Savannah Stopover 2018 – Tom’s thoughts and photos

Who would have thought that a 110 lb. indie rock vegan wouldn’t be able to hold his liquor? Yeah, Savannah Stopover was in the air last weekend, and apparently a little got on the floor, too. I’ve only missed one day of Stopover in 8 years, since the opening night the first year when the skies opened up just as the first act went on at The Wormhole.

This year I caught 36 acts, if you count Wednesday’s Night before Stopover at Graveface Records (actually the super cool Starland Dairy). I shot a ton of photos, had some super nerdy music conversations, walked what felt like from Savannah to Atlanta and back, and just generally had a blast with a great crowd of people.

Check out my photos and running commentary below.

Ships of the Sea really is a great, interesting venue with well done sound and killer sight lines from pretty much everywhere. Every time I popped by there was a great crowd from opening night through to the trippy ass Of Montreal set.

Larkin Poe have both the chops and the looks to go far. Cool stuff.

The crowd seemed more diverse this year, with more all ages attendees, and it was the first year I definitely felt as if the more mature “Savannah Music Festival” crowd realized there is a lot for them to like at Stopover, too.

El-Rocko seemed to have the “rock” lineup Thursday night, and A Deer A Horse, Frigs, and French Vanilla all put in strong sets that had smiles on lots of faces. I was stoked for Shopping and was blown away by their energy. Pretty much my favorite set of the festival, and definitely the talk of the town the next morning.

A Deer A Horse

Frigs

Shopping

The addition of Barrelhouse South as a venue worked out great, being able to jump between it and The Jinx next door really fits the vibe of Stopover.

Sun Parade

The Stopover crew do a great job of easing you back into it with the early afternoon sets, tending to stick to acoustic, country or jazzy acts. The Jon Stickley Trio wasn’t anywhere on my radar, but I was at The Jinx, and….holy hell…their set was stunning. I’ve seen metal sets on that stage at 1 in the morning that didn’t come close to “rocking” as hard as that acoustic guitar, violin and drums did in the early afternoon. Easily the most surprising and satisfying set of the weekend for me.

If there’s anything I enjoy more than seeing friends having a great time watching a band play, it’s seeing friends have a great time playing in a band. Nancy Druid‘s slightly revamped lineup sounded better than I’ve heard them ever sound before. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this band goes next.

I’m a sucker for a lot of the indie rock coming out of NYC right now, and Honduras fits the bill. A standout set for me.

I’ve really dug Illegal Drugs since the first time I saw them in Atlanta, and have played their debut record a ton. They played a bunch of new stuff at El Rocko, and it sounds like they’re still on track.

Low Cut Connie played an over-the-top set of rock and roll (the “roll” part is becoming rarer and rarer, no?) at Congress Street Social Club. I respect any band that lugs a damn piano around.

There are few things that feel more right than an authentic country band on the stage at The Jinx at the end of the night.

Sarah Shook and The Disarmers, y’all.

On that note, local country sounded pretty damn good early Saturday, too.

Danielle Hicks and The Resistance

That’s a pretty strong crowd for Liz Cooper and The Stampede’s afternoon set.

I straight up love Orlando’s The Pauses.

I didn’t catch a ton at Trinity this year, and I’m not a huge country guy, but man, Colter Wall was awesome.

Crowd surfing at Gus Dapperton‘s set? That’s a good sign.

Trippy lighting, costumes, a giant possum, crowd surfing, balloons, impossibly catchy songs…..yep, it was an Of Montreal set alright.

I felt pretty good that Bat Fangs would be right up my alley, as I’ve dug sets from Ex Hex and Flesh Wounds, members of which make up Bat Fangs. I wasn’t wrong. Riffing for days.

Pylon Reenactment Society closed out my 2018 Stopover, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fun and joyous set to end on.

Another great Savannah Stopover, see you next year. Actually, wait…there’s tons of great shows throughout the year, you should come to some of those. Most of the Stopover venues have music every weekend, if not almost every night. Follow hissing lawns on Facebook, we’ll try to keep you in the loop. See you at the show.