commission on the Arts 1985 El Paso Public Library Trans-Pecos Library System TFC bicycles bike bikes bicycling biking