On Monday, November 9, where do you go to hear the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival? For the first four days of the 2026 festival, you could reasonably answer almost anywhere between Gulf Shores and the Pensacola side of Perdido Bay. From that Monday through the closing Sunday, the festival's organizers give a much shorter answer. Performances move "almost exclusively" to festival headquarters, the Flora-Bama at 17401 Perdido Key Drive.
The 42nd festival runs November 5 through 15, 2026. That's eleven days and more than 200 songwriters, from Grammy winners to newcomers. Seven of those eleven days happen on the island, which makes the festival's longest single stretch a Perdido Key event.
Two weekends, two different festivals
The festival's FAQ splits the calendar into two parts. November 5 through 8, a Thursday through Sunday, uses multiple venues along the coast. November 9 through 15 runs at Flora-Bama, with plans for several stages hosting songwriters throughout those dates.
The first weekend is wide. The official 2026 venue directory lists 24 entries across both states. On the Alabama side, it includes Lulu's, the Barometer Waterfront Grille, Bier Shack Taproom, Coastal Arts Center, the OWA Theater, Shipp's Dockside Grill, both Tacky Jacks locations, the Tiki & Raw Bar & Grill, Woodside Restaurant at Gulf State Park, the Gulf Shores Museum, and the public libraries in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. On the Florida side, the list adds The Oar House on Chico Bayou, From the Ground Up Community Garden, the Southwest Branch Library, Hub Stacey's and The Point Restaurant.
The list also changes from year to year. Embassy Suites by Hilton Gulf Shores Beach Resort and SpringHill Suites by Marriott Orange Beach / Gulf Shores are new to the 2026 directory. Foley Public Library, Phoenix X and St. Andrew by the Sea were in the 2025 directory and aren't listed this year. Coming from Perdido Key, the first weekend means driving west across the state line or north toward the bayous. The second week comes to you.
Seven days at 17401 Perdido Key Drive
Three of the directory's entries share one address. The Flora-Bama Main Room, the Dome Stage and the Tent Stage all sit at 17401 Perdido Key Drive. That's why Flora-Bama can carry the festival alone for a full week. It can run rounds in separate rooms at the same time, which a single listening room can't do.
A few other venues sit close to the island, and they matter most during the first weekend.
| Venue | Address in the 2026 directory | Distance from the island |
|---|---|---|
| Flora-Bama Main Room | 17401 Perdido Key Drive | On the island |
| Flora-Bama Dome Stage | 17401 Perdido Key Drive | On the island |
| Flora-Bama Tent Stage | 17401 Perdido Key Drive | On the island |
| Lillian's Pizza | 14514 Perdido Key Drive | On the island |
| The Point Restaurant | 14340 Innerarity Point Road | Pensacola mailing address |
| Hub Stacey's | 5851 Galvez Road | Pensacola mailing address |
Lillian's Pizza is the only venue on Perdido Key Drive besides Flora-Bama. The FAQ describes November 9 through 15 as almost exclusively Flora-Bama, so expect Lillian's and the Innerarity Point rooms to fall mostly in the multi-venue window. Confirm on the official schedule before you go.
The night watchman the festival is named for
The festival stays at Flora-Bama for its last week because of its history there. Frank Brown was Flora-Bama's night watchman for 28 years. Everyone called him Mr. Frank. He retired at 91, and he was the last person performers saw at closing time. According to the festival's own account, he wore a pair of matched revolvers slung low and rarely needed more than a word to settle a room. "Now, you boys don't have to be like that. What would yo' mamma say?" Paul Harvey featured him on "The Rest of the Story," and he died in 1988 at age 93.
Joe Gilchrist, a Flora-Bama partner, started the festival in 1984. He wanted to honor Mr. Frank and the songwriters who often don't get credit for the songs everyone knows. Gilchrist died in 2022. Fundraising tied to the festival also supports the Larry Butler Memorial Music Award at the University of West Florida. Peggy Butler created the award in 2015 in memory of her husband, a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter from Pensacola. It has raised more than $300,000 through festival events.
What a round asks of the room
The festival's main format is the in-the-round show. Songwriters tell the story behind a song, then play it. AL.com covered the festival in November 2024 and described a typical round as three or four writers taking turns.
The Main Room has its own rules. In that same AL.com piece, Bo Roberts recalled that Gilchrist taught audiences to stay quiet while songwriters performed, and to step outside if they didn't want to listen. No published guidance sets the same rule for the Dome, the Tent or Lillian's. The Main Room is the room where the quiet is a known custom.
Many of the 2026 writers will be names you know mainly from the credits on songs you've heard. The official roster includes Eric Paslay, Hillary Lindsey, Tab Benoit, Coco Montoya, Gordie Sampson and Will Kimbrough. The roster doesn't name headliners. The festival's own phrase for it is that a lot of the songwriters aren't household names, but their songs are.
Admission is mostly free. The Perdido Key visitors bureau listing says most performances cost nothing, and some venues or shows charge a nominal door fee.
The finale already has a ticket
As of early October 2026, Flora-Bama has published ticket details for the show that closes the festival on the island. On Sunday, November 15, Craig Campbell and his full band play the Flora-Bama Tent Stage, with Shelby Raye opening.
- Doors: the tent opens at 5 p.m.
- Sets: Shelby Raye plays 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., and Craig Campbell starts at 6:30 p.m. The event runs until 8 p.m.
- Price: $20 in advance, or $25 cash only on site the day of the show. The ticket page header shows $21.46.
- Entry: 18 and older, with a valid physical ID. Digital IDs aren't accepted.
- Seating: seated show, first come, first served.
- Proceeds: all go to the Frank Brown Foundation for Music.
Last year's ticketed shows, Woodbox Heroes, Songwriters & Sunsets, and a closing show by The Band Perry, were 2025 bookings. Flora-Bama's ticket page lists the Craig Campbell show as the 2026 finale.
Planning around a schedule that can still change
The festival publishes each year's schedule in August because of how many songwriters and venues it coordinates. The official 2026 schedule page has a search box for songwriter names and a dropdown that filters the schedule by venue. It also warns that schedules may change and points visitors to the Official Festival App for updates and performance reminders.
- Choose the week by distance. Use November 5 through 8 for rounds at Lillian's, The Point and venues west of the state line. Save November 9 through 15 for Flora-Bama's three stages.
- Filter the schedule by venue. Picking Main Room, Dome Stage and Tent Stage in the schedule page's venue dropdown puts the island's week in one view.
- Plan the trip, not just the set. Flora-Bama describes its parking as limited, free and first come, first served, and it recommends taxis, rideshare or carpooling. That guidance comes from its page for a separate 2026 event, but the same lot serves every stage.
- Check dates against the official site. One local calendar listing for Flora-Bama's festival programming still shows last year's November 6 through 16 description. The official 2026 dates are November 5 through 15.
- Mark 2027 now. The festival has already set next year's dates for November 4 through 14, 2027.
Festival director Andy Haynes is the listed contact for questions about the event, at 251-978-6213.
Many owners on Perdido Key are away when the second week fills Flora-Bama's stages, and they ask us how November traffic and festival weeks affect showings, rentals and access to their property. Coate Connection works on both sides of the state line and can help you plan around the busy weeks, whether you're listing, buying or managing a property from out of town. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll go through your November together.
