When & Where

The 2026 Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival takes place October 1–11, with the festival split between two areas:

October 1–4: Downtown Pensacola

October 8–11: Pensacola Beach

The first weekend brings performances to downtown venues including The District, The Fish House, Lucy’s in the Square, and Calvert’s in the Heights. The second weekend moves to Pensacola Beach, with announced venues including Flounder’s Chowder House, Salty Rose at The Pensacola Beach Resort, The Landing at Red Fish Blue Fish, Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach, and Hilton Pensacola Beach.

For additional venue information, tickets, performance schedules, and the latest festival updates, visit the official Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival website.

What to expect

The Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival isn’t just about hearing live music. It’s an opportunity to meet the writers behind familiar songs, hear the stories and inspiration that shaped them, and discover artists whose names may not be as familiar as the songs they’ve written.

More than 150 songwriters are expected to participate across multiple venues, ranging from Grammy Award winners and multi-platinum writers to rising national artists and local favorites. Performances take place in smaller venues throughout downtown and Pensacola Beach, creating an intimate setting where the stories behind the lyrics are part of the show.

Where to stay on pensacola beach

Planning to make a weekend out of the Pensacola Beach portion of the festival? Several Pensacola Beach hotels are offering special rates or room blocks for festival guests, making it easy to stay close to the second weekend’s performances.

Hilton Pensacola Beach

A festival room block is available for October 9–11. Rates start at $219 for two queen beds, $249 for a king deluxe view room, and $289 for a two-queen junior suite with a Gulf view. Guests needing dates outside the room block can contact Group Reservations and mention discount code 924.

Hampton Pensacola Beach

Festival rates are available for October 8–11, starting at $169 for inland-view king or two-queen rooms and $199 for Gulf-view king or two-queen rooms with balconies.

Surf & Sand Hotel

Special festival rates are $89 Sunday through Thursday and $129 Friday and Saturday.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Pensacola Beach

A special group rate of $199 per night is available for the festival, with the room block covering October 1–12. The last day to book the group rate is September 7, 2026.

Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach

Rooms are currently blocked at a $249 festival rate. Guests can use the festival booking link or call the hotel and mention group code SFR to reserve at the group rate.