Savannah Stopover takes over the downtown music scene for 3 days every March, but the impact of the festival and its parent company MusicFile Productions is felt throughout the year.
Simply put, we’re seeing acts come through town that we’d never otherwise see.
Hurray for the Riff Raff’s first Savannah trip was for the 2014 Stopover, and the band returned a few nights ago for a Stopover-produced gig at The Jinx. I’d like to say that we’ll surely be a regular stop for Alynda Lee Segarra and whatever musicians she is working with, but the unassuming Segarra might quickly outgrow any of our local venues.
I’m betting that musicians will be covering Segarra’s finely crafted songs for decades to come. The songs just get stronger — and reach deeper — with each listen. Segarra has also established herself as a moral force and an artist willing to speak out on progressive political issues. For more info, check out HFTRR’s soon-to-end Indiegogo campaign for The Body Electric Fund and an interview with Segarra at The Daily South blog at Southern Living.
Here’s “The Body Electric” in all its understated power at CMT:
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Hurray for the Riff Raff was excellent last spring in Savannah, even better when I caught them at Forecastle Festival in Louisville over the summer, and that much better again at The Jinx.
Opener Alanna Royale‘s Facebook page lists the genre as “dirty pop/raunchy soul” — one of the most apt social media descriptions you’ll see. On her first stop in Savannah, Alanna herself dared to mess with The Jinx bartenders and campaigned publicly to be added to the 2015 Stopover lineup. She is not a woman to be ignored. Great stuff.
I didn’t get to the club on time for Savannah’s City Hotel, but the bluegrass-y string band always delivers. Tom and I both took some shots — lots more after the jump.
