Songwriters in the Round

The audience clapped and wiggled in time to O'Brien's "Get Out There and Dance," and laughed uproariously to Staley's "Thyroid Condition" - a song about weight gain.

"See, we don't bring no trash up in here," Jimmy Fortune said in an aside to the crowd.

Songwriters night is known for its intimate and lighthearted atmosphere, which the artists themselves have commented on in the past.

"I asked (Fortune and Robin and Linda Williams) where is your favorite place to play, and they honestly said, 'Right here,'" Staley told Friday's audience members, who cheered in response.

Die-hard festival fans reserved their seats for this weekend's event as early as January, said festival director Larry Smith, who said the economic downturn hasn't slowed interest.

"We've got a tremendously loyal fan base," Smith said Friday.

Brenda Conner of Staunton said she's been hooked on the Fortune Williams Festival ever since a friend brought her three years ago.

"I have to keep coming back," she said.

"I guess I'm just a Jimmy Fortune fan, and I just like the way Robin Williams sings and talks, he's just a good old country boy," she added.

Richard and Mary Munroe drove in from Richmond to hear Grammy Award-winner O'Brien. The night out was a birthday present to Richard from his wife.

"My wife asked me who I would most like to see, and it's Tim O'Brien," he said, adding that he appreciated O'Brien's versatility and talent in bringing his own style to a range of genres.

"You can't fit (O'Brien) in a mold. He's the real deal," Mary Munroe added.

O'Brien treated Friday's crowd to several songs from his new album, "Chameleon," released in March. One, "Megna's," featured the story of a produce man from O'Brien's hometown of Wheeling, W.Va.

For her part, Staley included some of her hits Faith Hill made famous, including "Take Me As I Am." Staley said the inspiration for that song started with a bit of wisdom she once found scrawled on the wall of a public restroom.

"People always ask us where we get ideas for songs, and sometimes, they come from the strangest places," she said.