The 502s

The 502s are undeniable, immaculate rays of Florida sunshine. Their new album finds the 5-piece indie folk band reveling in the thrills and joys of living their dreams, yet resilient in the face of heartbreak and relentless upheaval which comes with the passing of time. Led by earnest banjo-strumming songwriter Ed Isola, The 502s are a band of brothers whose sound has received critical acclaim as celebratory, wholesome, and thoroughly life-affirming.

In November 2020, Ed posted a clip of a live performance of the band’s unreleased single “Magdalene” on TikTok during his lunch break. Within 24 hours, the video had racked up over a million views. As the messages, comments, and heart emojis flooded in, the band knew they had something special on their hands. Overnight they mixed, mastered, and released the audio from that video, ‘Magdalene – Live’, and to date it has been streamed almost 2 million times.

Bolstered by the success of “Magdalene”, The 502s expanded their sonic range for sophomore full-length album Could It Get Better Than This. The album is bursting with the excitement and grandeur of a veritable folk orchestra, comprising a colorful menagerie of instruments from strings and xylophones to brass, melodicas, whistles and bells, all wrapped in block-party-sized singalongs with vaulted vocal harmonies worthy of any great concert hall.

Alison Adderley

Alison J. Adderley is a Professor of Economics at Valencia College in Orlando, FL. Her academic career includes serving as an Academic Dean, Dean of Students and Collegewide Dean of Enrollment Management. She has degrees from Brown University and the University of South Florida, with doctoral work in Higher Education Administration.

Outside of work and school, Alison includes music as one of her primary interests. While not a musician herself, she has had an on-again, off-again love affair with playing the flute for most of her life and has always had a love of music of all kinds, certainly including Jazz! She is currently intrigued with jazz violin and strings, and various interpretations of her favorite jazz standards, Autumn Leaves, On Green Dolphin Street and Stolen Moments.

Alison is the daughter of Nat Adderley, and the niece of Cannonball Adderley. She’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to her father and uncle.

Nat Adderley Jr

As Luther Vandross’ long-time musical director, Nat’s compositions include “Stop to Love”, “Wait for Love”, “Make Me a Believer”, “Other Side of The World”,  and the Grammy-nominated “Give Me the Reason”. His many arrangements for Luther include “Superstar”, “Here and Now”, “So Amazing”, “If Only for One Night”, “If This World Were Mine”, “There’s Nothing Better Than Love”, “Anyone Who Had a Heart”,  and “Never Too Much”. Also for Luther, Nat produced “My Favorite Things”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Going Out of My Head” and “The Closer I Get To You” (the Grammy-winning duet with Beyonce). Nat also of course produced Luther’s very last project, “Live at Radio City Music Hall”.

In recent years, the Nat Adderley Jr Quartet (or Trio) performed in Beijing (the Blue Note), Singapore (the Kool Kats Club), in New York City (Minton’s , Grant’s Tomb, the Sugar Bar), New Jersey (Shanghai Jazz in Madison), and many other venues.  In September ’19 the band headlined Sheila Anderson’s (WBGO) “Somerville (NJ) Jazz Festival”.  And as a “sideman” in 2019 Nat played with Regina Carter (The Jazz Standard NYC on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day) and with Vincent Herring (Smoke Jazz Club NYC later in the year).

 In 2020 and 2021 the Nat Adderley Jr Quartet performed for sold-out houses at Parker’s Jazz Club in Austin Tx, Breezy’s Jazz Club Jacksonville Fl, Takoma Station in Washington DC,  and a few nights back at Minton’s in Harlem. Also in NYC  there were a few “packed” performances for “Jazzmobile” at Marcus Garvey Park and at Grant’s Tomb. Nat also streamed various widely-viewed concerts from his living room for the Queens Public Library, the New Jersey Jazz Society. And from “Birdland” streamed the “Tribute to Phyllis Hyman” duo with Alyson Williams. Finally, in July ’21, Nat was featured (with Paulette McWilliams) in Austria at “ Porgy and Bess” in Vienna, and  at the Inntone Jazz Festival in Diersbach. Nat will appear at Word of South as part of the tribute to his father, Nat Adderley, Sr., and his uncle Julian “Cannonball” Adderley.

Leon Anderson, Jr

Leon Anderson, Jr., Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies, joined the Florida State University faculty in 1998. His musical experience includes that of a classical and jazz percussionist, educator, clinician, and composer. Mr. Anderson earned the B.A. degree in Music Education at Louisiana Tech University and the M.A. degree in Percussion Performance at Southeastern Louisiana University. His mentors have included Ellis Marsalis, Willis Delony, and Victor Goines of the New Orleans jazz scene, as well as the late bassist Ben Tucker. Mr. Anderson currently teaches drum set, jazz ensembles, jazz combo, and jazz history at the FSU College of Music. In 1997 Mr. Anderson was a featured soloist with The Marcus Roberts Trio’s performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, and he was the selected drummer for the “Great Saxophone Legends” concert at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, featuring Jimmy Heath, David Sanchez, Javon Jackson and Red Holloway. Anderson also has performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in roles of drummer and percussionist. Additionally, he has performed with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra with the Ellis Marsalis Trio; National Orchestra de France with the Marcus Roberts Trio conducted by Seiji Ozawa; Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia Italy; Ingolstadt Jazztage in Ingolstadt Bavaria; Switzerland Jazz Festival in Basel, Switzerland; North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Ascona Jazz Festival in Ascona, Switzerland. He’ll be appearing at Word of South with the multi-instrumentalist Roger Glenn as part of Sunday’s Cuban and Latin Jazz Extravaganza.

Nygel Anderson

Nygel Anderson is a profound drummer, educator, and musician from Tallahassee, Florida. With music running in his family, Nygel has always had a knack for rhythm. As a child, you could find Nygel playing on some pots, pans, drums, or even a desk! Nygel attended Augusta Raa Middle School and Lincoln High School and was a member of the concert, marching, and jazz band. In just his second year of high school band, Nygel was awarded the Louis Armstrong award, which went to the most prestigious jazz student in the program. In 2017, Nygel was selected for the Tri-State Honors Jazz Band. This jazz band was comprised of the best jazz students from the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Nygel is currently enrolled at Florida State University as a third year BM Jazz Drum Set Performance Major. As an educator, Nygel has been teaching drum lessons for two years at Mason’s School of Music, a local school in Tallahassee.

He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of Sunday’s “Tribute to the Women in Jazz” on the Florida Jazz & Blues/Marriott AC Hotel Ballroom Stage.

Kristen Arnett

Kristen Arnett is The New York Times best-selling author of Mostly Dead Things and With Teeth, as well as other queer fiction and essays. She won the 2017 Coil Book Award for her debut short fiction collection, Felt in the Jaw, and was awarded Ninth Letter’s 2015 Literary Award in Fiction. Kristen is a bimonthly columnist for Literary Hub, where she writes about all the weird and wacky things she sees as a librarian. Her writing has appeared or is upcoming at North American Review, The Normal School, Gulf Coast, TriQuarterly, Guernica, Electric Literature, Bennington Review, Salon, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Kristen is an expert on all things Florida, libraries and 7-eleven. She is a social media pro and owns way too many pets. Kristen will be appearing at Word of South with the singer/songwriter Heather Maloney.

Cynthia Barnett

Cynthia Barnett is an award-winning environmental journalist who has reported on water and climate change around the world. Her new book, The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans (W. W. Norton, 2021), is a natural and cultural history of seashells and the animals that make them—revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves. Cynthia is also author of the water books Mirage; Blue Revolution; and Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, longlisted for the National Book Award and a finalist for the 2016 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. She has written for National Geographic magazine, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Discover magazine, Salon, Politico, Orion, and many other publications. Her numerous journalism awards include a national Sigma Delta Chi prize for investigative magazine reporting.
She is a fifth-generation Floridian raising a sixth generation in Gainesville, where she also serves as Environmental Journalist in Residence at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. Cynthia will be appearing at Word of South with the journalist/authors Diane Roberts and Julie Hauserman.

Scotty Barnhart

William “Scotty” Barnhart is an American jazz trumpeter. A three-time Grammy winner, he has played since 1993 as a featured soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra, and in September 2013 became its director. He has multiple recordings with pianist Marcus Roberts as well as recordings with Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Ray Charles, and Tito Puente. A solo CD, released with Unity Music, is titled Say It Plain and features Clark Terry, Ellis and Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Jamie Davis and Etienne Charles; it achieved number 3 in the Jazz Charts. Also active as an educator and clinician, he is author of The World of Jazz Trumpet – A Comprehensive History and Practical Philosophy (published by Hal Leonard). He is a professor in the College of Music at Florida State University. Scotty will be coordinating this year’s Word of South Cuban and Latin Jazz Extravganza.

Sarah Barrios

Originally from Torrington, Connecticut, LA transplant Sarah Barrios began writing songs when she was 13 “after a particularly boring day at home.” She hasn’t stopped writing since, exploring storytelling and the way music can transport listeners to a different world.

