St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Ozone Songwriter Festival
Downtown Covington turns its streets and stages over to songwriters for a weekend each autumn, and the Ozone Songwriter Festival is the reason. More than one hundred and twenty live performances spill across ten stages, while symposiums, workshops and a song contest fill the daytime hours. The setting is the parish seat of Saint Tammany Parish, a town whose historic centre, brick storefronts and shady Trailhead grounds give the gathering a walkable, neighbourly feel. Visitors drift from one stage to the next, hear a new voice in a small room, then step outside to find a full band playing under the trees. It is a festival built around the craft of writing songs rather than the spectacle of a single headliner, and that focus shapes everything about it, from the quiet listening rooms to the conversations that follow each set.
About
The Ozone Songwriter Festival is the flagship event of the Ozone Music Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating Louisiana’s singer-songwriter culture through experiences, education and enterprise. Its published name appears as the Ozone Songwriter Festival, and in some layers as the OZONE Songwriter Festival. The most recent edition listed runs from the sixth to the eighth of November 2026, billed the eighth annual, in historic downtown Covington. Performances take place at the Covington Trailhead and partner music-venue stages, with the Friday showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium in Covington. Earlier editions were held in Mandeville, and the festival moved to Covington; the two locations are recorded as printed in the layers read rather than merged into a single story. The festival concept was created by hit songwriter Greg Barnhill, the founder of the Ozone Music Foundation. Saturday and Sunday performances are free and open to the public, while the Friday-night showcase is ticketed. The weekend pairs the pleasure of hearing songs played live with the chance to learn how they were made, which is why workshops and symposiums sit beside the stages rather than behind them. The Covington Trailhead anchors the weekend, its open grounds holding the largest crowds while smaller partner venues around downtown host quieter sets. That mix of open air and enclosed rooms gives the festival its shape: a visitor can stand in a crowd at the Trailhead, then step into a small venue to hear a writer play alone.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
| Festival | Ozone Songwriter Festival |
| Sheet title | St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Ozone Songwriter Festival |
| Host town | Covington, the parish seat of Saint Tammany Parish |
| Venue | Historic downtown Covington, Covington Trailhead and partner music-venue stages |
| Friday showcase | Fuhrmann Auditorium, Covington, in the 2026 edition |
| Organiser | Ozone Music Foundation |
| Concept creator | Greg Barnhill, founder of the Ozone Music Foundation |
| Latest edition | Sixth to eighth of November 2026, billed the eighth annual |
| Live performances | More than one hundred and twenty across ten stages in 2026 |
| Admission | Free Saturday and Sunday; Friday-night showcase ticketed |
History
The Ozone Songwriter Festival grew out of the Ozone Music Foundation’s work to cultivate Louisiana’s singer-songwriter culture, and it remains the Foundation’s flagship event. The festival concept was created by Greg Barnhill, a hit songwriter and the Foundation’s founder, who shaped the gathering around the people who write songs rather than only the people who perform them. That origin is visible in the programme today, where symposiums, workshops and a song contest carry as much weight as the evening performances. The earliest edition documented in the layers read is a third edition held from the fifth to the seventh of November at the Mandeville Trailhead; the layer carrying it fixes no year, so no year is assigned to it here. A fifth annual edition followed from the third to the sixth of November 2022, held in Mandeville and Slidell. The festival then ran from the thirty-first of October to the third of November 2025, and the edition listed for the sixth to the eighth of November 2026 is billed the eighth annual. The move from Mandeville to Covington is part of that story, and the two host towns are kept separate in the record rather than folded together. Annual billings are recorded exactly as printed, and no founding year is derived from them. The 2022 edition, billed the fifth annual, spread across Mandeville and Slidell, showing a festival still rooted in more than one town. The 2026 edition, billed the eighth annual, lists more than one hundred and twenty performances across ten stages, the largest programme in the record. What the history does show is a steady widening of ambition: more stages, more performances, and a programme that now spans a full weekend of listening, learning and writing.
