BMI Sponsors Fifth Annual Island Hopper Songwriters Festival

Julia Cole poses in Downtown Fort Myers at 2017 Island Hopper Songwriter Fest.

BMI is on board to sponsor the fifth annual Island Hopper Songwriters Festival, presented by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and co-sponsored by iHeartMedia.

Artists Midland and LOCASH will headline the 10-day festival, which spans across Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach and Downtown Fort Myers and runs from Sept. 21- 30 and supports the local bars, restaurants and hotels while also promoting music creators and songwriters.

“BMI is thrilled to partner with iHeartMedia once again in supporting the Island Hopper Songwriters Festival,” said Dan Spears, Vice President of Industry Relations at BMI. “This festival is about bringing people together through music while shining a spotlight on the great bars and restaurants across Southwest Florida. It helps stimulate the local economy and the BMI-licensed restaurants that participate in the festival give our talented songwriters a platform to perform and share their songs and the stories behind some of their biggest hits.”

BMI songwriters and country act, LOCASH will headline the downtown Fort Myers concert on Wednesday, Sept. 26 while Midland will close the festival on Sunday, Sept. 30 in Fort Myers Beach. Some other singer-songwriters to catch include Bob DiPiero, Even Stevens, Aaron Barker, Lee Thomas Miller, Wendell Mobley and Earl Bud Lee, who collectively have written No. 1 songs for country superstars like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton.

A full list of songwriters can be found here and the schedule is now available exclusively on the festival mobile app.