On the official Frank Brown schedule, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through the end of the festival has a 6:30 PM entry that isn't a performance. It reads "Break $25 cover charge begins (wristbands required to enter or remain in the Main Room)." Main Stage rounds before that line are free. After it, the room costs $25.
That line shapes the whole weekend. The 42nd Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival runs through Sunday, Nov. 15. From Nov. 9 on, most of the performances happen at Flora-Bama, after a first stretch spread across venues along the coast. Flora-Bama has three stages. The Main Stage is the only one with an evening cover on the regular nights. The Dome Stage is marked "PUBLIC" in every slot through its last round of the night. Many writers also appear more than once over the weekend. For anyone driving over from Waterways, the useful question is when and where each writer plays free, not whether to pay.
The Clock and the Stage Decide the Price
The festival dates back to 1984, and all proceeds go to the Frank Brown Foundation for Music, a nonprofit that supports music education in Baldwin County, Escambia County in Florida, and beyond, according to Gulf Coast Media. More than 200 songwriters and artists play over 11 days. Thursday through Saturday, each night follows the same pattern. Free Main Stage rounds start at 3:00, 4:10 and 5:20 PM. The Dome Stage starts at 6:00 PM and stays free with rounds at 7:10, 8:20 and 9:30. Paid Main Room rounds start at 7:00 PM.
Here's how the free rounds and the cover rounds line up from Thursday to Saturday:
| Night | Free Main Stage, 3:00 to 5:20 PM | Free Dome Stage, 6:00 to 9:30 PM | $25 Main Room, 7:00 to 9:20 PM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Kevin Niehoff, Davis Loose, Ethan Phillips; Dalton Bush, Abbey Pierce, Johnny Hayes; Ryan Dyer, Trevor Finlay, Dew Pendleton | Hunter Clark, JT McCaffrey, Ben Chase; David Dunavent, Kaleb King, Justin Fobes; Davis Nix, John Goolsby, Adam Schwind, Mando Saenz; Trey Lewis, Bryan Frazier, Andy Davis | J Edwards, Shelby Raye, Dan Smalley; Marla Cannon-Goodman, Will Kimbrough, Mark Nesler with Mac Walter; Trent Tomlinson, Dave Kennedy, Rob Snyder |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Davis Nix, Mando Saenz, Rob Aldridge, John Goolsby; Raised Rowdy presents Kinsley, Carter Orion, JD Wise; Raised Rowdy presents Callie Prince, Emmy Moyen, Averie Bielski | Anna Scott, Mariah Dion, Paige Penney; Devin Cooper, Steven Cade, Mariya Stokes; Robert Abernathy, Trevor Finlay, Ben Chase; J Edwards, Kristen Kelly, Aniston Pate | Eric Paslay, Craig Campbell; Steve Dorff, Anthony Smith; Dave Kennedy, Rob Snyder, Terry Adams |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Hunter Clark, Matt Rossi, Dalton Bush; Devin Cooper, Paige Penney, Mariya Stokes; Steven Cade, Aniston Pate, Anna Scott | Raised Rowdy presents Callie Prince, Emmy Moyen, Averie Bielski; Raised Rowdy presents Kinsley, Carter Orion, Eli Winders; Will Moseley, Jon Stark, Dawson Edwards; Ethan Phillips, Davis Loose, Trey Lewis | Johnny Hayes, Brandon Lay, Shelby Raye; Jim "Moose" Brown, Monty Holmes, Don Sampson; Trent Tomlinson, Robert Abernathy, Wyatt Durrette |
The same names keep turning up across the columns. Davis Nix, John Goolsby and Mando Saenz play the free Dome Stage on Thursday night and come back to the free Main Stage at 3:00 PM Friday. Mariya Stokes, Devin Cooper and Paige Penney play the Dome on Friday and the Main Stage on Saturday afternoon, both free. Both Raised Rowdy groups move from Friday's free Main Stage sets to Saturday's free Dome sets. J Edwards plays the paid Main Room on Thursday and a free Dome round on Friday at 9:30 PM. Robert Abernathy plays the free Dome on Friday and the paid Main Room on Saturday.
The Trio That Plays Paid and Free
The clearest case is Trent Tomlinson, Dave Kennedy and Rob Snyder. They close the $25 Main Room at 9:20 PM on Thursday. Kennedy and Snyder close it again on Friday with Terry Adams, and Tomlinson plays the Saturday 9:20 slot with Robert Abernathy and Wyatt Durrette. On Sunday at 3:20 PM, the original trio plays the same Main Stage again, and that slot is marked "PUBLIC."
