OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) — The Mississippi Songwriters Festival returns to the Coast this week, beginning Thursday and wrapping up on Sunday.
Hear live music from talented songwriters and musicians across the state at venues in Ocean Springs and Gautier — and for the first time, in Gulfport.
See a full schedule of events below.
Thursday, September 17
Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center (Ocean Springs — 1600 Government St.)
- 7-9 p.m. — 2026 MSA Hall of Fame Induction, honoring Johnny Cole, Son House and 3 Doors Down
- Lineup (in order of appearance): Jeff Bates, Cary Laine, Ty Taylor & The Kinfolk, Keith Johnson, Brandon Green
Neon Moon (Ocean Springs — 703 Bellande Ave.)
- 9 p.m.-12 a.m. — 2026 MSF Kickoff Party, open mic & fun
Friday, September 18
Depot District at Dusk (Gulfport)
- 5-7:30 p.m. — Cary Laine, Jarod McGill, Honeyboy & Boots, Sam Newman
Keg & Barrel (Ocean Springs — 2501 Bienville Blvd.)
- 6 p.m. — Amy Lott, RT Hall, Craig Cortello
- 7 p.m. — Casey Barlow, Gabriel Bass, Grace Michelle
- 8 p.m. — Johnny Mire, Tricia Walker, Les Kerr
- 9 p.m. — Dave Chatham, John Carrol, Amber Rae Dunn
Cornerstone Restaurant (Gautier — 332 US-90)
- 6 p.m. — Robert Weathersby, Robert Eustis, Robert McCarthy
- 7 p.m. — Will Stults, Damon Westfaul
- 8 p.m. — Bjorn Nilsen, Damien Lamb
Julep Room (Ocean Springs — 1217 Washington Ave.)
- 6 p.m. — Dadfire & Misfire, Shannon Waits
- 7 p.m. — Hal Delage, Dirty Windows
- 8 p.m. — Bo Roberts, Taylor Craven, Mark Sherrill
- 9 p.m. — Mechelle Wainwright, Drew Young, Rick Kosman
- 10 p.m. — Cameron Compton, Jamey Shannon, Talbot Pearson
Murky Waters (Ocean Springs — 1312 Government St.)
- 6 p.m. — Bob Ray, Dave Cornelius, Bridgid Ferguson
- 7 p.m. — Tyler Bridge, Jessie Cole-Burkes, Dana Woods
- 8 p.m. — Grayson Capps, Trailand Elzroth
- 9 p.m. — Steve Judice, Barry Hebert, Drew Howard
Sunset Lounge (Ocean Springs — 13701 Paso Rd.)
- 6 p.m. — Jennifer Hurley, Katie Jones, Walt Reardon
- 7 p.m. — Be Unto, Classic Rocco
- 8 p.m. — Tommy Barnes, Randy Soboul, Stephen Lee Veal
- 9 p.m. — Honeyboy & Boots, Sam Newman
Neon Moon (Ocean Springs — 703 Bellande Ave.)
- 6 p.m. — Brien Powell, Telly Luke, Jon Michael Mathis
- 7 p.m. — Mike Stone, Ruth, Etc., Marshall Watkins
- 8 p.m. — Blue Mother Tupelo, Brandon Green
- 9 p.m. — Justin McLendon, Joe Sims, Marlee McLain
- 10 p.m. — Rob Mortimer, Black Water Boogie, John West
McKinney’s Irish Pub (Ocean Springs — 1212 Government St.)
- 6 p.m. — Sid Cobb, Joseph Culpepper, Chris Hergenroder
- 7 p.m. — The Beach Bums, Graeme Hall
- 8 p.m. — Ricky Randolph, Double Dee
- 9 p.m. — Rachel Tanner, Josh Kiser, Will Coppage
Hickory Hill (Gautier — 900 Hickory Hill Dr.)
- 6 p.m. — Larry Dean Dixon, Edley Jones, Mike Nixon
- 7 p.m. — Jason Shereck, Bob Cesaro, George Paul Smith
- 8 p.m. — Justin Morgan, Ryan Miller
Jobu’s Tiki & Sushi Bar (Ocean Springs — 1311 Government St.)
