2026 Kerrville Folk Festival Harmonica Workshop
We are just about 4 weeks away from the Kerrville Folk Festival Harmonica Workshop, from June 1st-June 3rd. We are celebrating our 24th year of the workshop this year. It is hard to believe that we have being going strong and for so long with this workshop. The workshop truly has become part of the music tradition within the festival and we are so proud to be a part of this long standing tradition. Each year we try to bring diversity from those teachers that travel across this nation to participate for this amazing three day event. We have been so blessed to have so many great players in our national harmonica community to bring their skills as players and teachers to the Kerrville Folk Festival.
This year we promise not to disappoint those who come to this year’s workshop! We are so honored to have two great players joining us for this year’s lineup. We are so proud to announce Jason Ricci and Hank Shreve are coming to join Director Rob Roy Parnell, and Michael D’Eath to teach during the 3 days and evenings of instruction and performance at this renowned Festival!! The Workshop will be presented on June 1-3, 2026. Prices start at $300 if you have festival tickets for the three days, and only $390 if you do NOT have festival tickets, both offered with a 10% discount for SPAH Members in good standing,. Members of SPAH please use the discount code of SPAH10 for the 10% discount.. Festival tickets are required and give you access to the campgrounds, and evening concerts on the three days of the Workshop. Prices include a catered lunch on all 3 days, a free Hohner harmonica and a Unique workshop T-shirt.
JASON RICCI
Check out Jason’s Website at https://www.jasonriccimusic.com/
As a teacher he has made over one thousand free instructional videos for YouTube over the last 20 years, he’s taught at seminars for Jon Gindick, Hohner Harmonicas (USA and Germany), SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of Harmonica), The Acoustic Blues Workshop (Port Townsend Washington), Blues in The Schools (USA, Germany & Mexico) and many more workshops. Ricci also founded The Harmonica Collective Teaching Convention with Winslow Yerxa that has brought in the absolute top names in the harmonica world as instructors and performers for many years. Ricci continues to participate hundreds of public and private seminars as well as thousands of one on one lessons and continues to post a free instructional video on YouTube every Friday.
In addition, you won’t want to miss Jason’s performance at the Kennedy Outdoor Theater on May 31st. Evening performances begin at 7:00pm. See this link for schedule details: https://www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/KFF2026_ART-SCHEDULE-2-scaled.png
HANK SHREVE
Check out Hank’s website at https://www.hankshreveband.com/
Hank Shreve began playing harmonica at the age of 8 and has established himself as a major harmonica talent on the blues scene in the Pacific Northwest. Between the ages of 8 – 18, he picked up other instruments, such as Drums, Keyboards, Guitar, Dobro, Lap-Steel and Vocals.
Hank won the Northwest Harmonica Championship in 2008 and CBA’s Muddy Award for Best Harmonica in 2009 and 2013. Also, Hank won the 2021 Rooster Blues Award for Best Male Vocalist. Hank has performed at the Las Vegas Big Blues Bender, The Waterfront Blues Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, the Cognac Blues Passions Fest in France with Karen Lovely, and Seattle’s BumperShoot with Magic Dick and Lee Oskar.
Hank has shared the stage with Honeyboy Edwards, Smash Mouth, Merle Haggard, Norton Buffalo, Gregg Rolie, Marcia Ball, Sista Monica Parker, Amy Clawson & Pam Tillis, Terry Robb, Magic Dick, Lee Oskar, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Karen Lovely, Deanna Bogart, Roger Fisher (from Heart), Curtis Salgado, DK Stewart, Johnny Dyer, Lloyd Jones, Paul deLay, RJ Mischo, CJ Chenier, Aki Kumar, Jim Belushi and many other national and international acts.
Apart from being one of Eugene, Oregon’s beloved musicians, Hank is also a music instructor. He currently teaches online classes through Music Masters in South Eugene. He teaches Harmonica, Drums, Guitar, Lap-Steel, Piano and Music Fundamentals. He also is a contributor to Tomlin Harmonica School, as well as Ronnie Shellist’s Global Harmonica Summits.
Hank is endorsed by Hohner Harmonicas, Blows Me Away Productions, and Lone Wolf Blues Company
With the variety of music and teaching styles we are offering this year ensures that you not only will get the full harmonica experience but by attending the workshop will give you the ability to take away knowledge that you can apply for years to come to as an accomplished well rounded player.
ROB ROY PARNELL
Check out Rob Roy’s website at https://www.facebook.com/robroy.parnell.77
Singer, songwriter, and performer, Rob Roy Parnell has been mixing rockin’ blues, boogie woogie, R&B and soul for over forty years playing for audiences throughout the United States and abroad.
Parnell was born into a music family. His father played guitar and sang in vaudeville shows as a kid. His mom was an opera singer. Bob Wills was a family friend and had a great influence on Parnell’s desire to play music. As a young man he first played trumpet excelling as a jazz improvisationist receiving awards at jazz festivals for his solos in jazz performances. At age seventeen his brother Lee Roy www.leeroyparnell.com introduced Rob Roy Parnell to the harmonica. With the encouragement of his friend Jack Pearson (guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band), Parnell played harmonica in front of an audience live for the first time at the age of eighteen.
He remains busy touring, songwriting and session work in the studio. One of his songs “Oughta Know” is on Delbert McClinton and Glen Clark’s “ Blind, Cripple and Crazy” CD. He is very proud of this accomplishment from his mentor Delbert McClinton. He has been a repeat performer on the Grand Ole Opry.
For twenty-four years now, he has been part of the teaching staff at the Kerrville Folk Festival’s harmonica workshop serving as the musical director of the workshop.
In addition, Parnell has played with some of the harmonica greats including Kim Wilson, James Cotton, Sam Meyer, Norton Buffalo, Delbert McClinton, Gary Primich, Peter Madcat Ruth, Adam Gussow, Brendan Power, ,Joe Filisko, Eric Noden, Steve Baker, PT Gazell, James Conway, Ronnie Shellist, Brandon Bailey, Mitch Kashmar, Mickey Raphael, Jimmy Hall, Tom Ball, Jimi Lee, Nic Clark, Buddy Greene, Michael Rubin, Sonny Boy Terry, Dave Nevling and many others.
The Workshop
Recommended for Intermediate to Veteran players, but all confident players are welcome. Check the website at www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org/harmonica-workshop for syllabus and timing – we play music together on Tuesday evening with guitarists & songwriters at a campsite, and on Wednesday evening before the evening show we all demonstrate what we’ve learned by playing with a band on the Threadgill Theatre stage! Please join us and our two amazing guest instructors for a fascinating learning experience. More here
