April 26, 2013
NASHVILLE, April 26, 2013 – The largest festival of its kind in the world, the 18th Annual Smokin’ Tuna Key West Songwriter’s Festival, presented by BMI and benefitting Shepherd Center’s SHARE Military Initiative, is only one week away! Beginning Wednesday, May 1, the Key West Songwriter’s Festival will feature five days and nights of free shows at 30 venues that highlight more than 150 songwriters on the beautiful island of Key West. The full schedule and lineup is available now at www.keywestsongwritersfestival.com.
This year’s festival will kick off at the Ocean Key Sunset Pier with a performance by the critically acclaimed young blues journeyman Gary Clark, Jr., sponsored by The Recording Academy® and Suntrust Bank Music Row. A free street concert on Saturday, May 4, will feature new Sony recording artists Bush Hawg, Joanna Smith and X-Factor winner Tate Stevens.
The 2013 list of performers features country hit-writers Jeffrey Steele, Paul Overstreet, Bob DiPiero, Lori McKenna, Bobby Pinson, Chuck Cannon, Keith Stegall, Liz Rose, Paul Jenkins, James Slater, Doug Johnson and Even Stevens; icon Steve Cropper; power-trio the World Famous Headliners, made up of chart topping writers and virtuosic musicians Pat McLaughlin, Shawn Camp and Al Anderson; revered Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen; critically acclaimed young blues journeyman Gary Clark, Jr.; top-flight guitarist and songwriter Guthrie Trapp; and many more.
Proceeds from the Key West Songwriters Festival will benefit SHARE Military Initiative at Shepherd Center, a comprehensive rehabilitation program that focuses on assessment and treatment for service men and women who have sustained a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury and PTSD from the Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts.
The Key West Songwriters Festival is presented in association with Comcast and the Tourist Development Council of the Florida Keys and Key West.
For those keeping up with the excitement of the Key West Songwriter’s Festival, follow @BMI on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, and use hashtag #BMIKeyWest. BMI.com will feature daily blogs and photos from the 18th annual event.
About the Key West Songwriters Festival
The Key West Songwriters Festival is the largest festival of its kind in the world. The event’s 1995 debut was small but memorable, featuring Mickey Newbury and Shel Silverstein. BMI stepped in as a partner and sponsor in 1996 and has helped it grow into both a tourist attraction and favorite of island locals. The festival revolves around five days and nights of more than 30 free shows, staged at an array of the island’s most popular drinking holes and hot spots, where live music introduces crowds to the faces, voices and stories behind the songs. Diverse lineups featuring more than 100 top songwriters deliver rare, “Key West-only” moments.
About BMI
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in more than 7.5 million musical works created and owned by more than 550,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Facebook page.
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Press Contact:
Natasha Powell, BMI
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