Ozone Songwriter Festival on the Northshore

Ozone Songwriter Festival

Great Music, Good Times, Free to Attend!

The 1st Annual Ozone Songwriter Festival, on October 20th and 21st, 2018 Mandeville, LA is a free event, open to the public, featuring local, regional, and national songwriters of all styles.

You'll see and hear songwriters perform their original songs in Country, Folk, Rock, Pop, Afro-Caribbean ... and everything in-between.

Best of all, it's FREE to attend!

Taking place on four stages over two days, this is a first of it's kind event happening in beautiful, historic, old Mandeville, LA...just a short hop from New Orleans.

100+ songwriters from six states are slated to appear, everything from skilled amateurs to #1, chart topping Nashville songwriters who will play their own hit songs that you will recognize. (Maybe you thought Tim McGraw or Keith Urban wrote them!)

All proceeds from the festival go to support the Ozone Music Education Foundation, a public charity, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Click on the button to get more information about the festival.

Schedule

The songwriter festival takes place over two days—Saturday, October 20th, and Sunday, October 21st, 2018—and on four stages at the City of Mandeville Trailhead area.

Make sure your sign up for updates because this information is subject to change.

Click on the schedule to open a full page PDF file

The Ozone Songwriter Festival will offer dozens of songwriters, including:

Chart-topping songwriters who are at the top of their professional game, such as Nashville’s Greg Barnhill and Chas Sandford, and New Orleans’ Jim McCormick;
Locally recognized songwriters, including names such as Northshore favorite Christian Serpas; Brian Jones and Amanda Jones of Wayward Jones; or songwriter circle and open mic regulars such as Tommy Ike Hailey;
Excellent singer-songwriters who have great songs & talent but struggle to find live music venue opportunities;
And in a special segment of our festival, extremely talented local children who will have the opportunity to show off their budding songwriting chops.

The full lineup will be released as the schedule of performance times is completed -- check back here soon, where time and stage information will appear.

Stay up to date with the festival schedule.

Lineup

You can scroll below for the full schedule of performers, but before that, we’d like to tell you about just a few notable singer-songwriters who will appear at the festival.

Greg Barnhill

Greg is an Emmy-winning, multiple Grammy-nominated songwriter whose music has been recorded by top performers including Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Leona Lewis, and many more. Greg’s best-known song -- and there’s almost no way you’re not familiar with it -- is the wildly successful “Walkaway Joe,” recorded by Tricia Yearwood and Don Henley.
Chas Sandford

Artist, songwriter, producer, engineer and guitarist Chas Sandford is known for his multi-platinum hits recorded by the likes of John Waite, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Brooks and Dunn, Alison Krauss, Chicago and Stevie Nicks. Perhaps his most memorable song was the wildly popular chart-topping hit "Missing You," recorded by John Waite.
Paul Childers

Nashville-based Paul Childers is a young up-and-coming songwriter who has already seen success. His debut album, “Naked Poetry,” hit the #27 slot as best-selling pop album on the global charts during its first week in release. He’s performed his pop, R&B and soul at prestigious venues including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songbirds Guitar Museum, where he opened for Vince Gill.
Kaylin Roberson

Kaylin has written and recorded over 50 inspiring songs and videos with her most recent being, "Mistakes", about a young girl's mistakes while learning the art of relationships at a young age. She has also won local and national awards testifying her ability to sing, write, and connect with others through her music.
Jim McCormick

One of New Orleans’ premier songwriters, Jim McCormick can claim two #1 hits that topped the Billboard country charts: Jason Aldean’s “Take a Little Ride,” and Brantley Gilbert’s “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do.” Jim’s songs have been recorded by a big roster of notable performers, including Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr., Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Trace Adkins, Smash Mouth, Randy Travis, Ronnie Milsap, and many more.
Dixie Jade

When songwriting duo Dixie Jade comes together, two genres come together as well: classic country and vintage soul. Based in Nashville, Andrea and Dominique have written hundreds of songs together and have had one of their performance videos go viral on Facebook, with over 5.6 million views. They’ve played countless shows in Nashville, performed on the Spotlight Stage at the CMA Fest, and placed 2nd in the national competition, “American Country Star.”
Lynn Drury

Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi and reared in Pearl River County, Lynn relocated to New Orleans in the mid-1990s, where she’s performed her unique style of roots rock on “most stages in the city” and in places all over the world. Lynn is a prolific songwriter whose work has earned her multiple nominations from various New Orleans-based publications. Writer for Offbeat magazine, John Swenson, described her 2017 release “Rise of the Fall” as “another breakthrough” in songwriting.

