thanks again for choosing hissing lawns as Savannah’s best blog

This morning, Connect Savannah editor Jim Morekis congratulated us on being chosen Best Local Blog in the alt-weekly’s much-loved and closely-watched annual Best of Savannah readers’ poll.

hissing lawns has only been around since fall 2013, and this is now our 2nd year in a row winning this category. Thank you so much to those who voted for us and to all of our readers, whether you just pop in occasionally or fairly often. Thanks also to all of hissing lawns’ contributors over the last 2+ years — no accolades would be possible without them.

I founded hissing lawns not to go into competition with Connect or with Do Savannah, both of which do an excellent job, but because the Savannah music scene has so much going on that it’s really impossible for any one publication to cover it all. As a blog staffed entirely by uncompensated contributors who are passionate about live music, we’ve been able to offer types of coverage that other publications cannot.

Still, I’m faced almost every day with the fact that we can’t cover as much as I’d like us to cover. We lack contributors with special passions in several different genres, and we have very limited resources for writing show and record reviews. So if you think you’d like to be a contributor, hit us up via message to the hissing lawns Facebook page.

And that brings me to another point. At the end of the day, Savannah is still a very small market. Yes, we get a surprisingly high number of great touring bands despite our demographics and despite the lack of larger venues, and I can’t say enough about the quality of our homegrown scene. But it can be really tough to get the word out about great shows, thrilling new releases, and other key developments. Sometimes our contributors publish excellent posts that struggle to find any internet traffic at all.

So please take a second and like our Facebook page linked above and linked in the sidebar to the right, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Our social media footprint (likes, shares, other interactions) correlates directly with our overall internet traffic, and we’re far more likely to be viewed seriously by non-Savannahians as we increase that footprint.

And, hey, do the same for bands you love around town — follow them on social media, share posts and tweets about upcoming gigs, make comments about what you like. Also, you band members and solo musicians, you don’t get rewarded for being coy. It’s crazy to me when I check out the Facebook pages of excellent Savannah-based bands and I see that they’re marooned with a couple hundred likes.

Obviously, there’s something more important than social media support: if you say you love live music, then just freaking go to more shows. Take more chances on acts you don’t know. Spend a few bucks on buying merch or adding to the tip jar.

I’m going to close with a ridiculously large gallery of some of my favorite shots (some are mine, many from other contributors) from our archives from May 2015 through April 2016, with an emphasis on some older shots. I don’t know how many music blogs around the country you guys look at, but hissing lawns publishes some really strong show photography — that’s a fact of which I’m especially proud. Thanks again everyone!