The annual Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival is happening now across the Alabama and Florida coast.

Beginning in 1984, this 11-day event is dedicated to the late Frank Brown, the night watchman and longtime employee of the Flora-Bama. The festival brings together both veteran and aspiring songwriters and musicians to showcase their talents in front of a crowd held at multiple venues across the Alabama and Florida coast. In 2024 alone, two dozen venues hosted over 650 individual performances.

Andy Haynes, who serves as the festival director, says songwriters and guests have expressed great enthusiasm for the festival over the years, adding that one of their goals is to shine a spotlight on those who are under the radar in the music business.

“We’re here to shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the music business,” Haynes said. “We see that as being songwriters. Because when you go to The Wharf with 10,000 of your best friends and you see Jason Aldean, the guy who wrote those songs for Jason Aldean, which he writes his own songs sometimes, but primarily the guy who wrote those songs, he doesn’t get the credit, so that’s what we’re trying to do among other things.”

Haynes said he walked into the Flora-Bama one night in 1991, unaware that the festival was going on. After finding himself sitting at the front row, Haynes immediately fell in love with it.

“I sat there and listened, and I just fell in love with what was going on because you hear the stories behind the songs,” Haynes said. “[It’s not] just simply the song, but you’re also hearing the guy tell the story about how it came to be, and oftentimes it’s from a life experience. It’s not just all about beer and trucks and guns. Oftentimes, there’s either a love story or a broken heart, which of course leads to beer I guess, probably drinking, but the wonderful thing about it is you can sit down in an atmosphere like this where you’re up close and personal, almost having a conversation with the people and they’re telling you these stories and then performing the song.”

Proceeds from the festival go toward the Frank Brown Foundation for Music, a nonprofit dedicated to music education across Baldwin County, Escambia County, Florida, and beyond.

The festival is happening right now and lasts until Nov. 16. Visit www.frankbrownsongwriters.com for more information.