Barrios draws from a vast spring of influences, from such authors as Jane Austen to landmark musicians Fleetwood Mac, Jon Bellion, and Paramore. “Thank God You Introduced Me to Your Sister,” with its brazenly punk-pop aesthetic, certainly lives up to the hype, combing these reference points and jetting into her own musical sphere. In addition to her growing solo catalog, Barrios has worked with the likes of Bonnie McKee, Becky G, Why Don’t We, Andy Grammer, Zara Larsson, and many others.

Sid Bedingfield

Sid Bedingfield is co-editor and contributor to Journalism and Jim Crow: White Supremacy and the Black Demand for a New America. The collection, co-edited by Kathy Roberts Forde, examines the overlooked political influence of white journalists in the rise of Jim Crow rule in the New South – and how Black journalists fought valiantly to stop them. Working closely with business and political allies, southern white editors used their newspapers to build, nurture, and protect a white supremacist political and social order the emerged at the turn of twentieth century and lasted for generations. Black journalists fought these regimes as they were being built. Journalism and Jim Crow reinterprets this critical struggle over the nation’s democratic ideals by centering the role of the press. Journalists are political actors, Bedingfield argues, and they should be studied as such by anyone trying to account for political and social change. His first book – Newspaper Wars: Civil Rights and White Resistance in South Carolina, 1935-1965 (2017) – contends that Black and white newspapers exerted more political influence in the mid-twentieth century than has been previously acknowledged. His interest in journalism’s political role grew out of personal experience. Bedingfield spent more than two decades as a professional journalist covering political contests in the United States and abroad. His work in journalism began at the Florida Flambeau newspaper at Florida State University. He is now an associate professor in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. He’ll be appearing at Word of South with the author Gilbert King.

Johnny Bell

Johnny Bell is a two-timed published author of Young Adult fiction novels Take the Shot and The Dirt Court. He recently was honored as the 2022 Developing Author’s Gerald Ensley Award in Florida. Aside from writing, Johnny manages a monthly newsletter focused on literacy and popular book reviews, as well as creating read alouds for teachers to use in the classrooms via YouTube through his website, johnnybellbooks.com. He has been a guest speaker in multiple schools and age groups, providing positive and informative presentations. Johnny is in his seventeenth year in public education, currently serving as an elementary school classroom teacher. Other than teaching and writing, he loves DIY projects, spending time outdoors, and loves watching sports

Austin Bell

Austin Bell is an award-winning museum curator, author, and photographer. He has authored three books as Curator of Collections for the Marco Island Historical Society, including The Nine Lives of Florida’s Famous Key Marco Cat, winner of a 2021 Florida Book Award. Smithsonian curator Torben Rick calls the book “outstanding” and Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, describes it as “painstakingly research and cleverly written.” Austin is also a consulting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and volunteers on several non-profit boards. He holds a B.A. in Anthropology and M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Florida and is an alumnus of the Smithsonian Institution’s Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology. A Florida native, Austin resides in Marco Island with his wife Erin and daughter Chloe.

Avis Berry

Considered a modern renaissance woman, this three-time Florida State alum is a talented singer and actress, teacher in Leon County Schools, and librarian at FSU’s College of Music library. Music has taken her around the globe allowing her to record and share the stage with such greats as Dave Brubeck, Robert Shaw, the Berlin Radio Choir under the direction of Dr. Andre Thomas, the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Scotty Barnhart, FSU jazz faculty, the Tallahassee Ballet, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and the Tallahassee Youth Symphony Orchestra. Presently, she is a vocalist in the upcoming production of Voices: A Folk Opera written by Suncoast Emmy winners Kathryn Belle Long and Michael Abraham. She continues to perform and record with local & guest musicians as a solo artist and in regional music festivals such as Hulaween (2021), Suwannee Rising (2022), and Word of South (2022 & 2023), as a solo jazz vocalist and as a singer-songwriter with her band Revival. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with Revival and also as part of the “Tribute to the Women in Jazz” on Sunday.

Kai Bird

Kai Bird is a Pulitzer Prize winning historian who has published biographies of John J. McCloy, McGeorge Bundy, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Ames—and now The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter. He has also authored a memoir about his childhood in the Middle East. He is the Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Marie Bostwick

Marie Bostwick is a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller of nineteen books of contemporary and historical fiction. Drawing on her lifelong love of quilting and themes of special relevance to modern women, Marie’s Cobbled Court Quilt series has gained a dedicated following among quilters as well as those who’ve never threaded a needle. A film adaptation of her book The Second Sister, “Christmas Everlasting,” debuted on the Hallmark Channel as a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature in November 2018, starring Patti LaBelle. Marie’s most recent novel, The Restoration of Celia Fairchild, published by William Morrow in March 2021, was Country Living magazine’s “Front Porch Read” for March, and was included in Parade magazine’s list of 25 “Favorite Books of Spring” list. Marie will be appearing at Word of South with the musician Del Suggs and the author Karen White.

Dana Brooks

Before Dana Brooks became an attorney, she was a paralegal, law firm administrator, mental health counselor and Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator. Dana attended Pensacola Junior College and Tallahassee Community College before graduating Florida State University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She later earned her Masters of Social Work from Florida State in 2003. Dana earned her law degree from Florida State, magna cum laude, in December 2007 and is a member of the Order of the Coif, signifying the top 10% of law school graduates. Her experience and reputation as a medical malpractice defense paralegal combined with her law school performance provided the basis for the exceptional opportunity Dana was offered while still in law school. Dana was sworn in as an attorney in the morning and made a named partner of a thirty-year-old revered plaintiff’s law firm that same afternoon. She is the author as well of the book “Functional Feminism,” a frank and uncompromising look at male/female relations. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with her law partner and author Jimmy Fasig and the writer/television host Gary Yordon.

Sheri Castle

Sheri Castle is the host of The Key Ingredient, a cooking show from PBS. She is also an award-winning professional food writer, recipe developer, and cooking teacher known for melding stories, humor, and culinary expertise. Sheri grew up in her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains and now lives in the NC Piedmont. Farmers markets, great stories, and a deep love of nature are a few of her favorite things. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the musical group the Kenny Hill Band, and samplings of some of her recipes will be made available to the audience.

Greg Cohen

Besides his life as a bass player, Greg Cohen has also worked as an arranger, producer, musical director and composer for the theater, film, television and recording studios. The recordings he has been a part of have received various critical acclaim -including the Pulitzer Prize (Ornette Coleman), gold records and many album of the year awards. He has worked with a variety of artists in many styles of music, from A (Woody Allen, Laurie Anderson, Fiona Apple) to Z (John Zorn, Tom Ze).

Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge, “The Delta Lady,” has been a force on the music scene ever since she graduated from Florida State University with an art degree in the 1960s. Coolidge began as a backup singer who toured and recorded with many of the rock stars of the 1970s. Friends say she actually wrote the piano solo at the end of Eric Clapton’s hit Layla, not a former boyfriend who took the credit. Coolidge and her former husband, Kris Kristofferson, teamed up for a number of hits and were twice named Country Duo of the Year. In the late 70s, Coolidge went solo and recorded a number of hits on the pop charts. Part Cherokee, Coolidge devoted herself to native American issues from the 1990s on and won several awards for her work in behalf of American Indians. Her memoir, Delta Lady, was published in 2016. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and as a part of this year’s Word of South will speak and sign books in connection with her induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

The Currys

Brought together by family ties and a shared appreciation for folk, rock, and roots music, The Currys are an Americana trio featuring brothers Jimmy and Tommy and cousin Galen Curry. Like many family groups, their songs are anchored by the sort of elastic, entwined harmonies that only seem to exist among kin. On their second record, West of Here, their songwriting chops match those interlocking voices, with all three members contributing songs to an album that deals with the constant search for home. Following their third album, This Side of the Glass (2019),  The Currys took the opportunity to explore different avenues of creativity. In 2020 the trio launched a podcast, This Side of the Mic, to showcase songs and share some laughs and insights. The band leveraged their down-time into writing and demoing dozens of new tracks, polishing their production chops and collaborating with fellow creators to expand their sound. The singles they released through 2021, such as pop/R&B track “Man On the Side” and Graceland-inspired “Last Night,” pushed the boundaries of their previous catalog.

In March of 2023 the three Currys were joined by Sebastian Green (drums), Sam Whedon (guitar), and Alex Rees (keys) to begin production on their fourth studio album. Keepers, released in October 2023, represents another step in the band’s evolution, pairing the lush, three-part harmony that marks any Currys project with a more guitar-driven, indie pop aesthetic. The album pays homage to the band’s influences, with tracks evoking Sgt. Pepper’s, Jason Isbell, even dreamy pop-punk. Keepers is an honest next step for a group with an appetite for exploration and a long road ahead.

The Currys will be appearing at this year’s Word of South with the all-female group The Krickets.

Daisy the Great

Daisy the Great is a Brooklyn based band fronted by Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker. From their delicate, harmony-laden folk pop songs to their powerhouse indie rock ballads, Daisy the Great is recognized for their killer vocals and playful spirit. Daisy the Great’s debut LP “I’m Not Getting Any Taller” was released in January 2019. They have amassed over 50 million streams online, and have released multiple music videos for their songs including “Famous”, “Dips” (which premiered on Refinery 29) and “I’m Fine”. Their EP I’ve Got a Few Friends and I Wish They Were Mine premiered in January 2018 via NYLON Magazine.

