That song and a few others by the iconic British band were played regularly in a dance club that I frequented back in the day in St. Louis. Whenever that song comes on the radio, even today, I turn it up and sing along.

But Modern English had and has a whole body of work in addition to that iconic single, and it was thrilling last night to enjoy their performance here, which was produced by MusicFile Productions, the parent company of Savannah Stopover and Revival Fest.

And it wasn’t just thrilling because of the nostalgia. Modern English played a tight set, seemed to enjoy their classics, threw in a few strong originals, and generally just tore it up for well over an hour in the hot and humid old warehouse space.

All that, and lead singer Robbie Grey wore a Tom of Finland t-shirt. (Bobby Zarem was even in the house.)

I took some pics:

Filligar is currently promoting their excellent new album Hexagon, which was glowingly reviewed by Connect Savannah editor Jim Morekis.

Even though I’m a fan of the album and even though I saw both of Filligar’s Stopover sets, I still wasn’t prepared for just how good Saturday night’s show was.

The opener Mikaela Davis was pretty awesome too. It was almost certainly the only time a lead singer on The Jinx stage has been playing a harp — and the only time I can even recall there being a harp on stage.

I love taking photos at The Jinx, but there are some spots where the lights are a little hot and others where they’re a little too dim and cool. It’s really hard to get good shots of drummers with my current setup, so, sorry, in advance, to all the drummers out there.

First up here are shots of Fillgar during their set, and then some shots of their encore number — “I Shall Be Released.” Mikaela Davis and her excellent musicians joined in, as did Tony Beasley (aka Whiskey Dick), who briefly abandoned his post at the bar. Then the last shots are of Mikaela Davis and company.

I’ll crosspost these photos in a day or two to my Savannah Unplugged Facebook page.

Click for larger versions. Enjoy.

My Unplugged column in the Savannah Morning News this week is about Filligar’s show at The Jinx. The Chicago-based foursome have been playing together since 2000 and are now touring in support of their brand new album Hexagon, which was released just over a week ago. The gig is being produced by MusicFile Productions, parent company of the Savannah Stopover — Filligar played two sets at the festival this past March.

In addition to my piece at SavannahNow, check out Bill DeYoung’s interview with keys player Casey Gibson in this week’s Connect Savannah and Jim Morekis’ great review of Hexagon in last week’s Connect.

Here’s the first track from Fillgar’s Hexagon, which can be purchased on iTunes:

Harpist and singer-songwriter Mikaela Davis will open Saturday’s show.

Here’s a taste:

I took a few photos of Filligar at Savannah Stopover. The first ones are during an afternoon set on the patio at B&D Burgers on Congress Street and the rest from Congress Street Social Club late the next night.

Lots of good news from MusicFile Productions earlier today about additional acts coming through Savannah. From the press release:

Chicago based quartet Filligar, a Savannah Stopover Music Festival alum, will headline The Jinx on Saturday, August 3rd. The bandâ€s new album, Hexagon, will be released on July 23rd and is already garnering advance critical praise from Paste, Spin, Indie Music Filter and others. Acclaimed indie harpist Mikaela Davis will open. Tickets for the concert are $8 and will be available at The Jinx and on Showclix.com.

Saturday, August 17th will feature Roadkill Ghost Choir and T. Hardy Morris at The Jinx. RKGC has continued to gain both press attention and fans since their Savannah appearance at Stopover in March. T Hardy Morris, best known for his role as the frontman of Dead Confederate and founder of collaborative group Diamond Rugs, will release his debut solo album Audition Tapes on Dangerbird Records July 30th. The album includes appearances by members of Delta Spirit, Black Lips and The Whigs. Videos for the albumâ€s tracks have been shot around Georgia focusing on “Places In Peril” and 10% of the album proceeds will benefit the Georgia Trust For Historic Preservation. MusicFile Productions and The Jinx will match that donation from net proceeds of the show. Tickets are $10 and will be available at The Jinx and on Showclix.com.

SCAD alum Helado Negro will return to Savannah on Wednesday night, September 4th for an artistic night of sultry, latin tinged, electronic music. Roberto Carlos Lange, aka Helado Negro, is Ecuadorian but grew up in Miami and first starting creating music when he lived and studied in Savannah. The concert will take place at Dollhouse Studios with additional details to be announced. Tickets will go on sale the week of July 22nd.

MusicFile Productions — the parent company of both Savannah Stopover and Revival Fest — had previously announced that classic rockers Modern English are playing on August 28 at Dollhouse Productions at 980 Industry Drive in West Savannah.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of the show, space permitting. Tickets are currently on sale via Showclix.

