30A Songwriters Festival 2027
Four days of songwriters in small rooms along Florida's Scenic Highway 30A, in the quiet season
January 15–18, 2027
Venue: Grand Boulevard Town Center, Grand Blvd, Miramar Beach, FL
30A Songwriters Festival 2027 Lineup
All Weekend · January 15–18, 2027
- Dawes
- Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
- St. Paul & The Broken Bones
- Booker T. Jones
- Larkin Poe
- Paul McDonald & The Mourning Doves
- S.G. Goodman
- Tommy Emmanuel
- Bob Schneider
- Cat Ridgeway
- Danny Schmidt
- Don Dixon
- Eliot Bronson
- Erin McKeown
- Gary Louris
- Gurufish
- Jaimee Harris
- Jeffrey Steele
- Jennifer Lynn Simpson
- Kim Richey
- Mary Gauthier
- Murray Attaway
- Rainbow Girls
- Raye Zaragoza
- Rhett Miller
- Robyn Hitchcock
- Shawn Mullins
- Steve Poltz
- The Mammals
Is the 30A Songwriters Festival Worth the Trip?
The 30A Songwriters Festival turns a 20-mile stretch of Florida's Gulf Coast into a string of listening rooms for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. More than 160 songwriters play over 300 sets across about 30 venues, from restaurant porches in Seagrove to Rosemary Beach Town Hall, and most of them are rooms where you can hear the story behind the song and the creak of a chair.
The 2027 Main Stage at Grand Boulevard has Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Larkin Poe, Booker T. Jones and Tommy Emmanuel. Dawes, S.G. Goodman and Paul McDonald & the Mourning Doves open the weekend at the Seaside Amphitheater on Friday. In the evenings, you pick your rooms: Robyn Hitchcock, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, Rhett Miller of Old 97's, Shawn Mullins, Mary Gauthier, Kim Richey and dozens more, with the rest of the 160-plus lineup still to be announced.
Insider tip: the full schedule usually lands in the festival app the week of the event. Download it early, star the artists you care about, and build each night around one neighborhood so you're not driving between sets.
Best For
People who listen to the lyrics. Americana, folk and songwriter fans who'd rather sit twenty feet from a writer than squint at a big stage. Couples and friends who want a beach-town weekend in the off-season, with the bonus of a three-day holiday weekend.
Less ideal for
Anyone after beach weather, since January on the Gulf is cool. Anyone who doesn't want to drive, because the venues are spread out along 30A. And anyone looking for a dance party: this is a festival where people go quiet when the song starts.
Where to Stay
30A is a chain of small beach towns strung along one scenic road between Destin and Panama City Beach, and the festival is spread across all of them. The Main Stage is at Grand Boulevard in Miramar Beach on the west end; the Friday kickoff and much of the evening action is in Seaside, WaterColor and Grayton Beach in the middle; Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach anchor the east end. Pick your base based on where you'll spend your evenings.
- Grand Boulevard and Sandestin (closest to the Main Stage). The festival's headliner lodging partners are all here: Hyatt Place Sandestin at Grand Boulevard, Courtyard and Residence Inn Sandestin at Grand Boulevard, plus Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and Hilton Sandestin. You can walk to the Main Stage on Saturday and Sunday, and several venues are hotel bars here too.
- Seaside, WaterColor and Grayton (the middle of everything). Festival headquarters is at WaterColor, the Friday kickoff is at the Seaside Amphitheater, and a cluster of venues is within walking or biking distance. WaterColor Inn & Resort and The Court in Seaside are official partners, and Hibiscus Coffee & Guest House in Grayton is the small, quirky option.
- Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach (the east end). The prettiest towns on the road and the quietest. The Pearl Hotel, Rosemary Beach Inn, Rosemary Beach Cottage Rental Company and Alys Beach rentals are all partners. You'll be driving west for the Main Stage.
- A vacation rental (best for groups). January is the off-season, so beach houses that are out of reach in summer can be within range for a group. Vacasa and the local rental companies cover the whole corridor.
Several partner hotels have offered festival packages in past years, including Sandestin's Songwriters Festival Getaway and songwriter packages at The Pearl, WaterColor Inn and Hotel Effie. Check the festival's Trip Planner for this year's offers before you book.
Getting There
Flying in: Northwest Florida Beaches International (ECP) in Panama City is the festival's official airport, with nonstop flights from cities including Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore and St. Louis. Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) is the other option, on the west side, closer to Grand Boulevard.
Driving in: 30A sits just south of I-10, and the festival calls it about a day's drive from Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, New Orleans and Houston. Plenty of people drive in for the holiday weekend.
Getting around: you need a car or the shuttles. In past years, a Seaside shuttle has run Friday through Sunday from a reserved lot off Highway 331 to the Lyceum Archway in the middle of Seaside, and a Main Stage shuttle has run Saturday and Sunday afternoons from a park-and-ride at Silver Sands Premium Outlets to Grand Boulevard. The festival also sells full-weekend transportation packages for groups of 2 to 12. Insider tip: if you're drinking at the evening shows, the transportation package or a designated driver is worth more than any hotel upgrade. 30A is a two-lane road.
Where to Eat
Many of the venues are restaurants, so dinner and the show can be the same stop: Bud & Alley's and Pickle's in Seaside, AJ's in Grayton Beach, Old Florida Fish House in Seagrove, LaCo and Peddlers in Seacrest Beach, Havana Beach Bar & Grill at The Pearl in Rosemary Beach. Grand Boulevard has its own restaurant row around the Main Stage.
Insider tip: venue payment policies vary, so carry a card and some cash, and eat before the busiest rooms fill for the evening sets.
How a Songwriters Festival Works
Your pass gets you into the Main Stage and the venues, and you build your own festival. Afternoons on Saturday and Sunday are for the headliners at Grand Boulevard. Evenings are for the listening rooms: two or three writers trading songs in the round, or one artist with a guitar, in a room that seats more like a restaurant than an arena.
The schedule usually comes out in the festival app the week of the event, with artist bios and push notifications. Chairs are provided at every venue except the Main Stage, where GA means bringing a low-backed chair or a blanket. VIP gets you a seat and the VIP Lounge at the Main Stage with food and drinks included, and Premier VIP moves you to the front rows.
Insider tip: your ticket isn't your way in. Every pass has to be exchanged for a wristband at the festival box office first, and tickets aren't honored at the venues. Pick yours up as soon as you arrive, before the first evening set.
Pick a Neighborhood Each Night
The venues stretch more than 20 miles, and driving between sets eats the night. Group the rooms instead. Seaside alone has the Amphitheater, the Lyceum, Central Square Records and Pickle's within a short walk. WaterColor has the Lakehouse and the headquarters stage. Seagrove and Seacrest have Old Florida Fish House, LaCo and Peddlers. Rosemary Beach has Town Hall and The Pearl.
Our move: Friday in Seaside for the kickoff, Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the Main Stage, then a different neighborhood each evening based on who's playing where.
Where the Money Goes
The festival is the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County's largest fundraiser, and net proceeds go back into arts programs in the county. The Alliance has awarded more than $923,000 in Art For All grants and scholarships, and its Beyond Bars program has brought songwriting into Walton Correctional Institution. Your pass is, in a small way, a donation.