Daisy the Great opened for the Indigo Girls on tour before embarking on their own (first!) tour in the summer of 2019, playing shows in 12 US cities. While on tour, Daisy the Great also performed at Audiotree Live in Chicago.

During quarantine in 2020, Daisy the Great released the soft songs EP, along with three collabs: “Friend”, “Lala” and “Pool”. More music is coming soon.

Jennifer Daniels

Jennifer Daniels is an award-winning singer/songwriter and teaching artist who has released nine music albums, a picture book, and has just welcomed her first novel into the world! As an assistant to Eric Litwin (author of Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes), Jennifer’s family shows are full of interactive songs, stories, and movement activities with an emphasis on fun and successful literacy. Jenn hails from Lookout Mountain, Georgia where she lives with husband/guitar-hero Jeff Neal, their thirteen-year-old boy/girl twins, and a one-hundred-pound tongue inside of a black lab named Ziggy. Visit JenniferDaniels.com to find out more.

DOUBLECAMP

Dedicated Men of Zion

 The Dedicated Men of Zion came up out of this singing land of eastern North Carolina, around the city of Greenville and its small neighboring town of Farmville. Each trained in the church and the home, the group’s four vocalists – Anthony Daniels, Antoine Daniels, Dexter Weaver, and Marcus Sugg – share the bond of that upbringing and another more literal bond of kinship (they’re all family now through blood or marriage).

Theirs is a community dense with talent and legendary impact on the origins of gospel, funk, R&B, soul, and jazz; a place where the sounds of Saturday night and Sunday morning couldn’t help but jump their lanes. The group’s own backgrounds tell that story. Anthony Daniels, the eldest of the group, led a career in R&B down in Atlanta, backing up the likes of Bebe Winans, Toni Braxton, and Elton John. Antoine Daniels, the youngest member and son of Anthony, was playing keyboards and organ in church while simultaneously injecting his hip-hop production work with traditional gospel roots. But the church was always the backbone. Weaver, whose grandmother managed several gospel groups around Greenville, had sung with elder quartet groups for years, running into Anthony Daniels around the gospel circuit. When they both found themselves without a group, Weaver turned to Daniels and said “I don’t know what you’re gonna do but if you do something, I’m on board with you. I want to be with you.”

In 2014 Weaver and Daniels, with Antoine on keys, came together to form the Dedicated Men of Zion’s original iteration, along with singers Trevoris Newton and Darren Cannon. The group was quickly gaining a following in eastern North Carolina when Newton suddenly passed away in 2018. The loss of one member was soon followed by Cannon’s departure. The arrival of Marcus Sugg re-completed the group. Sugg, who had grown up singing in church choirs and a little on the side during a stint in the military, was soon to be Anthony Daniels’ son in law. 

The Dedicated Men of Zion’s, Can’t Turn Me Around, was recorded in Memphis at Watson’s Delta-Sonic Sound in 2019. The album marks a moment of clarity for the group. By embracing their own roots, they knew they were pointedly taking a right turn where some of their peers had veered left in a race to make gospel sound like anything other than what it was back in the day: soul music. Each track on Can’t Turn Me Around comes from that overflowing heritage of gospel soul. Tradition sets a high standard of excellence. What more can new artists pour into that cup? The Dedicated Men of Zion accepted that challenge with the seriousness of their raising and the joy of spiritual inspiration. With their second album they get back to where they came from – soul and the salvation of harmony. In Anthony Daniels’ own words, “You want to live, get to where the root is. Get close to the root.” 

DJ Demp

As a D.C. native, Demp has spent the majority of his life in Tallahassee establishing strong roots and instilling positive impressions in the community. Demp has worked as a DJ since the age of 13 and established himself as an internationally known celebrity DJ. DJ Demp is a member of legendary group Ghostown DJs best known for their classic ’96 record “My Boo.” My Boo peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it released in 1996. In 2016, My Boo became popular again after the “Running Man Challenge” and re-entered the Hot 100 reaching a new peak of No. 27 twenty years after it first released.

DJ DEMP’s fans often refer to him as the “G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) DJ.” He has worked at 107.9 the beat in Valdosta, Georgia, 100.7 the beat and 105.7 and the beat in Tallahassee. He’s also DJ’ed for entertainment giants like Luke, Trick Daddy, Lil Flip, David Banner, Trina, and Juvenile with appearances on Carson Daly and BET 106 & Park. He was also nominated for DJ of the Year by Radio One Dirty Awards. DJ Demp is the first DJ to receive two proclamations from both the former mayor John Marks of Tallahassee as well as current Mayor John E. Dailey, via Demp Week which just celebrated its 25th annual Demp Week milestone in January of 2022. He is the only DJ to have his own week to celebrate his birthday. DEMP WEEK has grown to a week-long party attracting people around the world with events like anti-bullying rallies, celebrity basketball games, bowling, sip and paints, spades tournaments, concerts and more —to a proclaimed “Tallahassee Holiday” earning him humanitarian recognition.

David Detweiler

A superior post bop soloist, tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator David Detweiler is influenced a bit by early John Coltrane but has a sound and style of his own within the mainstream of modern jazz. He has earned his BM from William Paterson University, MM from Florida State University (2010), and DMA from the Eastman School of Music (2015). In 2016, David joined the Florida State University faculty as Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone after serving as Director of Jazz Studies at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY. David has released three albums as a leader, New York Stories, The David Detweiler Trio, and The Astoria Suite. The album Celebrating Bird, co-led with bassist Fumi Tomita, was recently released on the Outside in Music record label. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Steve Dollar

Tallahassee native Steve Dollar has written about popular culture since the 1970s, for publications that include The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Playboy and Billboard. He is a frequent contributor to Flamingo magazine and artistic director of the Tallahassee Film Festival. Steve will be interviewing Bill and Mary Wharton on Saturday at Word of South, and talking to Rickie Lee Jones about her memoir Sunday.

Mike Donehey

Mike Donehey has seen his fair share of the unexpected. Following a potentially fatal car crash as a teen, Mike learned to play the guitar while still in bed recovering from his injuries. Learning the guitar gave birth to songwriting, and that songwriting led to the formation of a band. That band, Tenth Avenue North, became one of the most loved and successful artists in Christian music. Beginning with their acclaimed national debut, Over and Underneath, Tenth Avenue North’s audience multiplied with each new album and every hit song, like radio favorites “Love Is Here,” “By Your Side,” “You Are More,” “Losing,” “Worn,” “I Have This Hope,” and multiweek no. 1 smash “Control (Somehow You Want Me).” Despite the group’s widespread popularity and devout following, Tenth Avenue North’s members began to sense at the beginning of 2020 that they each had their own unexpected and unique roads to follow.

Mike has seized this opportunity, reveling in the excitement to expand as a storyteller, communicator and thought instigator wherever his voice can be heard. Mike’s acclaimed book, Finding God’s Life for My Will, was an immediate best-seller upon its release. Mike’s podcast Chasing the Beauty on AccessMore.com, will look for the joy of God in the places we didn’t think it could be. Most exciting of all, Mike has been feverishly writing and producing new music for an upcoming debut solo album. Being one of music industry’s most exciting and engaging live performers and speakers, live appearances will undoubtedly continue to be a big part of his story going forward.

The unexpected has a way of disrupting our lives in ways we might not have ever chosen. For Mike Donehey, learning to embrace the unexpected has been the very thing that has brought forth encouraging and soul-healing art time and time again. Looking forward, Mike is trusting to be led in any way that will allow him to continue to serve and inspire.

Omar El Akkad

Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist. He was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager and now lives in the United States. The start of his journalism career coincided with the start of the war on terror, and over the following decade he reported from Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and many other locations around the world. His work earned a National Newspaper Award for Investigative Journalism and the Goff Penny Award for young journalists. His fiction and non-fiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Guernica, GQ and many other newspapers and magazines. His debut novel, American War, is an international bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages. It won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award, the Oregon Book Award for fiction, the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and has been nominated for more than ten other awards. It was listed as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, Washington Post, GQ, NPR, Esquire and was selected by the BBC as one of 100 novels that changed our world. His new novel, What Strange Paradise, was released in July, 2021 and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize.

The Eyrie Artists

The Eyrie is Tallahassee Community College’s award-winning student art and literary magazine, which publishes original poetry, prose, art, and photography. The magazine also provides students enrolled in Literary Magazine Production at TCC with the experience of magazine production, from the evaluation of materials to blue-line copy. The Eyrie (the nest of a bird of prey) was founded in 1981 by two students, with the motto of “quality, good taste, and creativity.” The magazine is published annually and distributed free to all college personnel and students, and to the public upon request. For this year’s Word of South, the Eyrie will present readings, art, and photography from select students published in the 2024 edition.