What to Expect
The weekend is built for wandering. Ten stages across historic downtown Covington host more than one hundred and twenty live performances in the 2026 edition, so a visitor can hear a solo writer with a guitar in a small room, then cross the street to a full band. Songwriter symposiums and workshops run through the days, giving visitors a seat in rooms where writers talk about craft, trade verses and answer questions about how a song comes together. A song contest adds a competitive edge, with writers presenting their work for judgement. The Kids Zone keeps younger visitors busy while adults listen, and seminars offer deeper dives into the business and craft of songwriting. Food, drinks and shopping fill the gaps between sets, with local vendors set up around the stages. The Friday-night showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium is the weekend’s ticketed centrepiece, and the 2026 showcase features Deana Carter. Saturday and Sunday are free and open to the public, which keeps the Trailhead grounds busy from morning until the last set. The mood is closer to a gathering of writers than a stadium show: audiences listen closely, applause is warm, and performers often stay to talk after they play. The Kids Zone gives younger visitors their own corner of the weekend, with activities that keep them busy while adults listen nearby. Seminars run alongside the music, offering practical guidance for writers who want to understand the business behind the craft. Food vendors and shopping stalls are spread through the grounds, so a break between sets can mean a local dish or a quiet seat with a drink.
Planning Your Visit
Covington is the parish seat, and its historic downtown is compact enough to cover on foot, so plan to park once and walk between stages. Arrive early on Saturday and Sunday, when the free performances draw the largest crowds and the best listening spots fill first. The Friday-night showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium is ticketed, so secure a place for that evening in advance rather than counting on the door. Bring a light layer for the evening, since the Trailhead performances run outdoors and the air cools after sunset. Comfortable shoes matter, because the ten stages are spread across the downtown area and the ground is a mix of pavement, lawn and gravel. Food and drink vendors are on site, and the downtown streets hold cafes and restaurants for a longer break between sets. If you plan to attend a workshop or symposium, check the schedule on arrival and note the room, since the smaller sessions fill quickly. Families should find the Kids Zone early in the day, when younger visitors have the most energy, and keep an eye on the seminar timetable for anything aimed at young writers.
For a useful comparison, see the St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Mandeville Creole Culture Festival for another county festival.
Sample Itinerary
Friday evening begins at Fuhrmann Auditorium, where the ticketed showcase opens the weekend with a headline performance; arrive in time to find a seat and settle in before the lights dim. Saturday morning starts at the Covington Trailhead, where the free performances begin and the grounds fill with listeners. Mid-morning, slip into a songwriter symposium to hear writers discuss their craft, then return to the stages for a run of afternoon sets. Lunch comes from a local food vendor near the Trailhead, eaten outdoors between performances. The afternoon is for wandering: a workshop on songwriting, a few songs at a partner venue stage, and a browse through the shopping stalls. Saturday evening brings another round of music under the trees before the day closes. Sunday opens at the Trailhead again, with a slower pace and time to revisit a favourite stage. A seminar in the late morning offers a deeper look at the business of songwriting, and the afternoon is for the song contest and the final performances. The weekend ends with a last walk through downtown Covington, where the stages quiet one by one.
Comparison
A festival built around songwriters differs from a festival built around headliners in ways a visitor feels within the first hour. The Ozone Songwriter Festival spreads more than one hundred and twenty performances across ten stages, so no single act carries the weekend and no single stage holds the crowd. A headliner festival funnels everyone toward one main stage at one hour; here, the audience splits, drifts and regroups, and a small room can hold the best moment of the day. The symposiums and workshops deepen the difference: the festival treats songwriting as a craft to be taught and discussed, not only a product to be heard. A food festival measures itself in plates and a music festival in decibels, but this one measures itself in songs written, revised and shared. The free Saturday and Sunday performances also set it apart from ticketed gatherings of the same size, opening the grounds to anyone who wants to listen. The Friday showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium provides the one ticketed anchor, a single evening where the focus narrows to a headline performance. Together, the free days and the ticketed evening give the weekend two rhythms: open and wandering by day, focused and seated by night.
