Celebrating Americana

 30A Songwriters Festival Returns for 16th Year

By Jordan Staggs

The 30A Songwriters Festival once again captivated and inspired audiences across numerous venues in Walton County, Florida, during its sixteenth long weekend from January 16–20, 2025. Considered South Walton’s most awaited event each year, the festival unites a lineup that includes songwriters from internationally acclaimed stars to beloved locals at various music halls, theaters, restaurants, bars, and outdoor spots. This year’s headliners showcased rock’n’roll, folk, and Americana at the forefront of 30A Fest, as the main stage at Grand Boulevard Town Center featured Melissa Etheridge, Amos Lee, The Jayhawks, The Devon Allman Project, Maggie Rose, and The Secret Sisters throughout the weekend.

The Cultural Arts Alliance (CAA) of Walton County, along with Russell Carter Artist Management, Walton County Tourism, and various local and regional sponsors, works diligently each year to create a festival that surpasses the previous one. Dedicated fans who have attended over the last decade often share memorable moments from past festivals. Meanwhile, local venues and restaurants hosting stages during the event are excited to welcome new and returning patrons, transforming their spaces into intimate listening rooms or lively concert halls.

“The 30A Songwriters Festival stands out in South Walton as the only cultural event that unites all the communities along Scenic Highway 30-A and in surrounding areas to create a five-day, non-stop presentation of exceptional music, food, and wine,” says CAA’s president and CEO, Jennifer Steele. “Each January, the 30-A corridor transforms into a vibrant array of music venues hosting exclusively world-class musicians and eager music fans!”

While the main stage at Grand Boulevard provides an atmosphere comparable to any spectacular music festival in the US, it’s often the smaller venues—some even pop-up tents in outdoor spaces along 30-A—that draw the most devoted fans. These restaurants, bars, and community areas create the most intimate listening experience, where it’s all about the music. Fans can sit just a few feet from the stage and connect with an incredible lineup of singer-songwriters and bands while enjoying specialty beverages and fare crafted by local chefs, mixologists, and brewmasters.

The festival has gained national recognition over the years by welcoming artists to the stages of 30-A, and its success has also helped cultivate an incredible lineup of cultural events across Walton County each year through the CAA and other arts-supporting organizations.

Its influence extends far beyond this small beach town, bringing creatives from around the world together to celebrate their craft.

WMOT radio, based in Nashville, was on-site to interview and record select artists at the festival for its World Cafe sessions, which aired throughout the year in collaboration with WXPN in Philadelphia.

The 2025 artist lineup generated significant anticipation and excitement, particularly with headliner Melissa Etheridge. “I’ve been fortunate enough to see Melissa Etheridge with her band several times on tour this summer alongside the Indigo Girls,” says Russell Carter, president of Russell Carter Artist Management and co-producer of 30A Fest. “Melissa is one of the greatest female rock’n’roll vocalists of all time, and her lean, mean band is perfectly tuned to support her incredible talent.” He continues, “Am I wrong to say how thrilled I am to have the Jayhawks come all the way from Minneapolis to the panhandle to perform on the main stage? I know they are a favorite among many loyal 30-A fans who have requested them for years: ‘I’m Going To Make You Love Me,’ ‘Waiting For the Sun,’ ‘Blue’—and that’s just the beginning. We warmly welcome the Jayhawks, arguably the best living, working Americana band in the country!”

The Secret Sisters, based in Alabama and a beloved project of Nashville producer T-Bone Burnett, graced the central and lively outdoor stages at The Big Chill on 30A. They shared songs from their first four albums and their upcoming fifth, Mind, Man, Medicine. This new album by sisters Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle is described as “transformed by a newfound sense of self-reliance and equanimity, weaving their lyrics with hard-won insights into the complexities of motherhood, commitment, compassion, and self-preservation in an endlessly chaotic world” boasting a “kaleidoscopic sound that boldly blurs the boundaries of country-folk.”

The Secret Sisters

Also preparing to release a new album is Gulf Coast-based band The Krickets, comprising the talents of Lauren Spring, Rachel Grubb, and Emily Stuckey. Their latest single, “Pay No Mind,” was a hit among audiences at venues including Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant, AJ’s Grayton Beach, and Hotel Effie. Originally coming together in 2015 to play a breast cancer benefit, the band is passionate about supporting their namesake, TheCricketFund.org, which provides cancer aid to the uninsured.

The Krickets | Photo by Jackson Wolter

The headlining acts were supported by a vast array of talent that deserves far more recognition than we can give in a single article. We hope that those who have not yet had the opportunity to witness the magical atmosphere and music at the 30A Songwriters Festival will keep it on their calendars for January 16–19, 2026!

Paul McDonald and the Mourning Doves | Photo by Nathan Zucker

Other artists performing at the 2025 30A Fest included: Charlie Starr & Benji Shanks (Blackberry Smoke), Natalie Hemby, Brandy Clark, Chuck Prophet & His Cumbia Shoes, Lindsay Lou (Band), Brett Dennan, The Stews, Langhorne Slim, Chris Knight, Josh Joplin Group, Willi Carlisle, Bee Taylor (Band), Jontavious Willis, Josh Rouse, Paul McDonald & The Mourning Doves, Tyler Ramsey, Andrea Von Kampen, Jill Sobule, Burris, Kyle Davis, Jada Cato, Beth Bombara, Mallory Johnson, Jessica Sharman, David Borné, Anna Grace, Darrell Scott, Livingston Taylor, Will Kimbrough, Ellis Paul, Shawn Mullins, Vicki Peterson & John Cowsill, John Paul White, Tommy Prine, Ruthie Foster, Sammi Accola, Harrison Prentice, Rachel Laven, Hayes Carll, Holly Williams, John Fullbright, Black Opry Revue, Lilly Hiatt, Susan Werner, Chuck Cannon, Jeff Black, Dan Bern, Griffin House, Charlie Mars, Randall Bramblett, Jeffrey Steele, Steve Poltz, Kelly Willis, Bob Schneider, Mary Gauthier, Certainly So, David Ryan Harris, Chris Stills, Emerson Hart, John Driskell Hopkins, Adam Hood, Abe Partridge, Chastity Brown, Cousin Curtiss, Will Hoge, Ryanhood, Sarah Clanton, Jack Barksdale, Eliot Bronson, Mike Kinnebrew, Liz Longley, Grayson Capps, Cat Ridgeway, Lilly Winwood, Caitlin Cannon, Bradley Cole Smith & Nelson Nolan, Jennifer Lynn Simpson, Sara Hells, The Sand Ole Opry With Mike Whitty, and more.

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For further information or to purchase tickets for upcoming events, please visit 30ASongwritersFestival.com and follow @30afest on Instagram.