Veterans Day Songwriters Show in Orange Beach Pairs Nashville Hit Writers With Songs Born From Military Service

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — The Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival will mark Veterans Day with a special Orange Beach concert on Wednesday, Nov. 11, pairing two acclaimed Nashville songwriters with songs written alongside military veterans through the nonprofit SongwritingWith: Soldiers.

The Veterans Day songwriters show will be held at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach, 26389 Canal Road. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the music begins at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $15, seating is limited, and advance tickets are available through the Coastal Arts Center.

Hit songwriters Mark Nesler and Will Kimbrough will headline the evening, and organizers say surprise guests will join them on stage. Along with performing their own award-winning songs, the artists will share music created in collaboration with veterans, offering the audience a look at how a song can help a service member put a hard-to-describe experience into words.

Show at a glance

• What: Veterans Day performance presented as part of the Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival
• Who: Nashville songwriters Mark Nesler and Will Kimbrough, plus surprise guests
• When: Wednesday, Nov. 11; doors open at 5:30 p.m., show at 6 p.m.
• Where: Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach, 26389 Canal Road
• Tickets: $15, available in advance through the Coastal Arts Center; seating is limited
• Presented by: Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach, with sponsorship from the Flora-Bama, the city of Orange Beach and Friends of the Arts

Songs written with those who served

At the heart of the evening is SongwritingWith: Soldiers, a nonprofit program that pairs professional songwriters with military veterans and their families. In small, collaborative sessions, the writers listen to a service member’s story and help shape it into a song. The goal is not polished entertainment for its own sake but a way for veterans to process what they experienced in uniform and in the transition back home.

The program was co-founded by Texas singer-songwriter Darden Smith with Mary Judd and was established as a separate nonprofit in the early 2010s. Since then, it has brought together professional writers and military families across the country, and the songs that come out of those sessions often carry deep personal meaning for the people whose stories they tell.

For a Veterans Day audience, hearing those songs performed live can be a powerful experience. Many describe moments of service, loss, brotherhood and homecoming that veterans may have struggled to talk about, set to melodies crafted by some of the industry’s most experienced writers.

Meet the headliners

Mark Nesler is a Texas-born songwriter whose work has been recorded by some of country music’s biggest stars. He wrote Tim McGraw’s “Just to See You Smile,” which spent six weeks at No. 1 and was ranked by Billboard as the top country single of 1998. His credits also include Keith Urban’s chart-topping “You Look Good in My Shirt,” Josh Turner’s “Time Is Love,” George Strait’s No. 1 “Living and Living Well,” Billy Currington’s “Let Me Down Easy” and several singles for Tracy Byrd, including “Heaven in My Woman’s Eyes.” Nesler also recorded as an artist, releasing the album “I’m Just That Way” in 1998.

Will Kimbrough brings a hometown connection to the show. Born in Mobile and raised on the Alabama Gulf Coast, the Nashville-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer first drew attention in the 1980s with the college band Will and the Bushmen. He later played in groups including Daddy and Willie Sugarcapps, the latter a collaboration formed in 2013 with other South Alabama singer-songwriters. Kimbrough’s songs have been recorded by artists including Jimmy Buffett and Little Feat, he has produced records for Todd Snider and Rodney Crowell, among others, and he was named Instrumentalist of the Year by the Americana Music Association in 2004.

Together, the two represent different corners of the songwriting world, from mainstream country radio to roots-driven Americana, which makes for the kind of contrast that often defines the best songwriter rounds.

Part of a Gulf Coast tradition

The Veterans Day concert is one of the many shows tied to the Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival, now in its 42nd year. This year’s festival runs Nov. 5-15 and brings more than 200 songwriters, from Grammy winners to emerging writers, to venues across the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast, with most shows in the festival’s second week at its longtime headquarters, the Flora-Bama, on the state line between Orange Beach and Perdido Key.

The festival is named for Frank Brown, the Flora-Bama’s longtime night watchman, who worked at the landmark bar for 28 years and died in 1988. It was created by the late Flora-Bama owner Joe Gilchrist to honor Brown and to celebrate the songwriters whose names often go unrecognized by listeners who know their songs by heart.

The festival’s shows give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. Instead of a full band running through a set, songwriters typically sit side by side in what is known as a songwriter round, taking turns playing their own songs, often with just a guitar or piano, and explaining the stories and inspirations behind them. Fans frequently discover that a hit they have heard for years on the radio was written by the person sitting a few feet away.

Each November, the festival draws performers and music fans from across the country to the Gulf Coast, making it one of the region’s most prominent annual music events. Proceeds, together with sponsorships and donations, also support the Frank Brown Foundation for Music, which helps fund scholarships and music education programs.

Why Nov. 11

Veterans Day is observed each year on Nov. 11, the anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting in World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Originally known as Armistice Day, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor Americans who served in all of the nation’s wars.

Baldwin County and the broader Gulf Coast are home to a large community of veterans and military families, and Veterans Day typically brings parades, ceremonies and tributes across the area. A concert built around songs written with veterans offers a different way to mark the day, one that centers the voices and stories of service members themselves.

Planning to attend

Because seating at the Coastal Arts Center is limited and the show falls in the middle of the busy festival schedule, organizers encourage music fans to buy tickets in advance through the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach. Arriving when doors open at 5:30 p.m. is a good idea for those hoping to settle in before the music starts.

A few tips for the evening:

• Buy tickets early, since the $15 seats are limited.
• Plan to arrive at 5:30 p.m. when doors open; the show starts at 6 p.m.
• Expect a listening-room atmosphere. Songwriter shows depend on a quiet audience, so conversation during songs is discouraged.
• Check the full Frank Brown festival schedule at frankbrownsongwriters.com or by calling 850-492-7664 to plan other shows during the Nov. 5-15 festival.

The Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach is presenting the event, with support from the Flora-Bama, the city of Orange Beach and Friends of the Arts. For veterans, their families and anyone who appreciates the craft behind a great song, the Nov. 11 show promises an evening of music with a purpose.

Veterans who are struggling, and those who care about them, can reach the Veterans Crisis Line at any time by dialing 988 and pressing 1, or by texting 838255.