a big Wednesday night at Hang Fire in Savannah: Downtown Boys, Crazy Bag Lady, Wet Socks, & Boy Harsher

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Sometimes midsummer weeknights release a little punk and garage rock fury in downtown Savannah. At Hang Fire tonight:

Downtown Boys, the punk band with sax and a political edge from Providence that got a big writeup in Do this week:

Crazy Bag Lady has all kinds of things going on, including a record contract with Retro Futurist.

The garage rock duo Wet Socks is back at work after a hiatus while the drummer John Zimmerman was working in India. And Boy Harsher is also on the bill. Cover is $5, 10:30 p.m.

Lazer/Wulf’s new palindromic album “The Beast of Left and Right” on Retro Futurist label streaming here, available for purchase

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Anna has already previewed Lazer/Wulf‘s palindromic album The Beast of Left and Right, but now it’s available for streaming, purchase, and download via Reto Futurist’s Bandcamp page. (Retro Futurist is the label started by core members of Kylesa.)

a Spotify playlist for each day of this weekend’s Forecastle Festival in Louisville

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For a taste of the dizzying breadth of Forecastle Festival in Louisville this year, check out these three Spotify playlists, one for each day. There were a few bands that I couldn’t find on Spotify, and the playlists run more or less from earlier in the day into the night.

Click here for hissing lawns’ Forecastle preview.

Saturday and Sunday playlists after the jump:

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new from Field Report: “Wings”

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Field Report‘s self-titled full-length debut is one of the most satisfying albums I’ve heard in a long time — a stunning and cohesive work of art. Savannah’s first chance to hear Field Report in person was at Savannah Stopover 2013, but it was at the inaugural Revival Fest that the band was really able to explore their complex, poetic, evocative songs.

Field Report, fronted by Chris Porterfield, seems to be simultaneously digging deep and taking flight.

“Wings”, which was premiered yesterday by Stereogum, is the first track to be released from Field Report’s Marigolden, slated for October release on Partisan Records:

From WXPN’s rave write-up: “One listen to ‘Wings’ is all you need to hear the direction Porterfield goes in, and the musical maturity is stunning. At the heart of Field Report’s songs are his voice – yearning, aching, compromised, hurt, yet optimistic – and his acoustic guitar.”

A few shots from Field Report’s set at Revival Fest in the utterly fantastic setting of the old paint shops at the Georgia State Railroad Museum:

Field Report at Revival Fest

Field Report at Revival Fest

Field Report at Revival Fest

Field Report at Revival Fest

Field Report at Revival Fest

Field Report at Revival Fest

new music from Lucero, revealing interview with Ben Nichols at Esquire

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From a really interesting Esquire interview with Lucero’s Ben Nichols:

BEN NICHOLS: I wrote “Texas & Tennessee” about a girl I fell in love with. Obviously, like the song says, she was from Texas. I live in Tennessee. She moved to California. If you listen to the lyrics, it’s not hard to put it all together. I hadn’t been in love in a long time. I was actually concerned I might not have those kinds of feelings left in me. But when a girl like that comes into your life all of a sudden, those feelings are all too apparent. And she gave me a run for my money.

And here’s a gorgeous live recording of “Texas & Tennessee”:

Ben Nichols fronting Lucero at The Jinx earlier this year:

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Louisville’s Forecastle Festival coming up July 18-20 – a quick preview

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If you’re a regular reader of hissing lawns, you might already have noticed that we’re branching out. The long-term plan is that at least half of the posts on this blog will have direct relevance to the Savannah music scene, but we’re hoping to cast our net wider and wider.

Anna and Petee have already collaborated on some excellent coverage of Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, Tom has posted Throwback Thursday photos of the 2012 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, several hissing lawns contributors will be headed to Bragg Jam in Macon later this month, and I’ve shared photos from a couple of tremendous shows at Headliners Music Hall in Louisville — Jake Bugg w/ The Silver Palms and Murder By Death w/ Jaye Jayle and The Foxery.

And we’re also going to have some coverage of Forecastle Festival in Louisville.

Founded in 2002, Forecastle takes place July 18-20 at Louisville’s expansive Waterfront Park along the Ohio River. Like so many cities, Louisville has highways slicing through downtown that hurt the chance for full development of the riverfront, but good planning has transformed some formerly forlorn spaces over the last few decades.

