By Thomas Beach Vacations Staff
August 4, 2026 | Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Selected from more than 300 submissions, the lineup includes a former Hank Williams Jr. bandleader whose songs have been recorded by Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney, a Grand Ole Opry performer, and Carolina beach music award winners — with free admission and proceeds feeding Horry County children.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Fifty songwriters representing 37 states will perform at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival on November 13–14, 2026, filling seven walkable venues in downtown Myrtle Beach with original music spanning country, blues, beach music, jazz, and other genres, festival organizers announced.
General admission to the two-day event is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets and sponsorships available. Proceeds from the 2026 festival will benefit Backpack Buddies, a Horry County charity that delivers nearly 3,000 food packs to local children each week.
The festival is hosted by the Songs That Save Foundation, a nonprofit founded by local songwriter and touring musician Melissa Joiner and organized around three pillars — hunger, hope, and health. The event marks the foundation’s first major community outreach, and Joiner has said she believes it will change how people perceive the Myrtle Beach music scene and establish the area as a destination for original music.
Lineup Drawn From More Than 300 Submissions
Organizers selected the fifty showcased artists from more than 300 entries submitted by songwriters across the East Coast, Canada, and Los Angeles, with a selection board emphasizing diversity of musical styles over any single genre. The field includes Myrtle Beach-area artists alongside performers from states including California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky.
Among the most established names is Bo Roberts of Perdido Key, Florida, a former lead guitarist and bandleader for Hank Williams Jr. whose songs have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, and Jamey Johnson, among others. Trey Calloway of Cornelius, North Carolina — who also keeps a home in Myrtle Beach — has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville’s Bluebird Café, and the Carolina Country Music Fest, and holds the Texas Country Music Association’s Songwriter of the Year title along with Josie Music Awards for Song of the Year and Social Impact Music Video of the Year.
Local representation includes the duo of Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson, recipients of 27 Carolina Beach Music Awards and 34 No. 1 beach radio hits. The lineup also features Florida singer-songwriter Frankie Raye and Allison Strong of Union City, New Jersey, a Kerrville New Folk Festival finalist and New Jersey State Council on the Arts Music Fellow. Joiner has emphasized that the festival is designed to include songwriters at every experience level, giving emerging writers the chance to learn from and network with established artists, and two open mic events during the festival will give unselected songwriters an opportunity to perform.
Seven Walkable Downtown Venues, Kids Corner, and Midnight Finale
Performances will take place at seven downtown venues within walking distance of one another: Grand Strand Brewing Company’s indoor and outdoor stages, Fresh Brewed Coffee House, Winna’s Kitchen, The Tasting Room on 9th, The Dolly Llama, and First Methodist Church of Myrtle Beach, which will host a Kids Corner from 2 to 5 p.m. featuring instruments, teachers, and opportunities for children to learn to play and write their own songs.
The weekend concludes with a grand finale showcase from 9 p.m. to midnight on Grand Strand Brewing Company’s outdoor stage, featuring a full band and festival artists performing together.
Ahead of November, two Road to the Festival Showcase events will preview local artists from the lineup. Six songwriters will perform August 22 at Local Eat Drink and Celebrate in Pawleys Island, and six more will perform September 19 at Landshark Bar and Grill at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach, near the Ocean Drive district. Both showcases run from 5 to 8 p.m.
Festival Lands in the Grand Strand’s Quiet Season
The mid-November dates place the festival in one of the Grand Strand’s calmest stretches of the year, when summer crowds have gone and rental rates across North Myrtle Beach’s four sections — Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill — reach some of their friendliest levels. The downtown festival district sits roughly 15 to 20 minutes from North Myrtle Beach, where oceanfront homes and oceanfront condos offer a home base for visitors building a fall beach weekend around the event.
The full schedule, venue details, artist bios, and volunteer signup are available at myrtlebeachsongwritersfestival.com. A complete trip-planning guide to the festival is available from Thomas Beach Vacations at northmyrtlebeachvacations.com/myrtle-beach-songwriters-festival, or by calling (843) 273-3001.