Jimmy Fasig

Jimmy Fasig is the leader of the Fasig Brooks personal injury division and lead trial counsel on most of its non-medical malpractice cases. In 2000, he started his law career as a paralegal for what was then Eubanks & Barrett. In his first full year as a lawyer, he litigated a case that resulted in a $1.6 million recovery. Jimmy became a partner and shareholder in the law firm that same year. Since then, Jimmy has had numerous multimillion and million dollar recoveries. In 2015, he was listed in the nation’s top 1% of lawyers when he obtained a 5.4 million dollar verdict and a 3.1 million dollar judgment from a jury trial in Gadsden County, Florida. Jimmy has witnessed firsthand the way insurance companies and big businesses take advantage of people, and he has developed a strategy he calls the “full court press” strategy for achieving justice for his clients. He loves being a lawyer, and he loves fighting for his clients in front of a jury. He’s the author of the book “When Life Knocks You Down, Come Back Stronger: How I went from Inmate to Multimillion Dollar Lawyer in Five Years.” He’ll be appearing at Word of South with his law partner and author Dana Brooks and the writer/television host Gary Yordon.

The Fried Turkeys

Combining a surprising blend of truly original music and a uniquely eclectic selection of covers, the Fried Turkeys will have you dripping in greasy, hippy, roots-country music. Soulful pedal steel, soaring vocal harmonies, a thumping rhythm section, dixieland piano lines, and a wooden Americana sound will have you tapping your feet and singing along. The grease is ready. Drop the bird.

Meg Gardiner

Edgar-winning novelist Meg Gardiner writes thrillers. Fast-paced and full of twists, her books have been called “Hitchcockian” (USA Today) and “nailbiting and moving” (Guardian). They have been bestsellers in the U.S. and internationally and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

The Dark Corners of the Night, her current title, is the third novel in the UNSUB series, featuring FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix. Stephen King says, “Don’t miss it. This is a great one.” Booklist says, “This suspenseful thriller is exquisitely constructed… Gardiner is on a roll.” It has been bought by Amazon Studios for development as a television series. The first novel in the series, UNSUB, won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller.

The Evan Delaney novels feature a feisty journalist from Santa Barbara, California. Stephen King calls them “simply put, the finest crime-suspense series I’ve come across in the last twenty years.”

Meg’s stand alone novel The Shadow Tracer was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2013. Phantom Instinct was chosen one of “The Best Books of Summer” by O, the Oprah magazine.

Meg was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Santa Barbara, California. She graduated from Stanford University, where she lettered in varsity cross country and earned a B.A. in Economics. She went on to graduate from Stanford Law School.

She practiced law in Los Angeles and taught in the Writing Program at the University of California Santa Barbara. Later she moved with her husband and three young children to London, where she began writing suspense novels. Beyond writing, Meg is a three-time Jeopardy! champion and a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. She lives in Austin, Texas. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the writer Jeff VanderMeer.

Brian Hall

Brian Hall is a bassist and composer with a deep knowledge of and passion for diverse styles of music spanning jazz, classical, and world music. His active performing and touring calendar sees him collaborating with international artists and regional symphonies. As Associate Professor of Music at Florida A&M University since 2014, he brings his wealth of knowledge and performance experience to his teaching practice. Mr. Hall holds an MM in Jazz Studies from Florida State University and a BM in Jazz Studies from Georgia State University. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo, the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, is a member of the Mvskoke Nation and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground). She is only the second poet to be appointed a third term as U.S. Poet Laureate. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she left home to attend high school at the innovative Institute of American Indian Arts, which was then a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. Harjo began writing poetry as a member of the University of New Mexico’s Native student organization, the Kiva Club, in response to Native empowerment movements. She went on to earn her MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at the University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State, University of Illinois, University of Colorado, University of Hawai’i, Institute of American Indian Arts, and the University of Tennessee, while performing music and poetry nationally and internationally. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the musician Larry Mitchell.

Joy Sheffield Harris

Joy Sheffield Harris was born in Tripoli, Libya, on Wheelus Field Air Base then moved to Panama City, Florida just in time to attend Humpty Dumpty Kindergarten and later Florida State University. As a home economics and history teacher and later a marketing specialist for the Florida Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Poultry Federation she found her passion for food and history. While promoting Florida’s natural bounty on television in the early ’80s she met her husband, Jack. They later owned a restaurant with friends called Harris and Company, and in 2010, co- wrote Easy Breezy Florida Cooking. In 2014, she wrote A Culinary History of Florida and in 2017 Florida Sweets. Their son Jackson is a 7th generation Cracker and the story of their heritage is shared in her most recent book The Florida Cracker Cookbook. Although born outside of Florida, she was naturalized in Pensacola when her family moved back to the states, and that is enough for her to claim Cracker status. The Florida Cracker Cookbook won the Gold Medal in the 2019 Florida Book Awards Cooking Category. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the musical group The Currys, and samples of her recipes will be available.

Vincent Herring

Vincent Herring started playing saxophone at the age of 11 in school bands and studying privately at Dean Frederick’s School of Music in Vallejo, CA. At the age of 16, Herring was studying at California State University at Chico on a music scholarship. A year later he had won a berth in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point.

Vincent moved to New York City in early 1980’s attending Long Island University. He first toured in the United States and Europe as part of the Lionel Hampton Big Band. With his sound strongly influenced by Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, Vincent’s virtuosity and promise came to the attention of Nat Adderley. The two forged a nine-year musical relationship, producing nine albums and touring around the world year after year. After Nat’s death,  Louis Hayes collaborated with Vincent to form the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band. Vincent worked and recorded with Cedar Walton for more than 20 years.

He has also appeared on stage and or recordings with Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Hayes, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver Quintet, Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition, Larry Coryell, Steve Turre, The Mingus Big Band (Won a Grammy in 2010), Kenny Barron, Nancy Wilson, Dr. Billy Taylor, Carla Bley, Mike LeDonne, Carl Allen, Ron McClure, and John Hicks among others. His extensive guest soloist appearances include performances with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center and Jon Faddis and The Carnegie Hall Big Band.

Vincent’s discography reveals over 20 titles as a leader and over 250 as a sideman. He tours frequently with his projects around the in the United States, Europe, Japan, China and around the world. Vincent continues to share his distinct voice and musical knowledge, as a performer and jazz educator. He is currently on staff at William Paterson University and at Manhattan School of Music. He’ll be appearing at Word of South in connection with the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Mark Hinson

Columnist Mark Hinson, who is a fifth generation North Floridian, has written for the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com, both part of the USA Today Network, for more than 25 years. He has covered the arts and entertainment scene in the Capital City for the same amount of time. Over his long career, Hinson has interviewed and written about such musical figures as Mavis Staples, Philip Glass, George Clinton, Ella Fitzgerald, Renée Fleming, Jim White, Bo Diddley, Sam Moore, Alan Parson, Billy Preston and many more.

He’ll be interviewing the musician, artist and writer Jim White at this year’s Word of South.

Ravi Howard

Ravi Howard received the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence in 2008 for his novel LikeTrees, Walking, a fictionalized account of the true story of the 1981 lynching of a black teenager in Mobile, Alabama. His novel Driving the King is the story of Nat King Cole told through his driver, and explores race and class in 1950’s America. A television producer as well as an author, he lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He’ll be interviewing the authors Ladee Hubbard and Tom Piazza at Word of South.

Sherman Irby

Alto saxophonist and composer Sherman Irby was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Clark Atlanta University, then joined the quintet of Johnny O’Neal, a former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Irby has recorded two albums for Blue Note Records, and worked with Marcus Roberts, Roy Hargrove, Papo Vazquez, Paco de Lucia, Elvin Jones, and McCoy Tyner. He is currently a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis. Among his numerous recordings, Irby’s latest releases are Sherman Irby’s Inferno, and Cerulean Canvas. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

JigJam

JigJam is a multi-award winning quartet from the heart of the midlands in Ireland. Blending the best of traditional Irish music with bluegrass and Americana in a new genre which has been branded as ‘iGrass’, their onstage energy along with their virtuoso musical ability has captivated audiences throughout the world. All multi-instrumentalists, JigJam interchanges banjos, guitars, fiddles, mandolins and double bass onstage, which creates an experience which is pleasing to both the eye and the ear. “Here’s an Irish band that’s going to impact the world as hard as Clancy Brothers or U2 if they get only half a chance.”

Jamey Johnson

Eleven-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson is “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” according to the Washington Post. He is one of only a few people in the history of country music to win two Song of the Year Awards from both the CMA and ACMs.

His 2008 album, That Lonesome Song, was certified platinum for 1 million in sales, and his 2010 ambitious double album, The Guitar Song, received a gold certification.

In addition, he won two Song of the Year Trophies, for “Give It Away” and “In Color,” both from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. He has received tremendous praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and other publications, many of which have hailed his albums as masterpieces.

He will be performing on Friday, April 8th. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., show starts at 7:00 p.m.

Frank Jones Band

With music ranging from down-home-blues and soul all the way to funk and rock-n-roll, the Frank Jones Band puts on a great musical experience packed with talented musicians and a variety of tunes. The group has southern soul vocalist and guitar player Frank Jones leading the show with influences ranging from Albert Collins, B.B. King, Albert King, The Funky Meters, Clarence Carter and Ray Charles all the way to Sly and the Family Stone, The Beatles, Edgar Winter and more . Bringing the dance inducing, deep in the pocket drums they have Brett Crook, also known for his work with the Ledgendary JC’s, Cedric Burnside and local funk band High Test. Frank and Brett are accompanied by Jose Serrano, an FSU Jazz graduate, on sultry, Venezuelan-infused bass. This band has a wonderful array of music from varying styles and always bring a good time.