According to this newsy piece at WDRB, Forecastle uses 15 acres at the west end of the park — a spectacular location (photo via Forecastle’s media assets):

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Click here for a venue map.

Friday’s bill includes

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 7/10/14 – 7/16/14

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Hey guys,
As I tell you every week, there is plenty of good music going on downtown. This week is full of variety! On Friday alone, there is rap and R&B at Hang Fire (Ambrose, Miggs, Knife, and The Green Seed), dance-rock at Congress Street Social (Stereo Reform), hard rock at the Jinx (Niche w/ Lovely Locks), Americana at Rocks On The Roof (Train Wrecks), and sultry rock music at World Of Beer (Danielle Hicks & The 8-Ohm Band). There is also a big show at Dollhouse Studios, where almost a dozen local rock bands are playing a benefit for the infamous metal show that the headliner was cheated out of their money (if unfamiliar with the story, you can read about it on this site). That is not even mentioning that Fantasia is playing at the Civic Center that night, because anyone wanting to go to that show is probably not reading this blog. So, what are you waiting for, get out there and listen to some of the music downtown Savannah has to offer.

Thursday 10th
Eric Culberson – Bayou Cafe (9p)
Sidereal (4-piece reggae from Jacksonville), Domino Effect – Barrelhouse South (9:30p)
Sauna Heat, Crazy Bag Lady, Unstoppable Death Machine – Jinx ($6)
TimeCop vs DangerSnake – Molly MacPherson’s
Blackrune, Creepoids – Hang Fire (9:30p, $5)

Friday 11th
Lovely Locks (acoustic) – Blowin’ Smoke (7p)
Eyeheart the Savannah Music Scene – Dollhouse Studios (7p) – Whaleboat, Crazy Bag Lady, Blackrune, Pridemeat, Broken Glow, Doom Salad, The Gumps, Whiskey Wednesday, and Solomon’s Ghost
Ambrose, Knife, Miggs, Green Salad – Hang Fire ($5)
Danielle Hicks & The 8-Ohm Band – World Of Beer
Niche, Lovely Locks – Jinx ($5),
Stereo Reform (dance-a-funk-a-tronic) – Congress Street Social Club
Train Wrecks – Rocks On The Roof

Saturday 12th
Accomplices – Molly MacPherson’s
Megan Jean & The KFB – Barrelhouse South
Rosies – Ampersand
Titanics, Oh Rose, Beneath Trees – Hang Fire
Train Wrecks – World Of Beer
Massey Boys – bar.food

Tuesday 15th
Charlie & The Foxtrots – Sentient Bean
Ricardo & Sasha (of Velvet Caravan) – Foxy Loxy

Wednesday 16th
Downtown Boys, Crazy Bag Lady, Wet Socks, Boy Harsher – Hang Fire ($5)

Revival Fest releases lineup for 9/20 at Savannah’s historic railroad paint shops

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Building on an excellent first year, MusicFile Productions (parent company of Savannah Stopover) today released the lineup for the second annual Revival Fest, a daylong event on 9/20 at the historic paint shops at the Georgia State Railroad Museum.

Futurebirds, David Wax Museum, and Roadkill Ghost Choir have been announced as headliners.

According to today’s press release, “a portion of all festival proceeds will benefit the Coastal Heritage Society’s Tricentennial Parks, whose historic Railroad Museum Paint Shops will host the event again.”

Revival Fest will once again have two stages — a setup that worked beautifully last year, with one stage inside and another outside on the bluff above Boundary Street. Fourteen bands will perform, and there will be “local and regional food, craft brews and bourbons as well as the Revival Fest Marketplace, which will feature hand selected locally and regionally produced artisanal goods.”

Here’s the full lineup:

  • Futurebirds (Athens, GA)
  • The David Wax Museum (Charlottesville, VA)
  • Roadkill Ghost Choir (Deland, FL)
  • Packway Handle Band (Athens, Ga)
  • Cedric Burnside (Holly Springs, MS)
  • Dirty Bourbon River Show (New Orleans, LA)
  • Velvet Caravan (Savannah, Ga)
  • Megan Jean and the Klay Family Band (Charleston, SC)
  • Water Liars (Athens, GA)
  • Los Colognes (Nashville, TN)
  • Family and Friends (Athens, GA)
  • Waits & Co (Savannah, GA)
  • Blank Range (Nashville, TN)
  • Sweet Thunder Strolling Band (Savannah, GA)

Last year’s lineup was heavy on southern acts, but the 2014 lineup, as you can see, is 100 percent from the South.

