In Pictures: BMI At Sixth Annual Island Hopper Songwriters Festival

Ryan Hurd performs at the 2019 Island Hopper festival. Photo: Brian Tietz

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) recently sponsored the sixth annual Island Hopper Songwriters Festival presented by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and co-sponsored by iHeartMedia.

More than 70 BMI songwriters performed during the 10-day festival, which spanned across venues in Fort Myers Beach and Downtown Fort Myers as well as Captiva Island. Performers included Gone West, Jerrod Niemann, Kristian Bush, Rodney Atkins, Ryan Hurd, Bobby Tomberlin, Brandon Kinney, Clint Daniels, Danny Myrick, Even Stevens, recent Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Kostas, Katie Lyon, Wynn Varble, Sarah Peacock, Stephanie Quayle, Striking Matches, Robert Counts, and more.

The festival spotlights the craftsmanship of songwriting, while boosting the local economy by bringing locals and tourists into the hotels and restaurants (particularly BMI-licensed businesses); this year’s attendance (based on venue capacity) increased by 16% over 2018.

Kristian Bush performs. Photo: Brian Tietz

Kostas performs. Photo: Brian Tietz

Sawyer Frederick performs. Photo: Brian Tietz

Photo: Brian Tietz

BMI’s Dan Spears with Canadian singer songwriter James Gadon and Season 8 winner of The Voice, Sawyer Fredericks, after their writer round at Doc Ford’s at the Island Hopper Songwriter Fest on Captiva Island. Photo: Brian Tietz

Judy Blank performing at the 2019 Island Hopper Songwriter Festival in Downtown Fort Myers. Photo: Brian Tietz.

Colbie Caillat performs as a part of Gone West at the 2019 Island Hopper Songwriters Festival in Downtown Fort Myers. Photo: Brian Tietz.

BMI songwriters gathered for a team photo at the annual Island Hopper Songwriter Fest VIP reception hosted by South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island. Photo: Brian Tietz

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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