Rickie Lee Jones

There are few careers that come close to mirroring Rickie Lee Jones’ emancipated and starry flight across our musical skies. The two-time Grammy winner first appeared on the scene in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, and in her wake came such a wide scope of women, from country, pop and punk. It’s hard to believe she collected and released so many wild icons, but she did.

For she was the first of her kind, crooning “My Funny Valentine” in lounge singer heels. She rocked like Mick Jagger and ground her hips like Tina Turner. She was the beginning of the nebulous, ethereal personality-driven voices of women who dominate music today.

Her acclaimed memoir Last Chance Texaco, released in the spring of 2021, is “as rich and colorful as Jones’ best lyrics,” writes The New York Times. “It’s a classically American picaresque tale, a recounting of a life in which she ‘lived volumes’…” Jones sets the record straight and illuminates her journey far beyond any music memoir. Her story is an American story. As The New Yorker describes, “she reads as a modern Huck Finn.”

At 66 years of age, Rickie Lee Jones has staked her claim as an American songwriter who helped shape the language of music we all call our own. She’ll be appearing at Word of South for a musical performance on Saturday evening, then a talk on Sunday with Tallahassee’s Steve Dollar about her new memoir.

Rodney Jordan

Rodney Jordan is a native of Memphis, Tennessee where he grew up playing the bass in church and with his high school orchestra. He later studied music with Dr. London Branch, Alvin Fielder, and Andy Hardwick at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. During his college years, Jordan joined the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra where he served as Assistant Principal Bassist. During his years in Georgia, Jordan served as a bass instructor at Darton College (part of the University System of Georgia) in Albany and at Georgia State University in Atlanta. While living in Atlanta, Jordan became one of the city’s most active jazz bassists, performing and recording with some of America’s finest jazz musicians, including Marcus Printup, Mulgrew Miller, James Williams, Milt Jackson, George Coleman, and Russell Gunn. He joined the faculty in the School of Music at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL in 2001 where he now holds a rank of Professor of Jazz Studies. Jordan teaches jazz bass, jazz combo playing, music education classes, and a jazz styles class, and is a member of the Marcus Roberts Trio.

He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of Sunday’s “Tribute to the Women in Jazz” on the Florida Jazz & Blues/Marriott AC Hotel Ballroom Stage.

The Kenny Hill Band

The Kenny Hill Band consists of Kenny Baldauf, with Brian and Jennifer Hill, from the Big Bend of Florida, performing a blend of acoustic music styles that include bluegrass, folk and Irish, to blues, classic country, western swing and classic rock. The band’s signature features are its tightly blended three part harmonies paired with inspired instrumental arrangements that may include guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, penny whistle, accordion and acoustic bass. C’mon out! You are sure to enjoy listening to the unique, fun and soulful music of the Kenny Hill Band! They’ll be appearing at Word of South with the chef and cookbook author Ronni Lundy.

Jenna Kernan

Publishers Weekly bestselling author Jenna Kernan writes domestic thrillers and fast-paced crime thrillers described by readers as “jaw-dropping,” “riveting,” “gritty,” and “gripping.” She received a 2021 Silver Falchion award nomination from Killer Nashville and is a 2021 bronze medal winner in the Florida Book Awards Popular Fiction category for her debut thriller, A Killer’s Daughter.

Jenna is a genre-jumper with roots in romantic suspense and has written more than thirty books. Her new gripping crime thrillers, A Killer’s Daughter and The Hunted Girls feature a criminal psychologist, and daughter of an infamous female serial killer, facing a series of murders in Florida. Her May release, The Adoption, is a domestic thriller set in Tampa and introduces a couple whose nearly perfect life seems complete with the arrival of a new baby, but their happy family turns into a nightmare when dark secrets and a menacing woman threaten.

Gilbert King

Gilbert King is the author of three books, most recently, Beneath a Ruthless Sun. His previous book, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 2013. A New York Times bestseller, the book was also named runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for nonfiction and was a finalist for both the Chautauqua Prize and the Edgar Award. King has written about race, civil rights, and the death penalty for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic, and he is a contributor to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. King’s earlier book, The Execution of Willie Francis, was published in 2008. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. He’ll be appearing at Word of South with the writer and journalist Sid Bedingfield.

David Kirby

David Kirby is a poet, critic, and scholar. Influenced by artists as diverse as John Keats and Little Richard, Kirby writes distinctive long-lined narrative poems that braid together high and popular culture, personal memory, philosophy, and humor. “One thing that I want to do in the poems is to portray the mind as it actually works,” he stated in a 2007 interview with Craig Morgan Teacher. Kirby is the author of more than two dozen volumes of criticism, essays, children’s literature, pedagogy, and poetry. His numerous collections of poetry include: The Ha-Ha (2003), short-listed for the Griffin Poetry Prize, The House on Boulevard Street: New and Selected Poems (2007), a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Florida Book Award and Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Award, and his most recent, More Than This. Since 1969 he has taught at Florida State University, where he has received several teaching awards. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife, poet Barbara Hamby. David will be appearing at Word of South with the author and music writer Hank Shteamer.

Katy Kirby

Kirby grew up as an evangelical Christian in Spicewood, Texas, where she was homeschooled and listened primarily to worship music. She attended college at Belmont University, where she majored in English.

Kirby began releasing music in 2018, with the EP Juniper. In late 2020, she announced plans to release her debut album and, along with the announcement, released the single “Traffic!”. The album, Cool Dry Place, came out on February 19, 2021, and became Stereogum’s “Album of the Week”. The album would eventually be included in a number of yearend best-albums-of-2021 lists, including those by Paste, Our Culture Mag, and Consequence of Sound.

Julia Koets

Julia Koets is the author of PINE, The Rib Joint: A Memoir in Essays, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and Hold Like Owls. She is the winner of the 2017 Red Hen Press Nonfiction Book Award, the 2019 Michael Waters Poetry Prize, and the 2011 South Carolina Poetry Book Prize. Julia’s essays and poems have been published or are forthcoming in literary journals including Creative Nonfiction, Indiana Review, Nimrod, The Los Angeles Review, Carolina Quarterly, and Portland Review. She earned her M.F.A. at the University of South Carolina and her Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Cincinnati. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Brad Leali

With a unique style and sound, which echoes the influences of his past, Brad Leali is one of the most notable saxophonists of current times. Leali toured and recorded with numerous jazz greats, including several years with the Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra and with the Count Basie Orchestra. Leali was a standing member of the Kennedy Center Honors Band and performed for President Obama’s inaugural celebration. Brad has had a long-time endorsement with Keilwerth Saxophones and D’Addario Reeds. Currently the professor of jazz saxophone at the University of North Texas, Brad continues to perform domestically and abroad, including touring with Lyle Lovett & His Large Band. Brad will be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Terry Lewis

Terry Lewis served as a trial judge in Tallahassee for 30 years, presiding over a variety of criminal and civil cases. He is now in private practice with the firm of Messer Caparello, focusing on mediation and arbitration.

Terry is also a writer. His first novel, Conflict of Interest, was published in 1997.  He followed that with Privileged Information in 2003, and Delusional in 2013, all of which are legal thrillers. His latest novel, Incognito is an historical thriller set in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 and revolves around a plot to assassinate key leaders of the Continental Congress. It was honored in 2021 with a book award in three categories by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association: Gold for General Fiction and Mystery/Suspense; Bronze medal for Historical Fiction.

Terry is a past board member of Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter, and served on the advisory board for the Florida Book Awards. He lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Fran, and their Border Collie Mix, Pepper.

Son Little

aloha, the latest album from Son Little, the musical nom de plume of LA’s Aaron Earl Livingston, is available now. As previewed with the release of the invisible EP and early single, “hey rose,” which The New York Times described as comprising “bluesy distorted guitar chords, a hint of Latin rhythm and perhaps a distant echo of the Zombies’ ‘Time of the Season’,” aloha blends classic soul and old-school R&B into a timeless swirl fueled by gritty instrumental virtuosity and raw, raspy vocals.

Recorded at Paris’s iconic Studios Ferber with producer Renaud Letang (Feist, Manu Chao), aloha is Little’s first album to be recorded with an outside producer. The result is his boldest, most self-assured statement yet. It’s an ambitious work of vision and reflection, and an ecstatic testament to the freedom that comes from trusting the currents of life to carry you where you belong.

In order to create aloha, Little began writing and assembling album demos in Petaluma, California. However, after his hard drive fried and he lost nearly a dozen detailed demos, he was forced to begin with a blank slate, leading him to write aloha in only eight days at a tiny house and its adjacent barn. While Little plays nearly every instrument on the album himself, he put his songs in the hands of an outside producer for the first time here. The entire project was an exercise in letting go, in ceding control, in surrendering to fate.

