Back in February, Paleface played a wonderful gig at The Wormhole on a weeknight. Bill DeYoung gave it a great write-up in Connect ahead of time, but a friend and I were among only a handful who turned out. There was a meager crowd too for J. Kutchma, the Red Collar lead singer on a solo acoustic tour who stopped at The Sentient Bean on a weeknight earlier this year. I had written about that gig the previous Thursday in the Savannah Morning News. A few nights ago, I ended up missing Soul Rebels from NOLA for their gig at Live Wire. A friend alerted me earlier that day about them, but it never quite registered what a special gig that would end up being. Later, I heard from a number of others who would have loved to see Soul Rebels, but literally did not know they were in town.
There are obviously a number of issues here, especially with promotion by the venues.
But among Savannah music fans there seem to be other reasons for frustration. A lot of acts pass through town each week, but how are we to know which ones really stand out? Which really merit effort to muster the troops? How can we get the word as early as possible about shows like Lucinda Williams and The Whigs / Country Mice, both scheduled for July 30th?
To try to fill this need in some way, I have created a new page for this blog: 912 Music Calendar. That page uses a simple WordPress plug-in called Gigs Calendar, and I’ll be posting Savannah-area gigs by out-of-town acts that seem to me to be of special note. This is highly subjective, and I do not guarantee that my tastes match yours! I am not attempting to replicate the full calendar at Connect, the listings in the Savannah Morning News, or any other current source. I love many of our local acts, but I will only include those when they are on the bill with touring performers that stand out. A blog post is automatically created for each new calendar entry; some of these posts will be fleshed out with music or video, but some will contain minimal additional details.
If others feel the need for something more comprehensive, like the calendar that used to be used by many venues on the Savannah Underground site, then I hope someone will take the initiative to create it.
I welcome suggestions of performers and gigs, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll post everything that is sent my way.
I am still working out some kinks. If you notice any broken links, let me know. Thanks.