Festival now spring event | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal
“For nearly the last quarter of a century, the first week of each November on Pleasure Island and Perdido Key has come to be known as the time for the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival, the annual multiple venue music festival that draws songwriters from Nashville, Memphis and as far away as New York City. But fans of this musical phenomenon don’t have to wait untill autumn, because this May and June, the Silver Moon Café on Perdido Key introduces the Frank Brown International Songwriters Spring Into Summer concert series. For festival organizer Reneda Cross, the event was something she just couldn’t pass up.
‘So many of our local people love the songwriters’ festival. And with so many of the songwriters coming through each spring, I thought, ‘why not give the fans something besides just the November festival,’ ‘ Cross said. ‘When they have visitors this spring and summer they’ll remember to tell them about the festival and they’ll want to come back.’
This weekend kicks off with Atlanta-based recording artist Shawn Mullins. Mullins will perform songs from his latest CD, ‘Honeydew.’ Mullins, who has played the Frank Brown International Songwriter’s Festival in previous years, makes his much-anticipated return to Perdido Key.
‘I go way back when it comes to performing in this area. I can recall playing Sluggo’s when it was punk rock back in 1991 and somehow this guy got me on stage. That was one of my first times playing in Pensacola. I haven’t played Pensacola since 1996 or 1997. So, Pensacola feels close to my heart and I’m real excited about playing there again.’
But the FBISWF is, if nothing else, about homegrown musicians, and this spring’s festival will highlight some of our finest songwriters, including Bo Roberts, Ken Lambert, Smokey Otis, Maggie Brown, Rick Whaley and John Joiner and more.
‘We need people in these venues in November and a spring musical festival can only help when it rolls around,’ Cross said. ‘We have a lot of songwriters that are now coming down at other times to visit friends they have made or to write songs with some of our local talent.’ n”
(via: Pensacola News Journal )
