Tickets On Sale for 2022 Sandy Lee Watkins Songfest in Henderson

One of the most entertaining events you'll see in the Tri-State is set to make its return later this summer as the annual Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival prepares to kick off in late July.

What is the Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Fest?

The event brings in over 20 songwriters from the region and some from Nashville, some of them Grammy Award winners, for four nights of performances at two different venues in downtown Henderson to play several songs acoustically they've either written for themselves or for others, and the stories behind how those songs came to be. For example, the writer behind Garth Brooks' "The Dance," and Brad Paisley's "Waitin' on a Woman."

Performances this year will take place at Hometown Roots on the corner of 2nd and North Main Streets, along with Rookies Sportsbar just down 2nd Street toward the river. This year's festival will happen Wednesday, July 27th through Saturday, July 30th with one session on Wednesday and Thursday, and two sessions, an early and late session, on Friday and Saturday.

If you've never been before, here's a look at how a session plays out from a few years ago at Rookies.

How to Get Tickets for the Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival

Tickets for the event are on sale now however, there are a few changes this year. In the past, all-access passes were available that allowed you to bounce between the different venues to take in as many performances as you wanted each night as they happened simultaneously. That will not be the case this year as only single-session tickets will be available for each show. As noted above, there will be one performance each night on Wednesday, July 27th, and Thursday, July 28th, and two performances each night on that Friday and Saturday. Organizers strongly encourage you to get your tickets in advance as they cannot guarantee tickets will be available at the door. Click or tap the button below to get your tickets through the Songfest website.

If you've never attended the Songfest, I can't recommend it enough. I went for the first time in 2019, and both my wife and I left there raving about how entertaining it is. Many of the songwriters are friends and play off each other well, and the songs range from funny to heartfelt. Proceeds from the event will be given to Henderson area non-profits, and high school students interested in pursuing a career in the arts.