- 6 p.m. — Parker Lyons, Robin Lyons, Vince Rause
- 7 p.m. — Taylor & Langston, Doug Stepanek
- 8 p.m. — Victor Abendano, MontyRussell, Luke Fisher
- 9 p.m. — Bryan Batson, Reatha Pittman, Bob McCoin
OS 1515 (Ocean Springs — 1515 Government St.)
- 6 p.m. — Barry Chauvin, Bill Romano, Julie Ross
- 7 p.m. — JP Miller, Kat Taylor, Anderson Miller
- 8 p.m. — Don Poythress, Clay Mills
Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center (Ocean Springs — 1600 Government St.)
- 6:30-8:15 p.m. — Education showcase honoring: Scott Stradtner, Reggie Bates & Tommy Crawford, “One Mississippi, Many Songs” (5 artists/5 genres/1 stage)
- Cary Hudson, Derek Pardoe, Quinn Erwin, Ty Taylor, Mark “Muleman” Massey
- 8:30-10 p.m. — “Songwriter Sessions” / The Songs- The Stories- The Writers
- Dee White, Jeff Bates, Jim McCormick
Aztecas (Gautier — 1618 Bienville Blvd.)
- 6:30 p.m. — Jeremy Eisler - Ross Fiction - Curt Winn
- 7:30 p.m. — Dave Stover - Hannah Belle - Don Smith
- 8:30 p.m. — Richelle Putnam - Buck Allen
Saturday, September 19
Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center (Ocean Springs — 1600 Government St.)
Workshops
- 10 a.m.-12 p.m. — Clay Mills presents: “7 Ways to Make Your Songs Hit Harder With Contrast”
- 1-2 p.m. — Trailand Eltzroth and Quinn Erwin present: “Beyond the Gig: Touring, Community, and Licensing for Working Musicians”
Evening Lineup
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- 6:30-7:45 p.m. — The Art Of The Song Featuring Mississippi Songwriters Hall Of Fame Members Tommy Barnes, Clay Mills, Don Poythress
- 8-9:30 p.m. — “Hit Me America,” Derek Pardoe, Monty Russell, Victor Abendano
OS 1515 (Ocean Springs — 1515 Government St.)
Scott Stradtner Memorial Youth Showcase
- 1 p.m. — Cooper Cross, Sugar Bee
- 2 p.m. — Iris Mae Rasmussen, Anderson Miller
- 3 p.m. — Walker Lyons, Six String Andrew
Evening Lineup
- 5 p.m. — Walker Lyons, Parker Lyons, Robin Lyons
- 6 p.m. — Katie Jones, David Carpenter, Tony Miller
- 7 p.m. — Jenna Guidry, Jimmy Lee Hannaford, Cary Laine
- 8 p.m. — Blue Mother Tupelo, Mark Muleman Massey
Pine Island (Gautier)
- 1 p.m. — Cameron Compton, Gabriel Bass
- 3 p.m. — Will Coppage, Jessie Cole-Burkes
- 5 p.m. — Jennifer Hurley, Joe Sims
Jobu’s Tiki & Sushi Bar (Ocean Springs — 1311 Government St.)
- 5 p.m. — John Graves, Craig Cortello, Classic Rocco
- 6 p.m. — Dave Cornelius, Barry Hebert, Bill Romano
- 7 p.m. — Gabriel Bass, Tyler Bridge, Amy Lott
- 8 p.m. — Buck Allen, Ryan Miller, Les Kerr
- 9 p.m. — Black Water Boogie, George Lee,Telly Luke
Murky Waters (Ocean Springs — 1312 Government St.)
- 5 p.m. — Bob Cesaro, Robert McCarthy, Julie Ross
- 6 p.m. — John Carroll, Amber Rae Dunn, Roslyn Swaye
- 7 p.m. — Wayward Jones, Dave Stover
- 8 p.m. — Brandon Green, Ty Taylor
- 9 p.m. — Doug Stepanek, Dave Chatham, Elizabeth Shar
Keg & Barrel (Ocean Springs — 2501 Bienville Blvd.)
