Word of South, a festival celebrating literature and music, returns to Cascades Park in Tallahassee, Florida for its second year on Friday. Founded by novelist Mark Mustian in 2015, the festival “pair[s] books with music—authors who have written about music, musicians who have written books and everything in between.”
The festival is unique in that, in addition to boasting an eclectic lineup of artists hailing from diverse genres, it features joint appearances of musicians and authors. “The results [in 2015] were without exception so fabulous we decided to keep going and do it again,” Mustian writes in an email to Paste. “I couldn’t tell you exactly what any of them are going to do.”
Paste favorites Lauren Groff (Fates and Furies), Dawes and Rick Moody (Hotels of North America) are scheduled to perform this year, along with dozens more artists. Word of South also includes programming for children, from a “Story Fort” for young kids to a “Rockin’ Reading Arena” for middle-grade attendees.
The festival is free to the public, with the exception of two ticketed events: a Dawes concert on April 8th and a Jason Isbell concert on April 9th. You can visit the Word of South website for more information.