I’ll post some clips of the bands in advance of these shows.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of gigs like these for the Savannah music scene.

From at least the time The Rolling Stones stayed in Savannah but didn’t play here in 1965, we have been getting passed over by touring acts who hit cities all around us in the Southeast.

But through the work of the MusicFile and Savannah Stopover, we’re increasingly on the circuit. Consider Filligar’s stops in the nights leading up to a Saturday show here: Knoxville, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston. And after Savannah, they’re off to Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans, Houston, Austin.

Here’s a great publicity photo of Helado Negro:

The lineup — featuring Americana, blues, bluegrass, country rock and roots music — includes two of Savannah’s best and hardest-working acts: The Train Wrecks and The Accomplices.

The lineup also boasts a few out-of-town acts that already have local followings, including Truth & Salvage Co. from Nashville, Field Report from Milwaukee, and Papa Moon and the Stargazers, which includes members of this mountain from Johnson City.

Other bands announced today include Whiskey Shivers from Austin, Bradford Lee Folk & the Bluegrass Playboys from Nashville, Matrimony from Charlotte, the Cedric Burnside Project from Holly Springs, MS, Treetop Flyers from London, Luella and the Sun from Nashville, and Wild Child from Austin.

Interestingly, not a Brooklyn band — or even a northeast band — in the bunch.

From today’s press release:

Austinâ€s Wild Child will headline the Bridge View Stage at 9pm and Nashvilleâ€s Truth & Salvage Co. will headline the Paint Shop Stage at 10pm. Wild Childâ€s 2nd album, The Runaround, produced by Ben Kweller, will be released late summer. Truth & Salvage Co., an LA based band first championed by Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, have recently relocated to Nashville and will release their sophomore album Pick Me Up on Megaforce/Sony RED on 7/23/13.

Savannah upstart, the Sweet Thunder Strolling Band, will welcome festival goers at 12:30 pm with a special performance with additional surprises planned throughout the day. The local collaborative, spearheaded by percussionist Andrew Hartzell, grew out of a performance at the Flannery Oâ€Connor Birthday Celebration this spring and features Hartzell, Anna Chandler and Philip Reynolds Price and additional guest musicians to be announced. Local favorites The Accomplices and The Trainwrecks are also confirmed to perform.

Additional touring bands include Savannah Stopover Music Festival alums Field Report and this mountain; the latter of which will unveil a new project called Papa Moon & The Stargazers. Cedric Burnside, grandson of the legendary blues legend RL Burnside will bring his unique blend of Hill Country Blues to the Bridge View Stage followed by Nashvilleâ€s widely praised newcomers Luella and the Sun who revel in foot stomping blues, soul and gospel.

Treetop Shivers, from London England, won the 2011 Glastonbury Emerging Sound Competition and have been lauded by Paste, NPR and others for a sound that hearkens back to the 70â€s breezy California folk rock scene. The band recently recorded their debut album in Malibu.

Additional acts scheduled to perform are: Whiskey Shivers (Austin, TX), Bradford Lee Folk & The Bluegrass Playboys (Nashville, TN), and Matrimony (Charlotte, NC). Additional band information can be found at Revivalfest.org.

A Midnight Ramble jam session will follow the festival at a TBA space.

Local FarmBag will be coordinating the food for Revival Fest.

Tickets are now on sale at the Savannah Box Office. They’re $35 for just the music and $55 for music and food. Other vendors will be announced later this summer.

Here’s the schedule. I love that there’s no overlap and also that the music should be pretty much continuous:

Here’s a great sample of Cedric Burnside:

Field Report’s self-titled album has some of the most finely crafted songs I’ve heard all year:

Field Report had a tough time cutting through the crowd noise in the upstairs bar at B & D Burgers at the most recent Savannah Stopover, but I was lucky to see them perform several songs live in the studio at Dollhouse Productions. Wow. Just so good.

Truth & Salvage Co. at Live Wire in 2012

As noted above, Truth & Salvage Co. has a new album coming out on July 23rd. Here’s one of the band’s more popular songs:

Here’s Luella & the Sun:

I’ll have much more about the acts performing at Revival Fest as we get closer to the date. This looks like a great lineup.

From this morning’s press release (with emphasis added for the skimmers out there):

MusicFile Productions, LLC (the parent company of Savannah Stopover Music Festival) announced today the creation of a new fall festival celebrating the best in Southern tinged music, local and regional foods, crafts, beer and spirits.