- 5 p.m. — Robert Eustis, Mike Nixon, Damon Westfaul
- 6 p.m. — Josh Kiser, Rachel Tanner, Sugar Bee
- 7 p.m. — Curt Winn, Honeyboy & Boots
- 8 p.m. — Double Dee, Randy Soboul
- 9 p.m. — Justin McLendon, Jessie Cole-Burkes, Jon Michael Mathis
Hickory Hill (Gautier — 900 Hickory Hill Dr.)
- 5 p.m. — Rick Cox, Social Mosaic
- 6 p.m. — Chris Livingston, Marshall Watkins, Barry Chauvin
- 7 p.m. — Scott Riggs, Chris Hergenroder, John West
- 8 p.m. — Ricky Randolph, Trailand Elzroth
Sunset Lounge (Ocean Springs — 13701 Paso Rd.)
- 5 p.m. — Sid Cobb, RT Hall, Stefani Morton
- 6 p.m. — Hannah Belle, Jarod McGill, Jamey Shannon
- 7 p.m. — Steve Judice, Bob Ray, Robert Weathersby
- 8 p.m. — Jim McCormick, Richelle Putnam
- 9 p.m. — David Blackwell, Joe Sims
McKinney’s Irish Pub (Ocean Springs — 1212 Government St.)
- 5 p.m. — Dirty Windows, Brien Powell
- 6 p.m. — Jeff Webb, Bob McCoin, Vince Rause
- 7 p.m. — Social Mosaic, Don Smith
- 8 p.m. — Bjorn Nilsen, Damien Lamb, Johnny Mire
- 9 p.m. — JP Miller, Kat Taylor, Sam Avants
Cornerstone Restaurant (Gautier — 332 US-90)
- 5 p.m. — Sam Avants, Shannon Waits, Alex Rimmer
- 6 p.m. — Walt Reardon, Dana Woods, Hal Delage
- 7 p.m. — Mike Stone, Ruth, Etc., Elizabeth Shar
- 8 p.m. — Tricia Walker, Bo Roberts
Aztecas (Gautier — 1618 Bienville Blvd.)
- 5:30 p.m. — Dadfire & Misfire, Neil Werries
- 6:30 p.m. — Drew Fulton, Reatha Pittman, Bryan Batson
- 7:30 p.m. — Bridgid Ferguson, Ryan McKelligon, Sophia Meadows
- 8:30 p.m. — Dee White, Taylor Craven
Neon Moon (Ocean Springs — 703 Bellande Ave.)
- 6 p.m. — Mechelle Wainwright, Larry Dean Dixon, Edley Jones
- 7 p.m. — Taylor & Langston, George Paul Smith
- 8 p.m. — Justin Morgan, Stephen Lee Veal, Mark Sherrill
- 9 p.m. — David Gautreau, Drew Young, Drew Howard
- 1 p.m. — Rick Kosman, Sam Newman, Talbot Pearson
Julep Room (Ocean Springs — 1217 Washington Ave.)
- 6 p.m. — John Holmes, Ross Fiction, Jeremy Eisler
- 7 p.m. — The Beach Bums, Graeme Hall
- 8 p.m. — Grayson Capps, Cary Hudson
- 9 p.m. — Cameron Compton, Jennifer Hurley, Marlee McLain
- 10 p.m. — Rob Mortimer, Will Stults, Will Coppage
Sunday, September 20
Gautier FUMC (2717 US-90)
- 10 a.m.-12 p.m. — Gospel Showcase
- Wayward Jones, Taylor Craven, Dana Woods, Stephen Lee Veal, Dave Cornelius, Trailand Eltzroth
Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center (Ocean Springs — 1600 Government St.)
- 2-7 p.m. — Grand Finale
- Set 1: Luke Fisher, Buck Allen, Trailand Eltzroth, Johnny Mire
- Set 2: Taylor Craven, Double Dee, Ricky Randolph
- Set 3: “The Old Enemy”
- Set 4: Bo Roberts, Tommy Barnes, Les Kerr, Mark Sherrill
- Set 5: Brandon Green, Dee White, Bjorn Nilsen, Sera Bee
- Set 6: Blue Mother Tupelo, Ty Taylor, Mark Muleman Massey
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