Hog’s Breath’s 11th Annual Key West Songwriters’ Festival

Yesterday, the Hog’s Breath’s 11th annual Key West Songwriters’ Festival kicked off a five-day event that has moved more than 60 of Nashville’s most successful songwriters out of their writing and recording studios and left them loose to wander the sun-drenched streets of Key West.

Cowboy hats and boots have been temporarily exchanged for suntan location and flip-flops, as the songwriters prowl our island in search of the more than 15 venues where they are to perform.

The two shows at the Hog’s Breath’s Writers’ Room, on Friday and Saturday night have been sold out for weeks, but there is no shortage of free shows. Two sunset sails on the Fury even take the festival onto the water.

New this year, the Casa Marina’s Sun Sun Bar will host an afternoon show on Saturday and the demand has been so great for the songwriters that there will be a show at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Tropic Cinema.

Each show offers listeners a unique glimpse into the stories behind the songs and the minds that created them, thrusting the often-unsung heroes of the hits into a well-deserved spotlight.

Scotty Emerick, a Vero Beach native, moved to Nashville in 1993 and today is held in high regard by top recording artists like Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack, and Toby Keith and has five number one hits to his credit.

“I’ve been to the songwriters’ festival for three years in a row,” Emerick said from Nashville last week during a phone interview. “Last year I missed it because I was on a USO tour in Iraq.”

Emerick is no stranger to Key West and the Hog’s Breath Saloon.

“I’ve also been here twice while Toby Keith was recording,” he said. “We somehow end up late night at the Hog and do a short unannounced set on the stage. It’s great!”

Other places Emerick hangs out while on the island are the Half Shell Raw Bar and B.O’s Fish Wagon.
When asked if there might be a Key West themed song in the future, he laughed.

“One of the nice things about this festival is, it gives me a chance to socialize with a bunch of friends from Nashville,” he said. “We all live there (Nashville), but we’re all busy. In Key West we sit by the pool and, you know what, we may just end up writing a song about Key West.”

Jeffrey Steele, another songwriter with a list of hits too long to mention, is back this year and thinks Key West is the place to get inspired.

“We come to Key West to chill,” he said from Nashville, “but I can see a song in the making. Chuck Cannon will be there and we’ve written a song together when we were down there before, so maybe we’ll do it again.”
Steele agrees with Emerick, things are just too busy for songwriters in Nashville and this festival gives them a chance to see friends in a more casual and relaxing atmosphere.

Texan Amber Leigh White and husband Phillip are also songwriters and have enjoyed past songwriter festivals and she even did a week-long gig last year with her band, Texabama, at the Hog.

“Phillip and I wrote a song, “I’m Still There,” about being somewhere else, and thinking of what a good time we had in Key West. That’s our Key West song,” she said last week.

She also wants to share Cuban food from El Siboney with Phillip.

“James Slater took me to El Siboney for the first time,” she said. “Since then a lot of songwriters come to town and go there because we recommend it. Of course, the people we’ve made friends with in Key West are exceptional too and we look forward to seeing them all again.”

Slater laughed when he was told of Amber’s quote. “But she’s right, we love the restaurant and the friends we’ve made in Key West.”

Slater credits restaurateur Amy Culver-Aversa for his song about Key West.

“I was out with Amy and some friends one night and she said something about the people hanging around like monkeys from the rafters,” Slater recalled recently. “I’m too busy to write while I’m there, but I take a lot of notes and work on songs back home in Nashville. That’s what I did with her comment.”

This is Slater’s third year attending the festival and he promises to perform his Key West song, if someone asks for it.

“My motto for Key West is, ‘Amor y vivir,’ to love and to live,” he said.

Slater’s “In My Daughter’s Eyes” was a Grammy Award nominee last year.

“I love coming to Key West,” he said. “I miss Peggy and Johnny at the Mango Tree Inn, I miss Amy and all the friends I’ve made. It is a great town for a songwriter to perform. People want to hear original music and we get great feed back from the crowd.”

BMI’s Mark Mason, when asked about this year’s festival, said, “We’ve had divorces, babies and just about everything else in between, but this year will be our first wedding. Everyone will be there to celebrate.”

Songwriter D. Vincent Williams will be marrying songwriter Melinda Duncan before the festival is over, making the event a special celebration to the bride and groom.

“I make more relationships that one week than any other week of the whole year,” Williams said. “It throws us out of our element and everyone can relax. My fiancée and I are getting married in Key West during the festival. We figured what better place to get married? Key West is perfection.”

Down Under’s favorite daughter, songwriter Kylie Sackley, a veteran at the festival and of the Hog’s outdoor stage, is excited about her visit this week.

“A lot of us are just excited to be able to play to enthusiastic audiences,” she said. “I love catching up with the locals in Paradise. I use it as a time of reflection and relaxation, and inspiration builds up there for my writing.”

For more information on the festival and venues, go to www.hogsbreath.com or www.kwswf.com.

Click here to view the Festival pictures and portfolio from 2004.