Evenings with Don Schlitz Nov. 10 & 15

Evenings with Don Schlitz Nov. 10 & 15

Don Schlitz, one of the most influential and beloved songwriters in the history of country music, will headline two Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival benefits for the Larry Butler Memorial Music Fund at the University of West Florida.
The concerts will be held on Friday Nov. 10 and Wednesday, Nov. 15 in the main listening room at the Flora-Bama beginning at 6 p.m. Mark Sherrill & Friends will open for Schlitz on Nov. 10, and Rhonda Hart & Friends will open on Nov. 15.
Billed as “An Evening with Don Schlitz – A Tribute To Larry Butler,’’ the concerts will feature a past FBISF participant just after he is officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside Jerry Reed and Alan Jackson.
The first of many No. 1 hits for Schlitz was “The Gambler,’’ which Kenny Rogers recorded and Butler won a Grammy award for producing. His 50 Top Ten singles include 24 number one hits. He has won three CMA Song of the Year awards, two Academy of Country Music Song of the Year prizes, two Grammy awards and four consecutive ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year trophies.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012. His hits include ‘Forever and Ever, Amen,’ ‘On the Other Hand,’ ‘I Take