Blast on the Bay comes back for it’s 14th annual songwriter festival

GULF COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB )- The Blast on the Bay returns to Port St. Joe for its 14th year.

More than 40 musicians and songwriters will perform across 7 venues this weekend.

A longtime songwriter and performer for the festival, Jerry Salley, says this festival introduces attendees to the people who are behind the scenes, writing hit songs.

“There are obviously some great singer-songwriters that are artists that write their own songs, but for the large majority of hits out there, they were written by a songwriter who is not a performer. So this gives us a chance to perform in front of crowds and it educates them on who wrote the songs it’s kind of learning who the faces are behind the hits,” Salley said.

Organizers of the event say the what sets the festival apart from others in the area is the level of intimacy attendees get with the songwriters.

“I have sung some friends in low places with Earl Badly who wrote the song and had more fun just sitting there just thinking, wow, this is such an experience… and we had dozens of other people around us too, just chilling. I’ve never had that level of an intimate experience at a 30A festival. I’ve been to a bunch of them, it’s a great festival. Just this one’s intimate,” said David Warriner, owner of The Port Inn and Cottages.

The event kicked off Thursday night with a VIP dinner and show at the WindMark. You can find the list of shows for the weekend here .

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