Recognizing the power of our own self-destructive tendencies is a recurring theme on aloha. Little mourns the suicide of a beloved uncle on “suffer,” using addiction and mental illness as a lens to explore forgiveness and empathy, laments the rapidly deteriorating world his two children are set to inherit on “o clever one,” and meditates on the dangers of succumbing to passion at the expense of reason on “belladonna.”

It would be easy to feel helpless in the face of such inexorable forces, to feel as if we are prisoners of fate rather than masters of our own destiny, but Little instead finds peace in perseverance on the album. “Hallelujah,” he sings on the gorgeous “neve give up,” “though I’m battered and blue / feel like I’m born to lose…Never will I give up.”

It is a potent reminder that letting go doesn’t mean giving in; in fact, quite the opposite. Letting go can be an act of defiance, of growth, of empowerment. Letting go requires a leap of faith, and, in Son Little’s case, that faith has been richly rewarded. Whether that means this album represents the end of one chapter or the beginning of the next is impossible to know just yet, but in either case, there’s really only one thing to say: aloha.

Heather Maloney

Heather Maloney has toured nationally as a headliner as well as in support of acts like Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves, Gary Clark Jr., Colin Hay, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and many more. The New York Times called her music “utterly gorgeous, visceral” and SPIN Magazine described her as “stunning, breathy, and starkly memorable”. Her new album “Soil In The Sky” was released in June 2021 via Signature Sounds. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the author Kristen Arnett.

Roy McCurdy

Roy McCurdy is one of the foremost jazz drummers in America. A member of the
Cannonball Adderley quintet from 1965 until 1975, he has appeared with such jazz greats as Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock and Chuck Mangione, as well as serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Ann McCutchan

Ann McCutchan is the author of six books of memoir, essay, and biography, most recently The Life She Wished to Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Author of “The Yearling,” published by W.W. Norton (2021). Her work has appeared in various journals and The Best American Spiritual Writing; she is also the author of eight commissioned music libretti.

Formerly a musician and journalist, she was an award-winning professor of creative writing at the University of North Texas and editor of American Literary Review; as well, she was the founding director of the University of Wyoming’s MFA in creative writing program. Ann has received fellowships and residencies from the Rockefeller Foundation, Cornell University, the MacDowell Colony, and others. She holds music degrees from Florida State University and the University of Michigan, and an MFA from the University of Houston.

Ann grew up in Florida and now lives in Laramie, Wyoming with her partner, statistician Ken Gerow, and their brilliant Australian Shepherd, Cora Marjorie Rawlings (AKC registered name – honest).

Larry Mitchell

Larry Mitchell exemplifies the success that can be achieved when one chooses to follow his passion. The gifted Grammy Award winning performer, producer, and engineer continues to amaze. Larry’s guitar textures demonstrate his abilities as a solo artist and as an ensemble player. Larry has had the opportunity to tour with Tracy Chapman, Billy Squier, Ric Ocasek, and Miguel Bosѐ. While on tour with Tracy Chapman, Larry performed for the late Nelson Mandela. In 1999, Larry won a San Diego music award for Best Pop Jazz artist.

In 2007, Larry won a Grammy Award for producing, engineering and performing on the Best Native American Music Album, “Totemic Flute Chants”, by Native American artist Johnny Whitehorse, who is best known as Robert Mirabal. Larry is also the proud recipient of 26 New Mexico Music Awards in various categories which include pop, adult, contemporary, rap, rock, country World music, and Native American music with artists such as Dawn Avery, Joy Harjo, and Shelley Morningsong. In 2009, Larry had the honor of playing on the Dalia Lama Renaissance album.

Larry newest release “The Light within” (acoustic) 10th and “Shadows on the Soul” 11th (Electric) can be purchased and streamed on larrymitchell.Bandcamp.com. Larry will be doing a solo show Saturday, and appearing with the poet Joy Harjo on Sunday at Word of South.

T. Hardy Morris

Fresh out of high school, T. Hardy Morris caught his first show at the historic Georgia Theater in Athens. “A lot of southern artists who might not feel quite right in their hometowns migrate to Athens. Drawn here by the sound of a weird Southern heart, I guess,” Morris said. “I knew I had to live there.” At its heart, Morris’ third solo-record, “Dude, The Obscure,” released via the New West Records imprint Normaltown Records, captures the Athens songwriter contemplating the paradox of everyday life. In captivating songs, Morris sheds the traps of ambition and nostalgia and uncovers the strange satisfaction of living in the moment. On Dude, The Obscure, Morris deftly side-steps the nostalgic, storytelling perspective in his adored solo-debut, Audition Tapes, a collection of songs inspired by defining moments growing up on the edge as America’s modern opioid epidemic struck the rural South.

Jennifer Msumba

Musician, songwriter, author and award winning filmmaker Jennifer Msumba took the top prize in the 2020 Easterseals Disability challenge with her film The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains. Her ever- increasing tribe of 32k followers enjoy a steady diet of her vlogs and interviews on her YouTube channel, simply titled Jennifer Msumba. Her debut book, Shouting At Leaves, is a memoir which takes the reader through Jennifer’s turbulent life on the autism spectrum and the challenges and triumphs that come with it. Jennifer’s original music can be found on all streaming and downloading platforms. Her newest film, Like The Girls Who Wear Pink, which she wrote and directed, is already making a name for itself at film festivals this year. Jennifer is a member of American Mensa and a Sundance Institute fellow. She enjoys spending time with her dog, Lemonade, outdoor music festivals and fishing.

Buffalo Nichols

Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Carl “Buffalo” Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? After cutting his teeth between a Baptist church and bars in Milwaukee, it was a globetrotting trip through West Africa and Europe during a creative down period that began to reveal the answer. It was the bustling of jazz in places like the working-class areas of Ukraine, or in Berlin cafes where expatriate Black Americans routinely treat fans to an enchanting evening of blues, that would lead to his a-ha moment. Nichols returned home to America, meditating on his own place in the music that holds the country’s truest values and rawest emotions between bar and measure. At the forefront of each song is Nichols’ rich voice and evocative, virtuosic guitar-playing, augmented on half of the nine tracks by a simple, cadent drum line. While acknowledging the joy, exuberance and triumph contained in the blues, Nichols looks intently at the genre’s origins, which harken back to complicated and dire circumstances for Black Americans. With this in mind, Nichols says there is a missing link, which he’s often used as a compass: Black stories aren’t being told responsibly in the genre anymore. To begin changing that, Buffalo Nichols gets the chance to tell his own story in the right way.

Longineu Parsons

Longineu Parsons has been hailed by critics internationally as being one of the world’s finest trumpet players. He also performs on recorders, flute, percussion and is a vocalist. Longineu performs classical and jazz on trumpet and his compositions include orchestral works and chamber music as well as jazz and world music. He is the protégé of the great cornetist, Nat Adderley and performs regularly with pianist, Nat Adderley Jr.

Longineu is founder and president of Tribal Records and he has produce and engineered recordings from traditional to modern jazz as well as classical, R&B and world music. Longineu’s musical history is very stylistically inclusive as is represented in his various musical projects. Longineu has performed and recorded with such greats as Cab Calloway, Nat Adderley, Cecil Taylor, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Herbie Mann, Frank Foster, Mal Waldron, Philly Joe Jones, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, David Murray, Billy Harper, and many others.

Longineu holds a BS degree in Music from Florida A&M University and Master of Music in classical trumpet from the University of Florida. He has also had supplementary jazz studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and holds a Ph.D in Composition from the University of Florida. He is currently Professor of Trumpet and Composition at Florida A&M University and President of Tribal Records, Inc. Longineau will be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Grant Peeples

Singer-songwriter Grant Peeples, a native of Tallahassee, says he was changed forever at the age of 15 when a friend came over and played three classic Bob Dylan songs.  A self-described “tree-hugger who watches NASCAR,” he is known for his axe-sharp socio-political tunes, raucous humor and heart-gigging ballads. He’s the recipient of the Focus Foundation Award for Creative Excellence, which cited the “humor, compassion and wisdom of his songs,” and their “unflinching social insight and cultural acuity.” Grant tours coast-to-coast, and in 2023 released a new record, “A Murder of Songs.” He has a new book of short stories, The Heart Has Memory, out in 2024. It should be fun!

Deesha Philyaw

Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize, and a 2020 LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction; the collection was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies focuses on Black women, sex, and the Black church, and is being adapted for television by HBO Max with Tessa Thompson executive producing. Deesha is also the co-author of Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce, written in collaboration with her ex-husband. Her work has been listed as Notable in the Best American Essays series, and her writing on race, parenting, gender, and culture has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, Brevity, dead housekeeping, Apogee Journal, Catapult, Harvard Review, ESPN’s The Undefeated, The Baltimore Review, TueNight, Ebony and Bitch magazines, and various anthologies. Deesha is also a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and will be the 2022-2023 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi.

