All aboard the Hot Mess Express. In our latest Live Storytelling episode, we asked our readers to “tell us a story about a time that life got turned upside down, a time things didn’t go as planned, but the only choice was to pick up the pieces and carry on––in all that messy glory.” 

Hop on, buckle up, and journey along for tales of drunken alter egos, solo travel struggles with a six-month-old baby, a soccer coach being cussed out by a kid, a billionaire with daddy issues, 23andMe discoveries, and so much more. Complete with commentary from Kristy and Ali, we begin this episode by recounting our own Hot Mess story about how we realized that we were missing a crucial piece of our sound system that night just thirty minutes before the event was supposed to start...

The evening concluded with our Featured Storyteller, and Walton County Artist of the Year, Bradley Copeland. Copeland is a prolific, 25-year-old artist with an inventory amassing over 6,000 pieces and growing rapidly. She talked about her unexpected creative journey to now and the dawning realization that “maybe, just maybe, being a full-time artist was possible in this lifetime.”

This episode features stories told by:

Ali Diamond
Sheila Grey Perkins
MaryAlayne Long
Jay Liles
Amanda Abbott
Stacie Boudreaux 
Solange Jazayeri
Meredith Wild
Bryan Mayos
Jennifer Howard
Kristy Holditch
Bradley Copeland

This Open Mic Night audio was originally recorded on Thursday, March 9th, 2023 at Chiringo in Grayton Beach with the help of Isacks Imagery. 

To learn more about all things Emerald Coast Storytellers, visit emeraldcoaststorytellers.com. 

And follow along our creative happenings on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://www.youtube.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers

https://twitter.com/ecstorytellers

https://www.tiktok.com/@emeraldcoaststorytellers 

This episode was produced in partnership with SOWAL House.