The beginning of 1980 saw three fundraising concerts. Two by the KFF Sponsor Association, the first of which featured piano player Terry Waldo. This concert series featured select audiences to help bring the Folk Festival fever to the town of Kerrville. The Kerrville Music Foundation had a Benefit specifically for Competitions and featured the McClain Family Band. Besides the New Folk songwriter competition, there were various contests for instruments such as the Harmonica Blow-Off.

"I think I was a KerrVirgin that year. The old stage was still there. The first staff person I met was Brian Cutaen. I remember watching Patty Peebles and Vicky Bell dancing all the time by the fence. I remember wondering for years what wonderful things were behind that fence. It was several years before I got up enough nerve to ask to be on staff, and my daughter ended up asking Tony for me when we were volunteering at Aquafest."
Susan Roads²⁰

9th Kerrville Folk Festival Staff Kerrleaders (remembered):
Staff coordinator - Mary Jane Farmer²¹

"This year I arrived a couple of days early and I had hitched in getting this wonderful ride in a green schoolbus belonging to Ann and Dan Greenlee with another hitchiker by the name of Fat Jack. The first sight that greeted me at the Festival was Frank Hill leaning into the bus asking, "Do we have any electrical volunteers in here?" I said "sure," and dug ditches for the electrical lines in the theatre that year.
There was wonderful post-Kerrville gig at the Waterloo Ice House on Congress hosted by Gary P. Nunn and Bobby Bridger. Clyde Buchanan went first and I went second."
Ky Hote²²

There was a 2nd Kerr County Fair and a 2nd 12 Great Hours.

"I had worked several festivals either in tickets or selling music or whatever needed to be done. I used to do the typesetting for Rod in Austin at CompSet Typesetting. This particular festival I remember as I had fallen off a motorcycle the night before at Soap Creek Saloon and yet made it to Kerrville the next day. Lee Green looked at me and said "you look pretty rough, why don't you go pick up B.W. Stevenson at the airport in San Antonio." Ahh air conditioning, no problem. And BW was one of my favorites, so I go to the SA airport, get him, we have a drink at the bar, then begin the drive back to Kerrville. He proceeds to tell me he was supporting Ronald Regan for president and I about stopped my car. I was and am a yellow dog democrat and here was one of my heros telling me he is a republican. I took him to his hotel and said someone else would come get him for his performance."
Gayle Reece²³

       There was a 7th Bluegrass Festival on the ranch. Off of the ranch, KFF hosted the 1st Austin Street Dance with artists from the festival. The 2nd Kerrville on the Road tour was launched with concerts at the Armadillo World Headquarters in the last year of its life in Austin. The first staff meeting in Austin happened the next day at Symphony Square.
       This year the tour included Abilene and Bob Gibson dedicated his song "Abilene" to the town. This was significant because although it had been a big hit for him, he had never been Abilene before this time. In 1981, Bob said on stage that the song was actually written for Abilene, GA.
       When the tour was over, Mary Jane Farmer started living at the ranch. ²⁰interview with Susan Roads ²¹interviews ²²Ky Hote