Purple Hurt

Purple Hurt is loud, in your face, and wants you to know that they’ve arrived. Hailing from Washington, DC, Purple Hurt is an American Alternative Punk band that offers a genre-bending sound combining elements of punk, jazz, and screamo, into a fresh and high-energy package. The band’s formation in 2018 was one of serendipitous magnetism bringing together members Sednah- Vocals and Z-Drums, amidst a pair of purple velvet curtains hung heavily in drummer Z’s Columbia Heights apartment, inspiring the name. Described as “the artist’s artist” by Baltimore film maker Electric Llama, Purple Hurt has taken the DC arts scene by storm, infusing label non-conforming resistance, attention-demanding performance art, riot rhythms, and ancestral sounds, creating a sense of future nostalgia. A call to return to source and self, Purple Hurt released their debut album in collaboration with former bandmates, Carlos Gomez and Hellmet Gyal, Postcards from the Sun, with singles, Black Star (2019) and Free (2020), along with a short film, Postcards from the Sun (2020), written and directed by Sednah, Melani B and Maud Acheampong. Prior to the release of their first album, Purple Hurt could be found sending their fans into collective mosh-pitted rage performing live at notable venues in DC such as Songbyrd, DC9, Velvet Lounge, Pie Shop, Dew Drop Inn, and Eaton Hotel. Currently the band has relocated to Brooklyn to further develop their second project, Cyclicity. Purple Hurt will be appearing at Word of South with the author Dawnie Walton.

Donald Ray Pollock

Born in 1954, Donald Ray Pollock grew up in Knockemstiff, Ohio. After dropping out of high school, he worked at a meat processing plant and a shoe factory before hiring on at a paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he spent the next thirty-two years. He is the author of three books of fiction: Knockemstiff, The Devil All the Time, and The Heavenly Table. He is currently working on another novel.

David Powell

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Columbia Journalism School, David Powell worked as a reporter for ten years, most of that with the Associated Press in New York, Miami, and Tallahassee. After earning a law degree from Florida State University, he practiced law for thirty years at the Tallahassee firm of Hopping Green & Sams. In his work and through civic organizations, he met many Cuban Americans and was moved by the stories of their lives. He began recording interviews about their memories in 2016, first in Florida and then elsewhere. In 2021, the University of Miami acquired his interview recordings, transcripts, and workpapers for its Cuban Heritage Collection. Ninety Miles and a Lifetime Away: Memories of Early Cuban Exiles is his first book. He and his wife Vicki Weber reside in Tallahassee, Florida.

Revival

Tallahassee powerhouse Revival takes to the stage with the incomparable Avis Berry’s dynamic voice and stage presence. These folks have catapulted to the top of Tallahassee’s musical mountain with a stellar ensemble of gifted local musicians including Jeff Davis on bass, Dillon Bradley-Brown on drums, Chris Skene on guitar and vocals, and John “JB” Babich on piano and vocals. True to their name, they revive old rock ‘n’ roll, blues, soul, gospel, rock and jazzy influences created in their own inimitable style. Vocal harmonies abound. A show not to be missed.

Diane Roberts

If you are a fan of the FSU Seminoles or a resident of Florida, you know – or should know – about the writings of Tallahassee’s own Diane Roberts. Her book, Tribal, a comic, critical analysis of a Southern intellectual’s love of FSU football and distaste for the excesses that go with it, made several Best of Book lists in 2015, and is being reissued in a 20th anniversary edition by the University Press of Florida. Dr. Roberts is a professor of creative writing at Florida State who received her undergraduate degree at FSU and doctorate at Oxford University in England. The author of four books, she is known for her spot-on interpretations of Southern culture and her sardonic sense of humor. She writes op-ed articles for major newspapers and has been a commentator for NPR and the BBC. She’ll be interviewing the journalist and author Anne Hull at this year’s Word of South.

Mary Jane Ryals

Mary Jane Ryals, Poet Laureate of the Big Bend of Florida, won a fiction Florida Book Award for a novel (Cookie & Me). She also was a winner of the Yellow Jacket Press Chapbook (Music in Arabic) and has published four other chapbooks. She’s published a short story collection (A Messy Job), a full poetry collection (The Moving Waters) and a mystery novel (Cutting Loose in Paradise). She’s a part time faculty member of Florida State University’s International Programs in Italy, Spain and London.

Jerry Salley

Referred to by Billboard Magazine as “One of Music Row’s greatest veteran tunesmiths,” Jerry Salley has had an incredibly successful, multi-award winning songwriting career.  Nominated in 2019 for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame & for a Grammy for producing the multi-artist project GonnaSing, Gonna’ Shout, Salley is the 2019 & 2018 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Songwriter of the Year and was named the 2003 SESAC Country Music Songwriter of the Year.  Salley has had over 500 different songs recorded and his songs have sold in excess of 18 million records worldwide. He is an eight-time Dove Award nominee, having won a prestigious Dove in 2021 (with Dolly Parton) and in 1990 (with Steven Curtis Chapman). Jerry has received numerous awards and nominations from different associations for his songwriting accomplishments (GRAMMY, IBMA, NSAI, SESAC, Country Music Association of Australia, Gospel Voice Magazine, Absolutely Gospel, etc.). Writing and singing in Nashville since 1982, he has written multiple hits in country, bluegrass, and gospel music and may well be the most successful songwriter to have earned equal recognition from all three genres of music. 

As an artist, Jerry has released 7 solo albums and has performed on numerous stages, including the honor of performing as a soloist many times on the world famous Grand Ole Opry.

Lindsey B. Sarjeant

Lindsey B. Sarjeant is a Professor of Music at Florida A&M University and serves as Chairman of the FAMU Music Department and arranger for the Incomparable Marching “100” Band, symphonic Band and jazz ensembles. He is past Director of Jazz Studies and is a brilliant jazz pianist, composer, jazz lecturer, jazz historian, adjudicator, Marching Band arranger and jazz keyboard clinician. Mr. Sarjeant has played with many professional jazz groups and has accompanied jazz greats such as Nat Adderley, Archie Shepp, Larry Coryell, Phil Wilson, Slide Hamilton Della Reese, Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts and many other well noted and famous jazz musicians. Mr. Sarjeant and his group also toured the Soviet Union and gave five major performances in Leningrad and Moscow. Additionally, he has toured Europe with Florida A&M University Jazz Ensemble performing in Paris, Montreux, Amsterdam, Brienz and the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Joseph Shahady

Trumpeter and composer Joe Shahady is popular in many Tallahassee venues, most notably at the Cascades Park Amphitheater for the Sunrise Series Concert in October 2021. Before coming to Tallahassee in 2019 to study jazz under trumpeter and bandleader Scotty Barnhart, he was selected to play trumpet in the Florida Music Educators Association 2019 All-State Jazz Band.  Joe is also a three-time winner of the Bob Washington Jazz Scholarship competition. He is heavily influenced by musicians Lee Morgan, Blue Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard  Lester Bowie and many more. A junior at Florida State University majoring in Jazz Studies, Joe is looking forward to moving on to a new city to continue his studies and his career as a trumpeter and composer. He’ll be appearing at Word of South in connection with the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Hank Shteamer

Hank is a writer, editor and musician living in Brooklyn, New York. For the past 20 years, he has covered jazz, metal and various other styles for publications including Rolling Stone (where he’s currently on staff as a senior editor), The New York Times, Pitchfork, AllMusic.com and Time Out New York. In 2011, he published a book on Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese album for the 33 1/3 series, and in 2015, he produced a comprehensive reissue of the work of Cleveland post-hardcore band Craw. Hank has contributed liner notes to various releases and hosts the Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast, which explores the intersections of jazz and metal. He has also played drums in various bands and now composes solo music for guitar. He’ll be appearing at Word of South with the poet David Kirby on Saturday, and as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley Sunday afternoon.

Abe Streep

Abe Streep is the author of Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana. He has written for publications including The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, WIRED, and Outside, where he is a contributing editor. His writing has been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing and noted by The Best American Essays and The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He is a recipient of the New Mexico-Arizona book award for general nonfiction and the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for deep reporting on underrepresented communities. He’ll be appearing at Word of South with the musician Cedric Watson.

Fabiana Striffler

Born in Germany in 1988, Fabiana studied jazz and classical violin at the university of arts in Berlin, UdK and the conservatory of music, Hanns Eisler. Her debut album Mahagoni was nominated by Deutschlandfunk Kultur in the category of “Best Album of the Year”. Her second album Sweet And So Solitary is considered “revolutionary in jazz“ by Zitty magazine. Regarding her current album Archiotíc (2021), Deutschlandfunk said: “More consistently than ever, she crosses stylistic boundaries, allowing virtuosity and humour to dance around each other in composition and performance in a way that is rarely heard.” Radio Bremen2 describes her as one of the “most sought-after violinists in German jazz and pop”. Her music is supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH, and she was selected earlier this year as artist in residence at the Cite International des Arts in Paris. She will be appearing at Word of South with the bassist Greg Cohen and friends.

