The Yellowstone Songwriter Festival is coming to downtown Cody Sept. 9–11. During the three-day event, Cody will host 18 standout songwriters, including Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees Tony Arata and Kostas. They’ll be joined by fellow No. 1 hit songwriters James Dean Hicks, Karen Staley and Susan Gibson during Nashville Songwriter showcases on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Cody Auditorium. 

The group has written hits for Garth Brooks, Tracy Byrd, Faith Hill, The (Dixie) Chicks, Dwight Yokum, Blake Shelton and Kenny Chesney, among others. Fans will recognize many of their hits, including chart-toppers like, “The Dance,” “Good-Bye Time,” “Hey Baby Let’s Go to Vegas,” “Timber, I’m Falling in Love,” and “Wide Open Spaces.”

The festival will also include 13 other singer/songwriters from across the country, including local favorites Lacy Nelson and Kalyn Beasley, plus Dave and Sam Munsick from Sheridan and Jordan Smith from Lander. These “Rising Star” songwriters will play in shows Thursday through Saturday in venues throughout downtown Cody, including The Chamberlin Inn, Silver Dollar Bar, Trailhead/The Colonel Venue, City Park, Proprietress (formerly Juniper) and The Station. 

There will also be free morning interview shows, and a free event in City Park at noon on Saturday, Sept. 11. Late that day, the final late-night event will feature singer/songwriter Tris Munsick and The Innocents at the Silver Dollar. 

For more information, including about tickets and prices, visit www.YellowstoneSongwriterFestival.org. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to support music education in the community.

“We’ve been working almost a year to get this up and going,” said organizer Teresa Muhic. “We think it’ll be a benefit to Park County.”