This year’s Savannah Stopover Music Festival was a bit different for me. In the past I’ve always let my friends who asked know what I was up to, but I generally navigated the festival on my own each night. Chances are I’d meet up with friends, and part of the fun was seeing who turned up for each show.
Well, exactly one month out from Stopover I get a message from my friend Jenny in Colorado – “I don’t know one single band playing at the Savannah Stopover. But I want to come!!” And that is how I ended up with a partner for nearly every show and my own personal tourist to guide around Savannah on her first visit to our beautiful city. Turns out it was a blast, and it sounds as if she’ll be back for more! We’ve been discussing music for over 10 years now, and although she normally sticks to the singer songwriter types, I felt she’d be adventurous enough to appreciate all that Savannah Stopover had to offer. After hours of messages back and forth that night, and lots of skipping around the Stopover playlist, I felt I’d put together a list of bands to see that we’d both be happy with. Before we get to the list, a few thoughts from Jenny:
This was my first Stopover and first time seeing any the bands in the lineup. Truth be told, I hadn’t even heard of a single one of them before seeing their names on the Stopover website. Maybe that’s because I am from a different part of the country. I was so impressed by the bands that I saw and I will be following many of them very closely and hoping they make it out to Colorado on tour. Stopover was such a whirlwind great time and can’t wait to come back next year!
Christopher Paul Stelling
Christopher Paul Stelling reminds me of my all time favorite troubadour-style singer-songwriters, which is the type of music my ears always seem to gravitate towards. I really enjoyed his set at The Jinx and could watch him finger picking until the cows came home. He seems like a very humble and down to Earth guy. – Jenny
What can I say about this guy? He’s impressed me each time I’ve seen him, although I think this is only the second time I’ve been able to sit and watch him for an entire set. I hope he continues to return year after year. If he’s passing through your town you’d be a fool to deny yourself this pleasure. – Jason
Lucette
Lucette‘s voice is a beautiful mix of sweet and dark, and it was very enchanting to watch her on piano. I think she might have quite a
large following some day and I’m excited to see where her career takes her. – Jenny
Lucette was the first artist I committed to see this year, something about her voice and performance drew me in and I knew this would be one of those shows I’d make it to no matter what. She didn’t disappoint, and I’m glad to have caught her show while she’s still under the radar. – Jason
Quiet Hollers
I felt really lucky to catch Quiet Hollers‘ secret show at Abe’s. Their songs have a lot of depth and are very compelling, even though the lyrics are a little quirky. The set was so intense that I couldn’t look away. I may not have even blinked until it was over. – Jenny
I was kicking myself a bit for missing these guys at Trinity the night before due to the inevitable schedule conflict, and when I got the tweet about the secret show just as Jenny and I were trying order dinner we quickly decided to change dinner plans. After a quick trip to Moe’s, we slipped in to Abe’s just before it filled up. I think it’s safe to say we both felt the show was intense, and I’m actually happy to have experienced them in the paired down setting as I feel it added to the emotional impact of the songs. I’d see them again in a heart beat, although it may be that I’ll always prefer their songs in a more spare arrangement after that performance. A packed room wasn’t the only thing keeping us in place, we were transfixed by the music. And that’s something that doesn’t happen every day. – Jason
Susto
Susto put on such a good show. The lead singer’s incredible voice, combined with with great song writing and fun melodies, made them one of my favorites. Their songs are high energy, but also calming and smooth…. perfect for my next BBQ where I try to impress my friends with new and upcoming music. – Jenny
I’ve been enjoying this Charleston band since Daniel from Futurebirds implored us to see them at Bragg Jam this past summer. I’d already missed a solo set by Justin Osborne, but was able to catch a set that night that included nearly the full band. Fortunately Justin played a solo set at The Jinx recently, which served to remind me to put them on my list for last weekend. And boy am I glad I did, the songwriting and performance were just what I needed to kick my night in to high gear before heading to Capsula. – Jason
Capsula
I didn’t know just how much I liked music like this until I heard Capsula. They put on quite the raw and real rock show and are simply magnetic on stage. They were the perfect way to end Stopover with a bang! – Jenny
Capsula won my heart the first time they played Savannah opening for Os Mutantes. I imagine everyone at that show would say the same, they simply play with an energy and enthusiasm that makes them stand out from the crowd. I know Jenny was a little worried going in to this one, but the band quickly won her over. It’s hard not to like them, even if you normally wouldn’t play their music on your daily drive around town, the live show is something to behold. – Jason
Dosti Music Project
Jenny didn’t mention Dosti Music Project on her list, but I felt it worth mentioning. This show at Trinity was definitely atypical for Savannah Stopover, in fact it felt much more like one I’d see during Savannah Music Festival. Once again, I may have been the only one of our pair excited going in as I have a thing for Qawwali, and Dosti just happened to feature vocalist Imran Fada. I don’t know what it is about Pakistani music but for whatever reason it has the ability to touch me like nothing else out there. If Jenny had been sitting to my left rather than my right she’d tell you that I got a little teary-eyed at the end of the first two songs, but thankfully she didn’t have to witness it. If any of you were there when Asif Ali Khan played the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah in 2014 you know what I’m talking about. Personally, I’d love to see Dosti or similar groups return as part of future Savannah Stopovers. – Jason