Revival Fest will take place Saturday, September 14th at the Paint Shop and adjoining grove at the Georgia State Railroad Museum on Louisville Road. The day long festival will feature two stages, 12 bands, an authentic pig roast, and an oyster roast. Additional plans include a craft bourbon tasting tent, local and regional craft beers as well as select food and crafts vendors. Sandra Baxter, the Executive Director of The Coastal Heritage Society, added “we are very excited about hosting Revival Fest at the Georgia State Railroad Museum in an area that will be open to the public for the first time ever. This event is expected to be a fantastic fit with our site and mission and should prove to be a win-win for us, the Revival Fest producers, the audience, and our community as a whole”. A portion of the proceeds of the event will benefit the Savannah Childrenâ€s Museum, also located on the site.

Music for the festival will focus on Blues, Southern Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Gospel, Folk and Soul with a combination of local, regional and national acts. A sneak peek is available at Revivalfest.org. According to MusicFile Productions CEO Kayne Lanahan “itâ€s an idea we’ve been kicking around for a year or two; to marry the Roots/Americana revival in music with our great local and regional food; sort of like a New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for the Low Country. There are all these amazing people here brewing, growing, cooking and creating amazing things. We wanted to bring them together in one big celebration.”

The full lineup will be announced on July 2nd — just next week. That’s when tickets will go on sale too.

Click here to go to the Revival Fest website, where you can see this great YouTube clip of Luella & the Sun:

Click here for Revival Fest’s new Facebook page, which has been picking up “Likes” really quickly this morning.

Companies interested in sponsorship or other involvement should contact sponsors@revivalfest.org.

Sounds like a great day, and it’s especially exciting that Revival Fest will be inaugurating a key element of ongoing historic preservation in Savannah by using the old paint shop at the Georgia State Railroad Museum.

More good news for Savannah.

For those of us of a certain age, that merits a wow.

Modern English’s “I Melt with You” was a nightclub staple when I started venturing to dance clubs in the Midwest in nineteen something-something. I loved a couple of the band’s early albums.

From today’s press release:

Legendary English rockers Modern English will play a one night only concert in Savannah on Wednesday, August 28th at Dollhouse Productions event space at 980 Industry Drive. One of the defining post-punk/new wave bands of the 1980â€s, the band will tour the U.S. behind the release of a new album, the first to be recorded with the original members of the group in 25 years. In addition to newer material, their hit songs “I Melt With You”, “Hands Across the Sea” and “Ink and Paper” remain some of the most recognizable and beloved tracks of the last 40 years.

An 80â€s themed dance party will follow the 10pm show. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of the show, space permitting. Tickets will go on sale at 5pm today on Showclix.

MusicFile Productions is the same LLC, headed by Kayne Lanahan, that’s behind Savannah Stopover, the indie music festival that began in 2011.

The MusicFile’s summer series starts with a free show by Widowspeak at The Sparetime on July 8:

The series kicks off on Monday, July 8th with a free show at The Sparetime featuring Brooklynâ€s critically acclaimed Widowspeak. The Captured Tracks recording artist will give a rare, stripped down performance at 9pm.

Widowspeak is comprised of Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas, renowned for their dreamy, western-tinged take on rock and roll. Their atmospheric, hazy sound has drawn comparisons to 90â€s standout Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. Widowspeakâ€s second album, Almanac, released in January of 2013, was recorded by Kevin McMahon (Swans, Real Estate) in a hundred year old barn in the Hudson River Valley of New York State during the transition from summer to fall. The album has received critical praise from NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spin and many others.

Ponderosa and Yip Deceiver will play a show on July 12th at The Jinx:

Ponderosa and Yip Deceiver (featuring members of Of Montreal) will perform on Friday, July 12th at The Jinx. Both bands are Stopover veterans. Local band Hallucinex will open.

Atlanta based Ponderosa has gained both critical success and momentum behind the release of their 2nd album Pool Party last summer. Stomp and Stammer magazine praised the band for “soaring, interstellar harmonies, booming drums, spatial textures, offbeat tangents and reverb aplenty” stating that the new LP “brings them closer in approach to that of groups like Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket and Athens†Futurebirds.”

The of Montreal spin-off project of Davey Pierce and Nicolas Dobbratz know as Yip Deceiver offers playful, high energy dance pop with a buzzing funk vibe.

Tickets for the event are available at The Jinx and are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

And here you go: