As always, I’m a little late to the show, but I’m here to throw in my two cents on 2014. Surprisingly, I’m going to try to avoid list form and just hit the highlights of what really rocked this year. But first, I will say that I tried to come up with a list of my favorite non-local releases of the year to give you a little insight as to how awesome 2014 was for music in general. I was hoping to cobble together a little list of 10 records to give your ears a treat while letting me rave on about how awesome the evolution of the music scene in Savannah was over the past year. I ended up with about 40 records. So, now there’s a little playlist! See it? It’s right there at the top! Go ahead and hit play, I’ll wait. Okay, all set? Then lets talk about Savannah.
After being in Savannah for a little over two years now, I’ve got to say, I really got here at a good time. I’ve been lucky enough to essentially get adopted into the music scene by local artists and others associated with the scene and it’s been a blast. That said, I’m going to start this off by giving a big shout out to my homes away from home, The Jinx and Hang Fire. Big props to other supporters of the local music like Graveface Records, Dollhouse Productions, MusicFile Productions, and the very cool kids rejuvenating the house show scene. All that said, I’m going to echo the sentiments of another hissing lawns writer and say that the truly magical part of the Savannah music scene is the community. There’s way too many people for me to list so I’ll just say that I’m sending you all a lot of thanks and love for making me feel so welcome (some even to the point of flat out revoking my privilege of moving away!).
So, let’s talk about new bands in 2014. It’s been a good year for start up projects and bands like Savannah’s own COEDS and Toxic Shock are prime examples of that. COEDS, comprised of seasoned vets from numerous local bands, certainly gives off the impression that they’ve been at this for a while and are quickly becoming one of my favorite local acts in town. Similarly, Toxic Shock is another group made up of known players in the local music scene Josh Sterno and Daniel Lynch joined on vocals by Greta Odrezin. But the known players aren’t the only people making some noise around town by far. Upstarts like The Anxiety Junkies and Trophy Wives are showing that experience isn’t all that matters when it comes to causing a bit of raucous. The two fairly young bands are already quickly amassing a ton of support from the ever expanding punk scene in Savannah.
COEDS
With all this praise for the newcomers onto the scene, lets not forget about those who’ve been making noise for awhile though. There’s way too many local bands to list here, so I’ll hit some of my personal highlights from the with a few photos.
Crazy Bag Lady
Ambrose
Culture Vulture
The Wave Slaves
Cusses
Sunglow
Lovely Locks
Sins Of Godless Men
Broken Glow
Forced Entry
Waits and Co.
Tonto
Wet Socks
Now I know what you’re wondering about. “Petee, what about the touring acts?” Trust me, Savannah had a banner year when it came to drawing in acts from all across the country. Major artists and Savannah familiars like Lucero, Reverend Horton Heat, and Murder By Death made their way back through town again along with other acts like Man or Astroman? and Art Garfunkel.
Priests
Perfect Pussy
Warehouse
Shonen Knife
Murder By Death
Then of course there was the blistering lineup of incredible artists featured at this year’s Savannah Stopover festival, which is quickly proving itself to a major contender in Georgia’s ever growing list of music festivals.
Oh, and don’t forget Revival Fest which is steadily growing in popularity both due to its stellar lineups and cozy, low country hoedown appeal.
That’s not to say that my festival experiences were limited to Savannah though. With other festivals like Shaky Knees, Bragg Jam, and AthFest, there’s plenty of opportunity in Georgia to get a good helping of music no matter where you’re at.
All in all, the only thing I could have asked for from the music scene this year is more time to catch more shows. But then again, we can’t all be Larry Jack I suppose!
Thanks for another great year Savannah. Here’s hoping I see all of you at plenty of shows next year, some of which I may even be playing! Lets keep it weird kids.