Inaugural Morgan City songwriters festival starts Wednesday

Morgan City will showcase over 100 songwriters this week in an inaugural festival that organizers hope will help turn the area into a destination for songwriters across the country.

The Road to 3rd Street Songwriters Festival, Retreat and Conference will start Wednesday and continue through Sunday at multiple venues across Morgan City.

Hit songwriters, Last Honky Tonk Music Series artists, Outlaw Country legends and storytellers, along with featured writers from 11 different songwriting festivals in country, folk, Americana, blues, Cajun, zydeco and rock will play at the festival, according to the festival flier.

D.a.T. Sauce and the Last Honky Tonk Music Series are presenting the festival.

Festival organizers’ goal is to build “a music business community” in Morgan City, Festival Director Brigitte London said.

London, a singer-songwriter herself, moved to Morgan City from Nashville about two years ago, and she operates Last Honky Tonk Music Series out of the D.a.T. Sauce office in Morgan City.

London and Scott Green, owner of D.a.T. Sauce, started the series in memory of a mutual friend of theirs from Nashville.

D.a.T Sauce started sponsoring the Last Honky Tonk Music Series to be able to mix Green’s passion for music with his business. The series has grown to include over 90 venues in 36 states.

London came up with the name for the festival after attending the 3rd Street Songwriters Festival in Baton Rouge.

A Fais-Do-Do will kick off the festival from 5-10 p.m.Wednesday at Lake End Park. The festival includes a conference that directors of other songwriting festivals will attend at Lake End Park to start building that community, she said. On Thursday, Cliff Hillebran will play at 7:30 p.m. at the Lake End Park pavilion.

From noon-6 p.m. Saturday, there will be free musical performances at six different locations, including Acadiana Bar & Grill outdoor tent, El Toro Mexican Restaurant outdoor patio, Daiquiris & Co., Lawrence Park gazebo, The Galley, Legends Lounge at Clarion Hotel, and Bourbon’s.

Road to 3rd Street will include headlining performances by Billy Joe Shaver on Friday and Dean Dillon on Saturday. The headliner concerts, which will also feature other artists, go from 6-10:30 p.m. both days at Acadiana Bar & Grill and are the only ticketed events of the festival.

Shaver, an outlaw country legend, has written songs recorded by artists such as, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Allman Brothers, Waylon Jennings, John Anderson and Kris Kristofferson.

Dillon has penned over 60 songs that George Strait recorded, and is a Broadcast Music Inc. Icon Award winner.

London was able to book the two headliners because “they’re friends of the series,” she said.

There will also be retreats for about 30 visiting songwriters from across the country to look for inspiration in the area’s landscape.

“The community has just been so amazing,” London said of everyone in the area who’s helped organize and promote the festival.

Several radio stations are set to be in town for the festival, and festival organizers are offering discount cards to area businesses, London said.

London and Green plan to make the songwriters festival an annual event in Morgan City.

The festival will conclude Sunday with Last Honky Tonk Fest at Gros’ Marina on Four-Mile Bayou from noon-8 p.m. Sunday’s event is a fundraiser to help wounded soldiers.

To buy tickets for the headliner concerts or for more information on the festival, visit roadto3rdstreet.com. Anyone with questions may also email roadto3rdstreet@gmail.com.