The second annual 30A Songwriters Festival is a huge musical extravaganza that takes place Friday, January 14th thru Sunday, January 16th along thirteen miles of some of the most scenic beaches on the Emerald Coast, The Beaches of South Walton!  This coincides with the three day holiday weekend for Martin Luther King's birthday, so it will be easy for many of our out of town Ocean Reef guests to attend this amazing event. It is being presented by the Cultural Arts Association of Walton County in conjunction with the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council. Over 100 world class songwriters and performers will be attending the festival, which has already received national recognition in the media, including USA Today. The festival even has its own Facebook page with thousands of fans. Performers will be providing live musical entertainment in a wide assortment of venues including intimate bistros, restaurants, town theaters and amphitheaters. The picture perfect villages hosting the Scenic 30A events along the Gulf running from west to east cover Santa Rosa Beach, Grayton Beach, Watercolor, Seaside, Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach.

The kickoff party for the 30A Songwriters Festival opening will be held at Pandora's Restaurant in Grayton Beach on Friday night. Throughout the weekend, other performances will be at LaBotena's in Santa Rosa Beach; Shorty's Surfside, Hibiscus Coffee House and of course Pandora's in Grayton Beach; Fish Out of Water Restaurant in Watercolor; Bud & Alley's, the Seaside Meeting Hall Theater and various merchants in Seaside; Caliza Restaurant and the Amphitheater at Alys Beach; and the Amavida Coffee House in Rosemary Beach, with more to be added soon.

The lineup is extensive, covering all genres of music from Country and Bluegrass to Rock and New Age. Some songwriters write for themselves, while others write for nationally, well known bands from coast to coast. Current songwriters and performers, in alphabetical order are: Greg Barnhill, Jon Black, Kaci Bolls, Randall Bramblett, Billy Bright, Callaghan, Chuck Cannon, Susan Cowsill, Rodney Crowell, Bob DiPiero, Tania Elizabeth, Jen Foster, Mary Gauthier, Ben Glover, Blake Guthrie, Franko "Washboard" Jackson, Tim Jackson, Kyle Jacobs, Matt Kearney, Kelsey Anna, Bryan Kennedy, Will Kimbrough, Kevin Kinney, Jennifer Knapp, Larkin Pol, Joe Leathers, Sonia Leigh, Rachel Loy, Lauren Lucas, Emily Lynch, Madison Violet, Michelle Malone, Geoff McBride, Evan McHugh, Carmel Mikoi, Billy Montana, Louise Mosrie, Shawn Mullins, Tim Nichols, Gary Nicholson, Pearl Heart, Gretchen Peters, Vicki Peterson, Suzi Ragsdale, Jeep Rosenberg, Emily Sailers, Pete Sallis, Chas Sandford, The Shadowboxers, The Smoking Flowers, Angei Snow, Jeffrey Steele, Sterling Fletcher, Donnin Sundai, The Tall Pines, Vienna Teng, Reed Waddle, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Brian White, Lari White, Mike Whitty, Shannon Whitworth, Fred Wilhelm, Dar Williams, Karyn Williams White, Daphne Willis, Nicole Witt, Tommy Womack, Chely Wright and Shannon Whitworth! Even more composers will be added to lineup soon.

The 30A Songwriters Festival is being sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, (ASCAP), which is a national organization representing almost 400,000 musical members. Other sponsors include the Nashville Lifestyles Magazine, Birmingham Magazine, the Piedmont Review, the Beachcomber, the Thirty-A Review, Matt Byrd with Merrill Lynch, Public Radio WUWF at 88.1 FM and 30A Radio at 107.1 FM to name a few.

A three day weekend pass sells for $75 per ticket with an individual day pass going for $35 each. Be sure to get your tickets fast since last year's festival sold out in advance of this awesome event. Besides being blessed by the most beautiful beaches in the world, we are also the happy recipients of this remarkable musical event. Please plan to join us here at Ocean Reef for this huge, coastal array of great music and good vibes! Don't forget to book you South Walton Accommodations while you are at it!