Submitted report
For a second straight year, the historic district of Dripping Springs will play host to the annual Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival.
The festival, which features a variety of singer/songwriter showcases, will be held October 16-18 along Mercer Street.
Event stages will be located at The Barber Shop Bar, Mercer Street Dance Hall, Mazama Coffee Company, the Mercantile, The Sidecar Tasting Room and Hudson’s on Mercer. Daily performances will run continuously and will be free to the public. All events will be situated within walking distance.
The event will feature more than 25 shows per day, highlighted by a list of local, national and international songwriting talent. Groups from as far away as Australia and Ireland will play “in-the-round,” Nashville-style, at six intimate venues. Audiences will be treated to a wide variety of songs and the people and stories behind them.
Capping off the day will be headliner showcases that feature Grammy-nominated songwriters at the main stage at the Mercer Street Dance Hall.
Headlining the stage on Oct. 17 will be JD Souther, while the showcase on Oct. 16 will feature Scotty Emerick, Allen Shamblin and Pam Rose.
Supporting acts for this year’s headliner showcases are Austin-area singer Drew Womack, who performs on Oct. 16, and twice Grammy-nominated Eliza Gilkyson, who takes the stage on Oct. 17. Showtimes for the headliner showcases start at 8 p.m.
Festival organizers Jim and Laurie Halfpenny and Dave Niemeyer are promising another exciting event in 2015.
“This festival is really starting to take off,” organizer Jim Halfpenny said in a statement. “We think it’s a refreshing change from the typical ‘Austin-palooza-music-fest’ that everyone’s familiar with.”
Halfpenny added the festival offers people the “up-close-and-personal” chance to watch and listen to an array of artists.
“ You might not know their names or faces, but we guarantee you’ll know their songs,” Halfpenny said.
For more information on the festival or to purchase tickets to the evening headliner showcases, visit www.drippingspringssongwritersfestival.com.
