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April 24-26, 2026

Word of South

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 […]

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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 […]

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Allison Russell

Allison Russell is an artist, activist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of extraordinary power, talent and grace. A founding member of the acclaimed groups Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Amythyst Kiah), and Birds of Chicago (with her husband/musical partner JT Nero), the Montreal native has begun to emerge as a potent force among […]

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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. […]

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Ronni Lundy

Ronni Lundy, the award-winning author of Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes (Clarkson Potter, 2016), has been writing about the food, music and culture of the southern Appalachians and the American South for more than 30 years. Born in Corbin, Kentucky and raised in Louisville with strong ties to the mountains, she often writes from the perspective and […]

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