Del Suggs

Del Suggs is an original. Del is a singer/songwriter and guitarist from the beaches of North Florida and is considered by many to be one of the founders and pioneers of “Trop Rock” (tropical rock) music. Del began to perform in a similar style, which he called “Saltwater Music,” drawing on his experiences growing up along the gulf coast in Panama City, Florida. Del has released five solo albums: Living Deliberately, LIVE, Floating On The Surface, Wooden Boat, and Saltwater Music. He has also been a featured artist on seven compilation albums, including Tallahassee Selects, Music From The Rascal Yard, The Prime Meridian, The Cascades Collection, and A Cascades Christmas. His continued success is a reflection of the broad appeal and timelessness of his music. Del is one of those individuals who comes on stage as a stranger, and leaves it as a friend. Del will be appearing at Word of South with the authors Marie Bostwick and Karen White.

Star Swain

A family trip on June 16, to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. thrust Star Swain into the national spotlight when her compelling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner went viral with more than 40 million views online. A moment of moving beyond fear has propelled Swain along her path to fulfilling her dreams.

Since her impromptu performance that stopped tourists in their tracks, Star has become an Internet sensation covered by media outlets throughout the country. She has appeared on major network broadcasts from CBS Evening News with Scott Pelly and Inside Edition, to CNN and FOX and Friends. Star made her television performance debut on July 1, 2016, when she sang the national anthem live on Good Morning America. She has made several guest appearances singing the Star Spangled Banner on national platforms including the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where she sang the anthem on July 28, 2016 — the same day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted the party’s nomination for president of the United States. In March of 2017, Swain was featured in the “Artist Spotlight” segment of BET’s “Joyful Noise,” a new Sunday morning gospel show hosted by award-winning recording artist Tye Tribbett.

In 2018, Star performed Together As One at the HOPE Global Forums in Atlanta, Georgia, an event that focuses on empowering underserved communities to possess financial dignity and participate in free enterprise. On July 4, 2020, in the midst of the global pandemic and more social unrest, Star Swain released a moving video performance of the song Together As One. The song made the Top 100 iTunes Pop Chart in October of 2020.

Swain released her new gospel project, Pain & Glory, in October, 2021. The released hit single, A Billion People, from the album was recently debuted on Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell, a nationally syndicated gospel radio show hosted by Grammy award-winning gospel artist, Erica Campbell. She will be touring and leading worship at churches throughout the east side of the country in 2022, while still serving as praise and worship leader at The Family Worship & Praise Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

Star Swain was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. She currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband Craig Swain, and her three children Ay’den, Craig, Jr., and Cyrus.

TaReef Knockout

TaReef KnockOut is a hip hop artist based in Tallahassee, FL. He began his journey as an artist earlier this decade releasing multiple mixtapes, singles, EP’s and albums along the way. His latest project, “Eggs For Breakfast” was released on all streaming platforms on May, 21, 2021.

Blending a variety of genres with Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz, R&B, and Pop influences. TaReef brings a combination of powerful lyrics, heartfelt story telling, and charisma that resonate with a wide audience. Since his journey has begun TaReef has received local support from the Tallahassee Democrat, WCTV, WTXL, FSU News and The Famuan. TaReef’s music has been featured on ESPN College Football in 2018 for his song, “Lethal Simplicity” about FSU Football. A true testament to the grind, TaReef has had numerous publications across the U.S. and globally in different countries.

With over 200,000 streams across all platforms, TaReef KnockOut is definitely one to watch. Born and raised in Tallahassee the former Lincoln High basketball standout has a wide range of hip hop influences from Jay-Z, Nipsey Hussle, Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, and Kanye West to name a few. TaReef effortlessly blends his own creative style into a way that is expected to be remembered with the greats in time, respected by his peers, and fans of true hip hop artistry.

Kaleb Thompkins

Kaleb Thompkins is a native of Tallahassee, Florida where he grew up playing music in his family’s church. Kaleb is a young bassist who plays various genres of music including Jazz, R&B/Funk, Gospel, and Rap. Kaleb has been inspired by B.B. King, James Brown, Miles Davis, and Marvin Gaye. Kaleb is currently a third year Jazz Performance major at Florida State University, who has had the opportunity to travel the country to perform and showcase his talent. He’ll be appearing at Word of South as part of the tribute to Nat and Cannonball Adderley.

Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer grew up in the Fiji Islands and currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida. His critically acclaimed New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy has been published in 20 countries, and the Paramount Pictures film of the first book in the trilogy, Annihilation, starring Natalie Portman, was released in 2018. Jeff’s subsequent fiction, Borne, The Strange Bird, and Dead Astronauts, has been optioned for television by AMC. VanderMeer’s nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Atlantic, Washington Post, the Guardian, and many more. Jeff will be appearing at Word of South with the author Meg Gardiner.

Jason Vuic

Originally from Punta Gorda, FL, Jason Vuic is an award-winning author and historian based in Fort Worth, Texas, who specializes in creative nonfiction.  He is the author of several books, including The Swamp Peddlers: How Lot Sellers, Land Scammers, and Retirees Built Modern Florida and Transformed the American Dream (UNC Press, 2021), The Yucks! Two Years in Tampa with the Losingest Team in NFL History (Simon and Schuster, 2016) and The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History (Hill and Wang, 2010). Jason is a graduate of Wake Forest University and holds an M.A. in history from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. in history from Indiana University Bloomington. He has been both a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and a Fulbright Scholar, and has appeared on such well-known programs as NPR’s Weekend Edition, APM’s Marketplace, Fox and Friends, and C-SPAN’s Book TV.

Dawnie Walton

Dawnie Walton is a writer, editor, and author of the acclaimed 2021 debut novel The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and named one of the best books of 2021 by The Washington Post, NPR, Esquire, and former U.S. President Barack Obama, among others. Her work explores identity, place, and the influence of pop culture. Formerly an editor at Essence and Entertainment Weekly, she has received fellowships in fiction writing from MacDowell and Tin House, and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her writing has been published in Bon Appetit, Oxford American, Lithub, and Black Ballad. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and an alumna of Florida A&M University’s journalism school, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband. She’ll be appearing at Word of South with the musical group Purple Hurt.

Cedric Watson

One of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade, Cedric Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist & songwriter with seemingly unlimited potential.

Originally from San Felipe, TX (population 868), Cedric made his first appearance at the age of 19 at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston, TX. Just two years later, he moved to south Louisiana, quickly immersing himself in French music and language. Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in 17 countries and on 7 full-length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and with his own group, Bijou Creole.

With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he is also a prolific songwriter, writing almost all of his songs on his double row Hohner accordion. Cedric’s songs channel his diverse ancestry (African, French, Native American and Spanish) to create his own brand of sounds. Cedric will be appearing at Word of South with the author Abe Streep.

Mary and Bill Wharton

Grammy Award winning Filmmaker and Tallahassee native Mary Wharton is known for her work on music documentaries such as “Sam Cooke Legend,” Joan Baez How Sweet the Sound” and “Tom Petty Somewhere You Feel Free.” Her father Bill Wharton, also known as The Sauce Boss, is a Tallahassee legend and internationally renowned recording artist whose work has been featured on soundtracks for both film and television (including Jonathan Demme’s “Something Wild” and CNN’s “The Wonder List”). The documentary “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President” marks the father and daughter’s first collaborative work together, and they will join journalist Steve Dollar in a conversation about the making of the film and the creative process behind the movie’s original musical score. Featuring selected excerpts from “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President” and intimate live performances of music from the film, the Whartons will share “behind the scenes” stories about their experience of working together and how their shared love of music informed the storytelling of a film that explores the role of music in life and work of President Jimmy Carter and celebrates the power that music has to bring people together.

Karen White

With almost two million books in print in fifteen different languages, Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and currently writes what she refers to as ‘grit lit’—Southern women’s fiction—and has also expanded her horizons into writing a mystery series set in Charleston, South Carolina. She is a graduate of the American School in London and has a BS in Management from Tulane University. When not writing, she spends her time reading, scrapbooking, playing piano, and avoiding cooking. She has two grown children and currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two spoiled Havanese dogs. Karen will be appearing at Word of South with the author Marie Bostwick and the musician Del Suggs.

Gary Yordon

An eight-time EMMY Award winner, Gary Yordon hosts the popular CBS Television political program, The Usual Suspects. Gary founded the media and political consulting firm, The Zachary Group. He is a National Award Winning columnist for Gannett Newspapers and author of the lifestyle book, Driving The Road of Life, With a Flat Tire. Gary will be moderating a discussion at Word of South between the attorneys/authors Dana Brooks and Jimmy Fasig.

Young Actors Theatre

Young Actors Theatre has been celebrating words and music through their youth theatre program since 1975. In 2022, YAT will take the stage at Word of South with scenes from shows in the current season, which includes an adaptation of the classic Little Women and the heartwarming story of Frozen Jr.

Noel Zamot

Noel Zamot is the author of “The Archer’s Thread,” winner of the Gold Medal for Popular Fiction at the 2022 Florida Book Awards.  A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he moved to Tarpon Springs after serving in a Congressional economic development role in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. His writing career started as an undergraduate at MIT, where he studied under Joe Haldeman, winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. His novels channel personal experiences in combat, aviation, covert programs, and technology. He enjoys writing fast-paced narratives which explore themes of personal tragedy and redemption set in “what if. . .?” speculative worlds. He is an avid cyclist, a mediocre coffee roaster, and does his best writing on the road, where you’ll often find him with his wife Diane, enroute to their next adventure.