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 Speaking Of.
The festival takes places in Cascades Park this weekend and also showcases artists in various venues around town.
Headlining Word of South 2026 is Earth, Wind & 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’s culture.
Earth, Wind & 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 Adderley Amphitheatre Friday night.
The next evening, The Currys will take the stage.
"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," says Galen Curry, a member of the indie rock band, which has roots in the Florida Panhandle. "It's allowed us to hook up with cookbook authors and other musicians throughout the years, and it's been a real pleasure being part of it."
In addition to dozens of musicians, plenty of authors will be featured at various venues.
Poet, fiction writer, and FSU professor Sandra Simonds will make an appearance with poet Barbara Hamby on Sunday at Amicus Brewing Ventures.
"I think of poetry as a genre that allows for a lot of experimentation and freedom," says Simonds. "I also feel like it's a great space for people to think through relationships, problems, issues that they might be having."
The festival's youngest scheduled author is 12-year-old Ace Robertson, a Swift Creek Middle School 6th grader. He wrote Battling Mr. Bossy to help kids deal with anxiety.
"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," says Robertson.
Plus, Tom Flanigan holds a roundtable with authors about their writing process.
Click LISTEN above to hear the full segment.
