Larry Joe Taylor hosts the 18th Annual Rhymes and Vines Festival

BY COPELAND WELCH / Multimedia Journalist 

The Rhymes and Vines Texas Music Festival is an annual event hosted at Melody Mountain Ranch in Stephenville, Texas. The event took place Sept. 27-30 marking the 18th year for the festival to be celebrated. 

Various music artists perform throughout the four-day event. Artists varied from up-and-coming musicians to ones that have been to the mountain many times.  Rhymes and Vines had an experience this year that guests thought was special. Presley Haile’s song “Mountain Daughter’’ took the number one spot atop the charts on 95.9 the Ranch. She was celebrated at this Texas Music Festival.

 In addition to music, Rhymes and Vines had many other activities to offer during the festival, such as bloody mary mornings, outdoor camping and more. 

Rhymes and Vines is a smaller event compared to others held by Larry Joe Taylor. With that said, there is no shortage of food trucks and shopping vendors. To name a few, guests were able to stop by Crusty’s Pizza, Outlaw Eggroll or Iron Wolf Distillery to grab a bite or a cold drink.

“It’s a very family friendly event while still bringing the mountain energy that we all know and love,” Jenna Gagliardi-Long, a worker for the many festivals hosted by Taylor said. 

A notable event taking place at the festival is the 6th Annual World Champion Jalapeno Popper Cook-Off. The winner received the Jala-People’s Choice Award, which is decided based on votes from the crowd. 

This year there was a record number of participants for the contest.

Taylor will have various job opportunities available in 2024. They plan to hire 70 to 100 Tarleton students and many returning staff. The jobs available include ticket and merch sales, gate staff, stagehands, office staff, runners and much more. 

They also plan to hire pre and post festival workers to prepare the grounds in advance and help with cleanup post festival. If you are interested, the job posting will be listed on Handshake in spring 2024. 

Taylor, is a country music singer himself. Outside of hosting popular festivals like Larry Joe Taylor, Rhymes and Vines, and Homebrew Winemaker Competition, he finds pleasure in relaxing on his ranch raising cattle. 

Taylor also has many travel aspirations he hopes to embark on one day. 

Tickets for the festival range in price from one-day general admission tickets starting at $37 to VIP four-day tickets which include box stage seats for eight people priced at $2,000.