Checklist
- Arrive early on Saturday and Sunday for the best free-performance listening spots
- Secure a ticket for the Friday-night showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium in advance
- Wear comfortable shoes for walking between ten stages across downtown Covington
- Bring a light layer for cool evenings at the outdoor Trailhead performances
- Note workshop and symposium rooms on arrival, since small sessions fill quickly
- Visit the Kids Zone early in the day for younger visitors
- Carry water and sun protection for the daytime outdoor sets
- Leave time between performances to browse food vendors and shopping stalls
- Keep the song contest on the schedule for Sunday
- Plan to park once and walk, since downtown Covington is compact
Beyond the Festival
Covington rewards visitors who linger after the music ends. The historic downtown holds brick storefronts, cafes and galleries within a short walk of the Trailhead, and the town’s shady streets invite an unhurried stroll between sets. The Tchefuncte River runs nearby, and the riverfront gives the town a quieter edge away from the stages. Mandeville, where earlier editions of the festival were held, sits a short drive away on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, and its lakefront and old town offer a different pace for a second day. The wider parish holds piney woods, bayous and small towns, and a visitor with an extra day can drive through them without a fixed plan. Food is part of the region’s identity, and the restaurants around Covington serve the dishes the parish is known for. For a music lover, the festival is also a doorway into Louisiana’s broader songwriting culture, which the Ozone Music Foundation exists to support. A weekend here can therefore stretch beyond the stages: a morning walk, a long lunch, a drive to the lake, and an evening set back at the Trailhead.
Significance
The Ozone Songwriter Festival matters because it puts the songwriter at the centre of a live-music weekend. Most festivals celebrate the performer; this one celebrates the person who wrote the song, and the programme of symposiums, workshops and a song contest makes that choice concrete. The Ozone Music Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating Louisiana’s singer-songwriter culture through experiences, education and enterprise, uses the festival as its flagship event, and the gathering carries that mission into the streets of Covington. For the parish seat, the festival brings a weekend of visitors, music and trade to a historic downtown that suits it well. For writers, it offers stages, classrooms and an audience that listens closely. For visitors, it offers a way to hear new songs in their first form, played by the people who made them. The festival’s growth across its documented editions, from a third edition at the Mandeville Trailhead to an eighth annual edition spanning ten stages, shows a gathering that has found its audience and kept it. It also shows a town and a foundation working together to keep a craft alive in public, one song at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which parts of the weekend are free to attend?
Saturday and Sunday performances are free and open to the public. The Friday-night showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium is ticketed, so that evening requires a ticket while the rest of the weekend does not.
How many stages and performances does the 2026 edition hold?
The 2026 edition lists more than one hundred and twenty live performances across ten stages in historic downtown Covington, with the Friday showcase at Fuhrmann Auditorium.
Can visitors learn about songwriting as well as hear music?
Yes. The programme includes songwriter symposiums and workshops, a song contest and seminars, so visitors can sit in on craft discussions and learning sessions alongside the performances.
Where do the performances take place?
Performances take place at the Covington Trailhead and partner music-venue stages across historic downtown Covington. Earlier editions were held in Mandeville, and the festival moved to Covington.
What to Expect From the Next St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Ozone Songwriter Festival
How often is St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Ozone Songwriter Festival held?
The festival is an annual gathering, with dated editions documented in 2022, 2025 and 2026, and an earlier third edition at the Mandeville Trailhead whose year is not fixed in the layers read.
When is the next St. Tammany Parish Louisiana Ozone Songwriter Festival?
The next edition listed runs from the sixth to the eighth of November 2026, billed the eighth annual, in historic downtown Covington.
Will the dates change?
The dates of the most recent editions have fallen in late October and early November, with the 2026 edition set for the sixth to the eighth of November. Any later edition would need its own dated listing, and no date beyond 2026 is documented in the layers read.
The Ozone Songwriter Festival gives Covington a weekend where songs are heard in the form their writers intended, played live in small rooms and open-air grounds across a historic downtown. It is a gathering that rewards close listening, and it leaves visitors with new writers to follow and a clearer sense of how a song is made.