Some rounds happen only once. These are the ones worth planning around:
- Thursday, 7:30 PM, Tent Stage: Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlowe and Gordie Sampson, $25 at the door. Gulf Coast Media names these three among the festival's best-known guests this year.
- Thursday, 8:10 PM, Main Stage: Marla Cannon-Goodman, Will Kimbrough and Mark Nesler, with Mac Walter accompanying. It's the night after the festival's Veterans Day tribute at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach, where Kimbrough and Nesler played with SongwritingWith:Soldiers.
- Friday, 7:00 PM, Main Stage: Eric Paslay and Craig Campbell.
- Friday, 8:10 PM, Main Stage: Steve Dorff and Anthony Smith.
- Saturday, 8:10 PM, Main Stage: Jim "Moose" Brown, Monty Holmes and Don Sampson.
One $25 wristband covers the rest of that night's Main Room rounds. You have to be wearing it to get in or to stay once the cover starts. If you sit in the Main Room for the free 5:20 PM set, you'll need a wristband before 6:30 to keep your seat. Or you can walk over to the Dome, where the 6:00 PM round is starting.
Sunday Is Free Until the Closing Show
The last day turns the pattern around. The Main Stage starts at 1:00 PM with Bryan Frazier, Will Moseley, Jon Stark and Adam Schwind. Tony Brook, Yvette Mary Brook and Kristen Kelly follow at 2:10, then the Tomlinson, Kennedy and Snyder round at 3:20. All three are public.
Festival Director Andy Haynes holds the raffle drawing on the Main Stage at 4:20 PM. The festival's raffle page lists an autographed custom Jason Aldean guitar, an autographed Jake Owen guitar, two tickets to a Riley Green concert and Flora-Bama gift items among the prizes.
The only Sunday ticket is the festival closing show at 5:00 PM on the Tent Stage, with Craig Campbell's full band and Shelby Raye. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the show. Flora-Bama's event page says day-of tickets are cash only and the show is 18 and over. Shelby Raye has already played two paid Main Room rounds by then, on Thursday and Saturday. Campbell played Friday's 7:00 PM round with Paslay. If you skip those, the closing show is another chance to hear both of them.
Thursday Has Two Stops Closer to Home
Not everything is at the state line. At 10:00 AM Thursday, Gulf Shores Public Library hosts "ABC's of Ecology with Jo Billups," a free festival program for kids. The same program runs again at Foley Public Library at 9:45 AM on Wednesday, Nov. 18, three days after the festival ends.
That evening, OWA Theater in Foley hosts Tab Benoit's Soul of the Swamp Tour with Jesse Dayton at 7:00 PM, presented by the festival. Tickets are required. It starts at the same time as Thursday's Main Room cover rounds, so you'll have to pick between the blues show in Foley and the songwriter rounds at Flora-Bama.
Baldwin County musicians are on the lineup too. Gulf Coast Media lists Sugarcane Jane, Lisa Christian, Jason Justice, Rhonda Hart, Christina Crystal, Chris Beverly, Doug Drake, Mason Henderson, Cowboy Johnson, Tony Montgomery and Mac Walter among the local participants. Haynes told the outlet that the festival works to introduce new writers along with longtime favorites: "We really work hard to introduce new people and we've had a number of folks over the last few years enjoy a great deal of success that are younger and up and comers, and that's certainly going to be the case this year." Many of those newer names are in the free afternoon and Dome slots.
Before You Head East
The festival notes that its schedule can change, and it posts updates in its official app, Frank Brown Songwriters Fest. You can get it for iOS and Android from the festival's app page. Check it before you leave home, since a round can move between stages.
Flora-Bama is at 17401 Perdido Key Drive, on the Florida side of the line. Its accessibility page says accessible parking is directly in front of the building. If you'd rather go by boat, Flora-Bama Yacht Club welcomes guests who arrive by water. The Alabama's Beaches boating guide notes that boaters can beach on the sand there.
The cheapest version of the weekend is an afternoon on the Main Stage, a move to the Dome at 6:00 PM and Sunday's free lineup, with $25 saved for the one paid round you'd regret missing. If you'd like to talk about life in a marina community this close to the Gulf Coast's live music, Waterways of the Gulf Shore is glad to help. Schedule a Consultation with the Scarbrough Team, and we'll compare our favorite rounds from the weekend.
