The Frank Brown Songwriters Festival returns for its 42nd annual festival beginning this weekend.

Beginning in 1984, the festival has been held at several venues along the Alabama and Florida coasts, including the Flora-Bama on Perdido Key, Florida, where performances take place on all three stages, and the Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola. All proceeds from the festival go toward the Frank Brown Foundation for Music, a nonprofit dedicated to music education throughout Baldwin County, Escambia County in Florida, and beyond.

The festival will bring more than 200 songwriters and artists to the Alabama-Florida Gulf Coast over 11 days, including acclaimed artists such as Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlowe and Gordie Sampson. The festival will also feature several local artists from the Baldwin County area, such as Sugarcane Jane, Lisa Christian, Jason Justice, Rhonda Hart, Christina Crystal, Chris Beverly, Doug Drake, Mason Henderson, Cowboy Johnson, Tony Montgomery and Mac Walter.

For Veterans Day, the festival will host its annual veterans tribute at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach, featuring Will Kimbrough and Mark Nesler, in association with SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit organization that pairs songwriters with both veterans and active-duty soldiers in retreat settings to craft original songs based on their experiences.

Festival Director Andy Haynes said they believe this year has the potential to be the best edition of the festival organizers have ever had.

"I've got favorites that I've been listening to for 25 years because I had attended the festival many years before I was involved at this level," Haynes said. "Some of those guys now are members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame or the Country Music Hall of Fame and it's always good to see those people and we've gotten to be close friends, but we really work hard to introduce new people and we've had a number of folks over the last few years enjoy a great deal of success that are younger and up and comers, and that's certainly going to be the case this year."

The Frank Brown Songwriters Festival begins Nov. 5 and lasts through Nov. 15. Visit www.frankbrownsongwriters.com for more information.