30A Songwriters Festival will celebrate its 16th year with performances on the main stage at presenting partner Grand Boulevard’s Town Center in Miramar Beach with headline performances by renowned artists MELISSA ETHERIDGE, AMOS LEE, THE JAYHAWKS, THE DEVON ALLMAN PROJECT, MAGGIE ROSE, and SECRET SISTERS.
The festival welcomes for the first time to 30A CHARLIE STARR & BENJI SHANKS (BLACKBERRY SMOKE), NATALIE HEMBY, BRANDY CLARK, CHUCK PROPHET & HIS CUMBIA SHOES, LINDSAY LOU (BAND), BRETT DENNAN, the STEWS, LANGHORNE SLIM, CHRIS KNIGHT, JOSH JOPLIN GROUP, WILLI CARLISLE, BEE TAYLOR (BAND), JONTAVIOUS WILLIS, JOSH ROUSE, PAUL MCDONALD & THE MOURNING DOVES, TYLER RAMSEY, ANDREA VON KAMPEN, JILL SOBULE, BURRIS, KYLE DAVIS, JADA CATO, BETH BOMBARA, MALLORY JOHNSON, JESSICA SHARMAN, DAVID BORNÉ, ANNA GRACE.
Returning to perform two shows each throughout the weekend are songwriting legends DARRELL SCOTT, LIVINGSTON TAYLOR, WILL KIMBROUGH, ELLIS PAUL, SHAWN MULLINS, VICKI PETERSON & JOHN COWSILL, JOHN PAUL WHITE, TOMMY PRINE, RUTHIE FOSTER, HAYES CARLL, HOLLY WILLIAMS, JOHN FULLBRIGHT, BLACK OPRY REVUE, LILLY HIATT, SUSAN WERNER, CHUCK CANNON, JEFF BLACK, DAN BERN, GRIFFIN HOUSE, CHARLIE MARS, RANDALL BRAMBLETT, JEFFREY STEELE, STEVE POLTZ, KELLY WILLIS, BOB SCHNEIDER, MARY GAUTHIER, CERTAINLY SO, DAVID RYAN HARRIS, CHRIS STILLS, EMERSON HART, JOHN DRISKELL HOPKINS, ADAM HOOD, ABE PARTRIDGE, CHASTITY BROWN, COUSIN CURTIS, WILL HOGE, RYANHOOD, with more to come.
We are pleased to announce the following additional confirmed artists: SARAH CLANTON, JACK BARKSDALE, ELIOT BRONSON, MIKE KINNEBREW, LIZ LONGLEY, GRAYSON CAPPS, CAT RIDGEWAY, LILLY WINWOOD, CAITLIN CANNON, BRADLEY COLE SMITH & NELSON NOLAN, JENNIFER LYNN SIMPSON, SARA HELLS, THE SAND OLE OPRY WITH MIKE WHITTY and many more.
Many More Artists Will Be Announced Over the Next Few Weeks—Stay Tuned
Melissa Etheridge – Melissa Etheridge stormed onto the American rock scene in 1988 with the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which led to an appearance on the 1989 Grammy Awards show. For several years, her popularity grew around such memorable originals as “Bring Me Some Water,” “No Souvenirs” and “Ain’t It Heavy,” for which she won a Grammy® in 1992. Etheridge hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, Yes I Am (1993). The collection featured the massive hits, “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window,” a searing song of longing that brought Etheridge her second Grammy® Award for Best Female Rock Performance. In 1995, Etheridge issued her highest charting album, Your Little Secret, which was distinguished by the hit single, “I Want to Come Over.” Her astounding success that year led to Etheridge receiving the Songwriter of the Year honor at the ASCAP Pop Awards in 1996. Etheridge has toured with her band extensively this year including co-headlining bills with Indigo Girls and Jewel.
Amos Lee – With a laid-backed style, dusty, evocative voice and acoustic Americana sound, Philadelphia-native Amos Lee straddles a range of genres in his quest to connect honestly and emotionally with his audience. Along with his acclaimed albums such as Mission Bell and Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, and his gold-selling 2005 eponymous debut album, Amos Lee, the artist is well known for his association with a long list of collaborators and touring partners, from Paul Simon to Zac Brown Band. “My favorite time in music is probably 1970-75. Still Bill by Bill Withers, Harvest by Neil Young, John Prine’s first album, James Taylor’s One Man Dog—I hope I can bring the same sort of spirit I hear on those records,” he says. From old-timey to reverential, soul to Appalachian, funk and jazz – his musical career has been spent exploring the American songbook’s capacity to hold and express his emotional tides. Lee’s sharp ear and soulful approach to songwriting has resulted in a rich catalog of contemporary, classic songs beloved by his growing audience. “Sweet Pea,” “Windows Are Rolled Down,” and “Colors” are a few jumping off points for an artist who is well worth the deep dive. On his eleventh studio album, Transmissions, singer-songwriter Lee continues to expand his sonic range while sharpening his closely observed lyrics that squarely address death, aging, and love. We are thrilled to welcome Amos Lee this January for his debut performance on the 30A Songwriters Festival mainstage.
