Key West Songwriters Fest Stars Top American Music Makers

KEY WEST, Fla. (CBSMiami/FKNB) – The Key West Songwriters Festival wraps up Sunday night after treating music lovers to well over 50 shows featuring some 175 chart-topping hit-makers, talented newcomers and other performing songwriters.

Several thousand people gathered on Key West's Duval Street Saturday for a "main stage" concert headlined by recording artist Riley Green, renowned for his musical storytelling and songs including the platinum-selling "I Wish Grandpas Never Died."

Recording artist Riley Green, right, plays before thousands of county music fans gathered on Duval Street in Key West, Fla., Saturday, May 7, 2022, during the Key West Songwriters Festival's "main stage" concert. Green is known for his musical storytelling and songs including the platinum-selling "I Wish Grandpas Never Died." The five-day fest wraps up Sunday, May 8, after treating music lovers to 50-plus shows featuring some 175 chart-topping hit-makers, talented newcomers and other performing songwriters. (Rob O'Neal/ Florida Keys News Bureau)

The event's other "main stage" performers were Shelby Darrall, whose recent singles include the emotional "Lied To Too" and Payton Smith, whose musical mastery infuses such tunes as "Like I Knew You Would."

Now in its 26th year, the Key West festival has become an annual tradition for a large group of leading country and pop songwriters and musicians. Audiences savored everything from powerhouse country rock and blues to Americana during the event's five days of concerts and jam sessions.

Performers shared the spotlight in island settings including waterfront hotspots, an excursion catamaran at sunset, restaurants and boutique theaters, and Key West's Coffee Butler Amphitheater, site of a show by multiplatinum entertainer Chris Young.

Presented in part by international performing rights organization BMI, the festival features day and evening events Sunday including a musical Mother's Day brunch.

(©2022 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.)

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