You can find the full Savannah Stopover schedule here.
Various segments of Savannah seem totally clued in to the Stopover, but I’ve run into a lot of people who still don’t understand its scope and, especially in its first year, its ambition. Fifty bands will be playing from March 9-12, but some will be playing more than once, so there are over 60 scheduled gigs at 10 venues. With so many events, it’s going to be crucial for supporters of the event to spread the word generally — and to talk up favorite acts that might not have any serious name recognition in Savannah.
The detailed schedule was released late last night — it’s easy to use and to read (unlike the online schedule of the most recent Savannah Film Festival). Now that the schedule has been released, individual venues can start doing promotion in addition to the Stopover’s.
I’ve heard a number of people mention the number of local bands that are participating, but they account for only about 20% of the shows. And the inclusion of those local acts serves several obvious functions: building good will and making connections with talented Savannah performers, possibly attracting larger audiences since some of those local acts have loyal followings, and so forth. It will be interesting to see how the Stopover handles local acts in 2012.
There are just four shows in two venues on Wed., March 9th, with internet sensation Das Racist the headliner in a show at The Jinx, with opener KidSyc@Brandywine.
Things will really get rolling Thursday. On both Thursday and Saturday nights there will be shows simultaneously at five different venues. That weekend is great in many respects, since the weather is likely to be good and since folks are in a party mood as we’re leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. But local colleges also take off for spring break on that Friday and the Stopover will be competing for coverage with a lot of other events.
I haven’t sorted out my personal preferences yet, but a few things jump out at me. I’ll be at the Wormhole late on Thursday the 10th for Astronautalis for sure. Singer-songwriter Sanders Bohlke (I’ll have a preview probably at some point) is playing a couple of early gigs at all-ages venues — I’ll hit one of those. And I’m planning to catch The Drenched Earth Tour on Friday the 11th at 9 at The Sentient Bean.
Beyond that, I’m not sure, but I’m going to keep listening to tracks and making occasional posts here.
At some point too, I might post something about Paleface’s AMAZING gig last Monday that Bill DeYoung featured in Connect (probably the best single local media source for an act like that). But the crowd was anemic, which happens far too often in this town.
Paleface will not be here for the Stopover, but I chatted with them for some time after their wonderful set, and I got the impression that they’d be curious to head this way again. They’re based in Charlotte and we’re on the way to a lot of other spots — that’s the whole premise of the Stopover: that our location makes a perfect stop for bands headed to SXSW in Austin.
Here’s Paleface singing “New York, New York” with The Avett Brothers, who are coming to town for the Savannah Music Festival: