Let’s keep the momentum rolling by announcing the next five songwriters who will be performing at the 2024 Corpus Christi Songwriters Festival, Feb. 16-18, 2024, at several venues in downtown Corpus Christi.
Early bird tickets will go on sale Monday, January 8, 2024.
Welcome these next five songwriters to the 2024 line-up!
Natalie Price – Intoxicatingly authentic and wholly original – you’ll never forget the first time you stepped into Natalie Price’s world. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Price, making her third appearance at CCSF in 2024, found early exposure to music mainly through church gospel tunes and contemporary Christian radio. When Price moved to Austin, she found a community of musicians and songwriters who showed her that playing music could actually be a real profession. Price, who just released her self-titled debut full-length album, names Muse, First Aid Kit, Pedro the Lion and David Ramirez among her influences, which makes sense when you hear her Indie-Americana style – as she playfully calls it, “Ameri-kinda.” She felt lucky to fall into a welcoming community of songwriters and musicians in Austin. Just a few years after moving to the Live Music Capital, Price found herself in a well-respected songwriting group called Soulwriters, run by Ray Prim. It was there that she found her people and began to find her way as an artist.
George Ensle – Having co-headlined the inaugural CCSF in 2018, George Ensle has performed at every once since, and will make his fifth appearance in Corpus Christi in 2024. During the 60’s Houston Folk Music scene, George was sharing stories, songs, and stages with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver. And after more than five decades he still maintains the essence of that folk tradition, the story song. George has released 15 albums in the US and Europe and was inducted into the Houston Folk Music Archives, and the South Austin Pop Culture Museum.
Claude Butch Morgan – Claude, 2018 CCSF Best of Fest winner and 2022 CCSW Hall of Fame Inductee, has also performed at every fest since our inaugural. He is a triple threat on the Texas music scene; he is a songwriter, storyteller, and guitarist who is constantly pushing his limits as a performer. He honed his chops as a guitar player in various USO bands while in the military during Vietnam, then came home to the San Antonio area and became known across Texas for his lead guitar skills and his energetic performance style. He found his songwriter groove at The Kerrville Folk Festival and was a finalist for New Folk in 2005 and 2008 and a winner of the Wildflower Performing Songwriters contest in 2004. A “Singer/Songwriter of the Year” nominee at the Texas Music Awards in 2012, Morgan continues to grab audiences with his songwriting and storytelling, punctuated by the taste and tone of a world class guitarist.
Shayna Sands – With a voice that is sometimes likened to an untamed Billie Holiday, Shayna Sands guides the listener through vivid soundscapes. Her music sees a poetic fusion of classical techniques with blues and folk elements making for a deeply emotional listening experience. Her willingness to slug it out on the road has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’s a lifer. These refined aspects to her compositions and her grizzled work ethic have drawn the attention of publications like STEAM Magazine, The Caller Times and The Bend Magazine. In February of 2020, it led to her recognition by the Corpus Christi Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Chris Beall – The son of a motorcycle racer from a small town in west Texas, Chris Beall is a singer/songwriter/producer/guitarist whose albums have been featured on numerous Americana radio/music destinations. Along with his solo career, he is a member of the well-established South Austin Moonlighters whose album “Travel Light” went to #1 on the Alternative Country chart in 2019 and reached #61 on the national Americana radio chart. His most recent solo album “Abilene” hit number 16 on the Alt Country chart in 2021. His previous solo album in 2014, “The Gin Mill Hymns”, showed-up at #15 on the Texas Roots Radio chart, #29 on the national Roots Rock Radio chart, and #173 on the national Americana radio chart. He has achieved the #1 position on the Reverbnation Americana chart for Central Texas several times, and #3 in the nation. Influenced by many forms of American music, he did a stint in Nashville, but currently resides in Austin Texas where he writes, performs, and produces music. Chris has also produced and played on several Texas artists’ songs including The Ransom Brothers, Walt Wilkins, Austin Mayse, Denny Herrin’s “Robert E Lee Motel” and Brett Hauser’s “I’m As Good As Gone”.