The only returnees from Revival Fest’s first year are Cedric Burnside and Sweet Thunder Strolling Band, the Savannah act that played throughout the festival grounds.

Revival Fest marks the return for a few bands that have previously been brought to Savannah by MusicFile Productions (Kayne Lanahan of MusicFile is a periodic contributor to this blog, btw).

Advance tickets are $35; click here for tickets.

From the press release: “Returning sponsors include Do Savannah, a Savannah Morning News publication and Savannah Magazine with additional sponsors to be announced. For sponsorship info, email sponsors@revivalfest.org. Vendors interested in showcasing products at the festival can reach out to vendors@revivalfest.org.”

Click here to find Revival Fest on Facebook. And here’s The David Wax Museum:

pre-order Lazer/Wulf’s Retro Futurist debut, “The Beast Of Left And Right”

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2014 has already been a weird and wild year for Lazer/Wulf. From touring Europe with Kylesa to finding a dreadlocked Lady Gaga dancing front-row at their SXSW performance (?!?!) to signing with Kylesa’s own Retro Futurist label to, oh, you know, crafting a record that acts as possibly the first musical palindrome, they’ve been busy, and they’re just cueing up.

Each song of The Beast Of Left And Right mirrors each other, tense with Lazer/Wulf’s signature ferocity and technical grandeur. Noisey streamed “Centerpiece,” and A.V. Club will stream the album in its entirety on July 9.

UPDATE: The Beast Of Left And Right is now streaming at A.V. Club.

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Since establishing the label last year, Kylesa’s members have handpicked a varied scope of bands for Retro Futurist, focusing on new, young talent. While the majority of the roster features heavier Southeasterners, like Columbia, SC’s Darkentries Savannah’s own Crazy Bag Lady, you’ll also find Norwegians Jagged Vision and Ontario’s Sierra. The tie that binds, as Kylesa’s Phillip Cope told Caught in the Carousel, is that gut reaction of  “‘Yeah I would listen to this—this is a record I would want to own.’” 

Having seen Lazer/Wulf in all manner of Savannah venues over the past three or four years, it’s great to see the hard-working Athens band in the spotlight. Pre-order The Beast of the Left and Right vinyl LP now via Retro Futurist. The official release date is July 15.

previewing Bragg Jam: check out this Spotify playlist

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If you’re interested in joining some music enthusiasts for a day- and night-long ride on a tricked out motor coach from Savannah to Macon for Bragg Jam on 7/26, click here. The folks at Savannah Stopover/Revival Fest/MusicFile Productions have organized the excursion, and hissing lawns has joined the effort as a “co-host”.

In addition to spending the day co-hosting, we will be providing some pre- and post-coverage of Bragg Jam, which features 57 bands on 14 different stages in the space of about 12 hours.

So this Spotify playlist has fewer than 1/3rd of the bands that will be playing, but we think you’ll enjoy it anyway. Click here to see the detailed schedule, and if you’re on Spotify, you might want to follow hissinglawns (one word).

David Dondero + Coy Campbell’s Nightingale News at Ampersand – photos

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It was a regrettably small crowd that turned out last Monday night at Ampersand for a beautiful show by David Dondero and Coy Campbell’s new project Nightingale News, featuring Stuart Harmening and Markus Kuhlmann.

Dondero is a tremendous songwriter, guitarist, and singer — he manages with the simplest of gestures to transport the listener to other places.

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Dondero’s folks were among the small crowd, and he played “South of the South” at his mom’s request:

David Dondero “South Of The South” from Zaebo Pasca on Vimeo.

I had not listened at all to Coy Campbell’s work on Soundcloud, so wasn’t fully prepared for the beauty of Nightingale News’ set. Look for an album, Bell Rope, in the fall.

NightingaleNews-3

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new video, new music from KidSyc

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Check out the new song and video “Stares & Screams” from Savannah-based KidSyc:

New tunes have also been posted to Soundcloud:

KidSyc will be performing on July 4th as part of the First Friday Art March. More details on that show and an interview with KidSyc in Connect Savannah. KidSyc@Brandywine’s new album will be released on 7/18 with a show at Congress Street Social Club here in Savannah.