Word of South announces full lineup for 2023 literature and music festival

In the mood for a little New Orleans funk music? Seek out The Rumble, a Crescent City band that features a singer who sports a brightly feathered Mardi Gras Indian outfit.

How about a lineup of gospel groups? Don’t miss the Dedicated Men of Zion on the same spirited bill as Faith & Harmony.

Or maybe some live jazz featuring a female vocalist is more like it? Wait until the aptly named Helen Sung takes the stage.

The varied and eclectic lineup for the eighth annual Word of South music and literature festival this spring in Cascades Park was officially announced Thursday evening. A reveal party was held in The AC Hotel by Marriott overlooking the park.

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Some of this year’s highlights include Pulitzer Prize author-historian Jon Meacham, Grammy Award-winning blues legend Bobby Rush discussing his memoir and the return of storytelling musician Minton Sparks.

“A common refrain (from festival attendees) is, ‘Well, I came to see a particular act, but I stumbled on several more that I fell in love with,’” Word of South founder, attorney and fiction writer Mark Mustian said. “Where else can you experience gospel, jazz, hip hop and national authors in one afternoon, for free? We like to keep it different and push the envelope just a bit.”

Ben Folds kicks it off

The only ticketed show this year is the kickoff concert that features The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra with guest artist Ben Folds (“Brick,” “Still Fighting It”) on piano at the Adderley Amphitheater in the park on April 21.

“Most reserved seats (for Folds with the TSO) are gone but there are general admission seats still available,” Mustian said.

General admission tickets are $27 at capitalcityamphitheater.com

The bulk of Word of South runs April 22-23, a Saturday and Sunday later in the month than normal. Word of South didn’t want to distract from Easter Sunday on April 9 or LeMoyne’s Chain of Parks Arts Festival, an annual visual-arts gathering which is slated for April 15-16 this year.

One recent addition to Word of South is the completion and use of the Marriot, which made its debut as part of the festival in 2022. The hotel’s indoor, air-conditioned, ballroom stage proved ideal for live jazz last year. Expect more this year.

Women in jazz

“We are doing a ‘Tribute to the Women in Jazz’ on Sunday afternoon, organized by Tallahassee’s own Scotty Barnhart (director of The Count Basie Orchestra) featuring women from across the country,” Mustian said. The singers include Carmen Bradford, Sylvia Cuenca, Lauren Sevian and the above-mentioned Sung.

Bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer (“Annihilation”), a Tallahassee writer who has made frequent appearances at Word of South, is teaming up with fellow wordsmith Brian Evenson on Sunday.

“My conversation with Brian Evenson will showcase his way of using the Kafkaesque to create stunning fiction about our relationship to the world, to the nonhuman, and the uncanny,” VanderMeer said. “He’s adept at creating landscapes that are uncanny, or a little off, to comment on the absurdity of life. He’s also deeply humorous in a sideways manner.”

Mining Florida humor

Florida-centric journalist Craig Pittman and Pensacola-based political cartoonist Andy Marlette are teaming up for what promises to be a lively conversation about the USA’s most peculiar peninsula. They are booked for Saturday at Word of South.

“We’ve been trying to get Andy for several years and he and Craig are friends,” Mustian said. “They will be on our Flamingo Magazine stage, which features Florida-based musicians and authors all weekend.”

A Flamingo Magazine newsletter recently named Pittman as one of the funniest Floridians along with humorist Dave Berry and Tallahassee commentator Diane Roberts.

What's on the must-see list?

One of this year’s musicians that Mustian put on the must-see list is Tommy Prine, 27, an Americana singer who is the son of the late songwriting master John Prine. The younger Prine recently released a debut album.

“I asked (New Orleans writer) Tom Piazza, one of our authors this year, if he’d seen anyone that he thought we should get before they got too big and expensive and his first thought was Tommy,” Mustian said. “He said he saw him last year and was blown away.”

Singer Allison Russell had to cancel her appearance at last year’s fest after she injured her vocal cords. She is scheduled to return this year for a make-up concert on Saturday, April 22, at the Adderley Amphitheater.

“If you’ve never heard her, she a wonderful singer who was part of the Our Native Daughters group with Rhiannon Giddens and Amythyst Kiah,” Mustian said. “Amythyst will be appearing at Word of South on Sunday.”

Festival a 'local treasure'

The inspiration for Word of South hit Mustian when he traveled to other cities and book fairs during promotion for his novel “The Gendarme,” which was published in late 2010. The first Word of South was held in Cascades in 2015. Mustian used $100,000 of deferred compensation foisted on him by the city commission during his time as a city commissioner to start the free festival.

“I think it’s pretty great we’ve got an established festival in Word of South that’s so unique and gives the people of Tallahassee something so dynamic as both literature and music - in a divine setting,” VanderMeer said. “Truly a local treasure that’s on the national map.”

Past visitors to Word of South have include Rickie Lee Jones, Suzanne Vega, George Clinton, Jason Isbell, Leonard Pitts Jr., The Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Avett Brothers, Sheila E., The Marcus Roberts Trio, Steve Forbert, Janisse Ray, Jim White, Rita Coolidge, Nat Adderley Jr., Robert Olen Butler, Barbra Hamby, David Kirby, Ann Patchett and Kai Bird, who co-wrote the book that’s being turned into the Christopher Nolan movie “Oppenheimer” this summer.

“The 2023 festival is shaping up to be one of our absolute best,” Mustian said.

For a complete list of this year’s talent, dates and times, visit wordofsouthfestival.com.

Mark Hinson is a former senior writer for The Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at mark.hinson59@gmail.com.

If you go

What: Word of South: A Festival of Literature and Music

When: April 21-23

Where: Cascades Park, 1001 S. Gadsden St.

Details: wordofsouthfestival.com/

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Word of South announces artists for 2023 music and literature festival