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April 24-26, 2026
Mark Mustian is the author of the novels The Return and The Gendarme, the latter a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing. It won the Florida Gold Book Award for Fiction and has been published in ten languages. The founder and president of Word […]
Maddy Walsh & The Blind Spots, a tenured, original, five-piece moxy rock band steered by magnetic songstress and force of nature Maddy Walsh, celebrated its fifteen-year “bandiversary” with a sizzling east coast tour. Their recently released fourth studio album, Talk, showcases a matured grasp of songwriting, paired, as always, with the band’s signature electrifying, high-energy performances characterized […]
Jacqueline Allen Trimble is a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, a Cave Canem Fellow, and a two-time Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellow. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The Offing, The Rumpus, Poet Lore, Salvation South and other journals, has been widely anthologized, most notably in This is the Honey: […]
Dr. Amanda (Mandy) Stringer has been CEO of the TSO since 2010. Under her leadership the TSO has greatly expanded its reach into the Tallahassee Community, and has achieved budget growth of 233% through increased annual fund donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants. Mandy is active in the industry’s national association—the League of American Orchestras (LAO)—and […]
Pat MacEnulty is the author of a historical novel series, crime novels, memoirs, a short story collection, children’s plays, and most recently, the historical coming-of-age novel, Cinnamon Girl (Livingston Press, Sept. 2023). She has a Ph.D. in English from the Florida State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida, where she […]
Daniel Bedrosian has been the keyboardist for George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic for the past twenty-plus years, making him the longest tenured keyboard player in the live band’s history. In addition to performing with Clinton and company, he has worked or performed with many musical icons such as Snoop Dogg, Chuck D and Flavor Flav, Ice […]
William Peterson is a Professor of Music in Jazz Studies and Music Theory/Composition at Florida State University, where he teaches jazz piano, jazz arranging and jazz combo. He holds the M.M. degree from the Eastman School of Music and the B.M. from the University of Cincinnati. He released “Singularity”, a duo recording on Centaur Records […]
On her new album Still + Bright, Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter Amythyst Kiah explores the vast expanse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, a near-mystical connection with the natural environment, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-described “anime-nerd mall goth,” and much more. Produced by Butch […]
Kaleb Thompkins is an emerging bassist from Tallahassee, Florida, whose musical journeybegan in his family’s church. His musical DNA is a fusion of jazz, R&B, funk, gospel, and hip-hop—each influenced by legends like B.B. King, James Brown, Donny Hathaway, Christian McBride, and Marvin Gaye. Currently pursuing a graduate degree in Jazz Performance at Florida State […]
Tallahassee native Steve Dollar is a contributing editor at Flamingo magazine and a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He is the artistic director of the Tallahassee Film Festival. Steve will be interviewing author and musician Willy Vlautin at the 2026 Word of South Festival. […]