{"id":21175,"date":"2026-04-23T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&#038;p=21175"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:41:17","slug":"word-of-south-returns-to-tallahassee-for-a-weekend-of-shows-and-readings","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/word-of-south-returns-to-tallahassee-for-a-weekend-of-shows-and-readings\/","title":{"rendered":"Word of South returns to Tallahassee for a weekend of shows and readings"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-21175-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/04\/so-260423-word-of-south-mp3.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/04\/so-260423-word-of-south-mp3.mp3\">https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2026\/04\/so-260423-word-of-south-mp3.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Word of South is a festival of literature and music. It blends writers and musicians for conversations and performances. We hear from some of the artists on <em>Speaking Of<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>The festival takes places in Cascades Park this weekend and also showcases artists in various venues around town.<\/p>\n<p>Headlining <a href=\"https:\/\/wordofsouthfestival.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Word of South 2026<\/a> is Earth, Wind &amp; Fire. The band has been a musical institution since 1969. The makeup of the group has gone through a lot of changes over the decades, but the music has remained a staple of America&#8217;s culture.<\/p>\n<p>Earth, Wind &amp; Fire is among the best-selling artists of all time, with fans buying more than 100 million albums worldwide. The group has nine Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They will play the<a href=\"https:\/\/theadderleyamphitheater.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Adderley Amphitheatre<\/a> Friday night. <\/p>\n<p>The next evening, The Currys will take the stage.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Word of South has been kind enough to allow The Currys to be a part of the festival basically since its inception in various forms,&#8221; says Galen Curry, a member of the indie rock band, which has roots in the Florida Panhandle. &#8220;It&#8217;s allowed us to hook up with cookbook authors and other musicians throughout the years, and it&#8217;s been a real pleasure being part of it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to dozens of musicians, plenty of authors will be featured <a href=\"https:\/\/wordofsouthfestival.com\/schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">at various venues<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Poet, fiction writer, and FSU professor Sandra Simonds will make an appearance with poet Barbara Hamby on Sunday at Amicus Brewing Ventures.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think of poetry as a genre that allows for a lot of experimentation and freedom,&#8221; says Simonds. &#8220;I also feel like it&#8217;s a great space for people to think through relationships, problems, issues that they might be having.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The festival&#8217;s youngest scheduled author is 12-year-old Ace Robertson, a Swift Creek Middle School 6th grader. He wrote <em>Battling Mr. Bossy<\/em> to help kids deal with anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Anxiety was a big thing for me, so I just thought anxiety was bad, so I just imagined that it was a mean thing in my brain,&#8221; says Robertson.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, Tom Flanigan holds a roundtable with authors about their writing process.<\/p>\n<p>Click LISTEN above to hear the full segment. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2026 WFSU<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[],"tags":[1137,1135],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Word of South returns to Tallahassee for a weekend of shows and readings - WFSU Local Routes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/word-of-south-returns-to-tallahassee-for-a-weekend-of-shows-and-readings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Word of South returns to Tallahassee for a weekend of shows and readings - WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The festival blends writers and musicians for conversations and performances. 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