Confirmed Festival Performers

This is an alphabetical list of performers scheduled and confirmed for the festival. Check back often because we're still finalizing a few things.

Alex McMurray
Ameal
Amelia Ryland
Barry Chauvin
Barry Hebert
Bayou Bullets: Unholstered
Ben Hunter
Bill & Vicki
Bill Romano
Billy Dawson
Billy Ray and Lora
Bon Bon Vivant
Brett Petry
Brett Weller
Brigitte London
Brother Chris
Bryan Livaudais
Buzz Jackson
Chaislyn Jane
Chas Sandford
Ched Reeves
Christian Serpas
Christina Christian
Christine Wells and Paul Rolinski
Claude Hitt
Cliff Anders
Crystal Eldringhoff
Darrell Galatas
Darrell Havard
Darren Camp
David Gautreau
David Lear
Dean Ferrell
Dixie Jade
Donna Slater
Double Dee (Dana Nelson)
Drew Stevyns
Emily Marin
Everett Bonner
Fr. Ron
Gabriel Broussard
Grace Russell
Greg Barnhill
Hannah Belle
HG Breland
Jake Greene
Jason Bishop
Jayce Hein
JB Smith
JD Brown
Jim McCormick
Jim Oertling
Joanna Cotten
Joanna Tomassoni

Joe Savoie
Joe Sims
John West
Kaycee Kersch
Kaylin Roberson
Keith Anselmo
Kenny Triche
Kevin Hale
Laine Hardy
Lance Dubroc
Lotus In Stereo
Luke Fisher
Lynn Drury
Madison Banta
Margie Perez
Mary Vigueira
Michael Blache
Michael Aaron
Michael Epstein
Michaela Grace
Nancy Broussard
Nancy Bryant Roppolo
Nick Biebricher
norb
Pal Owen
Pam Grisham
Party of Two
Paul Childers
Paul Wilson
Peyton Smith
R.T. Hall
Ralph Goodson
Randy Hebert
Remedy
Rod John Vedros
Rory Collins
Ryan Hebert
Sean Gasaway
Shawn Williams
Steve Arceneaux
Steve Judice
Summerlyn Powers
Taylor Craven
Taylor Mroski
The Junior League
The Quiet Game
Tommy Ike Hailey
Tommy MacLuckie
Tony Cobb
Tony Eller
Trey Rowell
Vaughn Goudeau
Wayward Jones
Willem McCormick

Click on the button to get updates on the lineup.

About the Festival

The Ozone Songwriter Festival is the brainchild of a group of friends who wanted to give performance access to the many singer-songwriters who pour their hearts out in writing music, but often find themselves with limited performance venues aside from cafes or open mic nights.

It is also backed by a solid purpose, as the festival is coordinated the nonprofit Ozone Music Education Foundation. All proceeds will be used to educate young people on songwriting and self-expression through music, and help them learn ways to make in-roads to possible future careers in the music business.

The foundation is headed by board of directors president and native of Slidell, Louisiana, Greg Barnhill. Now living and working in Nashville, Barnhill still loves his native region and returns often to perform in southeast Louisiana, mentor local schoolchildren, and lead decision-making for the foundation and its festival.

Greg is an Emmy-winning, multiple Grammy-nominated songwriter whose music has been recorded by top performers including Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Leona Lewis, and many more. Greg’s best-known song -- and there’s almost no way you’re not familiar with it -- is the wildly successful “Walkaway Joe,” recorded by Tricia Yearwood and Don Henley.

In the past year, Greg has conducted workshops with local music students from Fontainbleau High School and Mandeville High School. He's provided mentorship, inspiration, and songwriting and music business tips. It's just the beginning of what the Ozone Music Foundation hopes to provide children. The next step is to expand that outreach with more programs, and begin doing things such as providing musical instruments to underprivileged kids. But the only way we can fund this is if you show your support by coming out to the fest on October 20 and 21, where we're sure you'll enjoy yourself!

In October, Greg will bring fellow singer-songwriters down from Nashville with him, and they’ll perform along with dozens of local favorites you probably recognize from the local and regional live music circuit.