The Jayhawks - The incredible harmonies and distinctive arrangements of The Jayhawks set them apart from the rest of the Minneapolis music scene that emerged in the 1980s. Over the course of almost 4 decades, 11 albums, countless memorable live shows and enough personal drama to fill a couple of Behind the Music episodes, this beloved band soared to heights few ever achieve while winning the hearts and minds of numerous critics, fans and peers in the process. After releasing 2 Indie albums in the 80s, The Jayhawks had become a driving force and inspiration behind the growing Americana movement in the early 1990s. Combining the talents of singer-songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, The Jayhawks released their major label debut, the acclaimed Hollywood Town Hall (1992) on the Def American label. This was followed by Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995), which produced the alternative radio hit single “Blue.” When Olson left to pursue a solo career, Louris singularly took over the songwriting role in The Jayhawks creating the band’s enduring sound on some of their best selling and well-received albums including Sound of Lies (1997), Smile (2000) and Rainy Day Music (2003). Louris continues to write and tour with the longtime core group of Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg, and Tim O’Reagan. While the touring line-up has changed over the years and Olson briefly reappeared in 2010 to record and tour, this classic lineup maintains a commitment to excellence and forward motion in their shows and in their recordings. Paging Mr. Proust (2016), was produced in Portland with Peter Buck and Tucker Martine and found the band moving in several new exciting directions. The band’s 10th studio album, Back Roads And Abandoned Motels, was released in the summer of 2018, featuring Jayhawks versions of songs Gary Louris had previously written with other artists plus 2 new compositions. In July 2020 The Jayhawks released their latest album, XOXO, that features songwriting and lead vocal contributions from all 4 core members. The Jayhawks have made music in 4 different decades and are as vital now as they were in 1985. They definitely have earned their reputation as a true American treasure.
The Devon Allman Project – Devon Allman has blues-rock in his DNA. That distinctive sound has been shaping his music since he first started playing guitar as a teenager, all the way to his recent albums with the Allman Betts Band. But for his first solo album in eight years, Allman freed himself of any genre expectations, picked up a bass guitar, and wrote a series of songs informed by R&B, funk, and alt-rock. “Previously on my records, I was carving out something that I felt needed to fit into contemporary blues or straight-ahead rock & roll,” Allman says. “That wasn’t on my mind this time. Instead, the goal was to write music that moves me.” The result is Miami Moon, an undeniably feel-good album . Recorded at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, the legendary outpost where Allman’s father, Gregg, and the Allman Brothers Band cut LPs like 1972’s Eat a Peach, the album has shades of Curtis Mayfield, Sade, and even The Cure. Devon will be joined on stage by several guest artists throughout his set that will include both his original songs and a number of brilliant Allman Brothers classic recordings played in tribute to one of the greatest southern bands of all time.
Charlie Starr & Benji Shanks – Charlie Starr, lead vocalist and guitarist for American rock band Blackberry Smoke, will be joined by longtime friend and musician, Benji Shanks, for an acoustic performance. Starr is a native of Lanett, Alabama and was born into a musical family. Playing guitar became one of Starr's passions, in addition to writing and singing. In December 2017, he was named as one of Music Radar's top 23 guitarists, a list that includes "rock guitar gods" including Keith Richards of Rolling Stones, Slash of Guns N' Roses, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, amongst others. Blackberry Smoke is in the midst of a landmark year following the release of their new album, YOU HEAR GEORGIA. The album debuted as the best-selling Americana/Folk album in the country on May 28th 2021. It entered at #1 on the Billboard Top Americana/Folk Albums chart with resounding praise from fans and critics. Starr and Shanks will be performing intimate, acoustic arrangements of songs Starr has penned as well as some of their favorite songs by other artists.
Maggie Rose – Hailed for her "multi-genre talents" by Billboard and deemed a "star" by Rolling Stone, acclaimed singer-songwriter Maggie Rose has released her ambitious new album No One Gets Out Alive. Hearkening back to early '70s Laurel Canyon, the music deals in both dark and uplifting themes- disillusionment in relationships, ageism, female empowerment and living in the moment, among them, with Maggie's big, soulful voice taking center stage. Maggie successfully straddles the worlds of pop, rock, soul, Americana and folk, unencumbered by genre specifics. Recorded with a dream team including members of Jason Isbell's 400 Unit, Alabama Shakes and Gregg Allman's band, the record was produced by GRAMMY-Award winner Ben Tanner, mixed by Bobby Holland and arranged by conductor Don Hart (Phish, Lyle Lovett). A respected fixture of the Nashville community, Maggie has played the iconic Grand Ole Opry over 100 times and marquee festivals including Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and Newport Folk Fest. A true road warrior, she has shared the stage with the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Heart, Joan Jett, Eric Church, Gov't Mule, The Mavericks, Fitz & The Tantrums, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and The Revivalists among others. In her first appearance at 30A, Maggie will set the headline stage on fire and follow it with a marquee evening performance - do not miss her!
Secret Sisters – Since their 2010 self-titled debut, The Secret Sisters have brought their spellbinding harmonies to songs that untangle the thorniest aspects of life and love and womanhood. In the making of their new album, Mind, Man, Medicine, Alabama-bred siblings Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle found their songwriting transformed by a newfound sense of self-reliance and equanimity, threading their lyrics with hard-won insight into the complexities of motherhood, commitment, compassion, and self-preservation in an endlessly chaotic world. Centered on a kaleidoscopic sound that boldly blurs the edges of country-folk, the duo’s fifth full-length ultimately confronts many of modern life’s harshest challenges while leading the listener toward a more open-hearted state of mind. The Festival is happy to bring back the Secret Sisters to 30A, this time to both the headline stage and for an evening performance.
Tickets are on sale now! Get yours online today.
As a reminder, CAA members receive a 10% discount** off General Admission weekend passes, plus admission to an exclusive Members Only Concert, space permitting - reservations required.
Not a member yet? Join today!
**CAA Members must purchase their tickets through the CAA office to receive the member discount. Discount is available on a select number of tickets, based on membership level. Bayou Arts Center hours are: Monday - Friday, 8AM - 4PM. Phone number: 850.622.5970.
