Okay, so I survived. Saw 36 bands at Savannah Stopover, drank ummmm…more than 36 beers, hung out in the VIP lounge, walked many, many miles, spent time with a ton of friends new and old, generally had a blast, and took a bunch of photos. Here they are, sorted by day, with running commentary.
Day 1, Bright eyed and bushy tailed.
We missed Breakers but arrived mid Sun Club. Sounded good, but hunger won out and we listened while we hit up the food trucks.
Sun Club
While they don’t really fall into a go to genre for me, I really like the new Ra Ra Riot. Production was really well done, and that guy can flat out sing.
Ra Ra Riot
Ahhh, here we go. I bailed mid Ra Ra Riot to make sure I caught Culture Vulture, most of my party tagged along. Minds were blown. One of the best sets of the weekend, in my opinion. As a matter of fact, several of my favorite sets of the weekend were local, not because they were locals, but because they were so freaking awesome. Also, Ampersand 2nd floor is a tough room to photograph.
Culture Vulture
Another tough room to shoot, Congress Street Social Club, inside. Bigger stage helped (it was a bigger stage, right? Something was different). Anyway, Chrome Pony was bathed in blue light the whole set.
Chrome Pony
Faux Ferocious kicked off Stopover at The Jinx. I thought they were great. Rock band at The Jinx? I’m at home.
Faux Ferocious
Quick, name a rock band from Pittsburgh! Struggling aren’t you? Bonus points if you said Donnie Iris or Don Cabellero. I guess I can’t hold it against you if you said Anti Flag, either. Anyway, The Gotobeds are an excellent rock band from The Steel City. I’d love to see a full set.
The Gotobeds
I LOVE T. HARDY MORRIS. YES, I’M SHOUTING. I LOVE T. HARDY MORRIS.
T. Hardy Morris
White Reaper played one of the heaviest sets of the festival. Also one of the sets I enjoyed the most. Coincidence? No.
White Reaper
Day 2 Eyes heavy, tail matted.
CC Witt was a great way to ease back into it. Mellow, singer songwriter country.
CC Witt
Weekender rocking at Ampersand. Still tough to get a fun pic.
Weekender
Georgia Public Broadcasting sponsored the Trinity Stage, and Miquel Moure looked and sounded great on it.
Miquel Moure
The kids (and crowd in general, if I’m being honest) FREAKING LOVED Rainbow Kitten Surprise. The energy in the room alone made for a great set.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
I’ve seen Family and Friends a bunch of times. It’s a good time, every time, and that’s saying something.
Family and Friends
Boy, did I dig Bruiser Queen. Cool look, cool tunes, cool attitude. Cool.
Bruiser Queen
Caught a couple from Blitzen Trapper at The Ships of the Sea.
Blitzen Trapper
I’ve seen COEDS over 20+ times, why would I take time to see them again? If you have to ask, you need to check them out.
COEDS
Big Ups were great at Stopover last time, maybe even better this time. They got the lion’s share of my merch money, too.
Big Ups
One of the bigger players in the local scene suggested I check out Wild Powwers. Good call, my friend.
Wild Powwers
Ducked into Wild Wings to catch a couple tunes from Yuck.
Yuck
Okay, here’s the deal…I don’t like horns much. As such I’m not much of a brass band guy. We were at The Jinx, though, No BS! Brass Band was about to come on, so why not? They were awesome. Fun, energetic, engaging..all the things that make for a fantastic set.
No BS! Brass Band
Day 3 Eyes blurry, what the hell happened to my tail?
The man, the myth, the legend.
Larry Jack
I didn’t catch nearly enough of the Graveface/Furious Hooves/Noisy Ghost PR label showcase at Social, but Curbdogs sounded great.
Curbdogs
Street Clothes are a nice addition to the local scene, played a great set, and dancers/hula hoopers showed up too. Pretty fun.
Street Clothes
Jumped to OxenFree at The Jinx.
OxenFree
The singer of Say Brother had my favorite quote of the weekend…something to the effect of “I thought this cowboy hat would look badass, but it’s fucking killing me.” Hilarious.
Say Brother
The most laid back and insanely talented act of the weekend? Our very own Damon and the Shitkickers. I saw more than one touring musician looking stunned. Seriously. It’s almost comical how good they are.
Damon and the Shitkickers
The only “local” band I hadn’t seen before, Sundial Kings sounded like they belonged on the main stage, and that’s a good thing. Also, someone is parenting correctly.
Sundial Kings
Punky and awesome, Haybaby was one of those happy surprises that Stopover specializes in. Super cool, I’d love to see a full set.
Haybaby
Susto deserves the main stage, too, although my hair (or lack thereof) didn’t stand on end like it did for the Justin Osborne solo acoustic sets I’ve seen.
Susto
Peter and Blake doing the Twisty Cats thing, another showing of local talent.
Twisty Cats
I’m pretty much going to see any Sub Pop Records band that plays Savannah. I definitely dug Mass Gothic.
Mass Gothic
Lots has already been said about Capsula‘s Jinx set. It’s all true. A blast to finish off another fantastic Stopover. See you next year, unless of course you got to shows in the meantime. You should. And, if you do, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll see me there, so see you then.
Capsula
