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Hardcore Music Fan? Stopover in Savannah

23 Feb 2016
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Band plays at Savannah Stopover Music Festival  

What: Savannah Stopover Music Festival
When: March 8th-10th, 2018
Where: Various locations around downtown Savannah
Where to Stay: Search Our Rentals!


SXSW in Austin, Texas, is the music festival equivalent to the World Series. Past years have driven more than 30,000 registrants and showcasing artists. Over the course of six frenzied days, 2,000 acts delight festivalgoers who can shell out $695 for a music badge, giving it Big League status.

Which makes Savannah Stopover Music Festival, from March 8th-10th, the farm-league feeder. You know, the place where you can still see rising stars play their hearts out in an intimate stadium. Where the players will sign your hat after the game without charge. Where you can still afford a ticket and a beer.

I’m not suggesting that SXSW is “selling out.” It has the means to grow and spreads goodwill, promoting everyone from country legend Loretta Lynn and notorious punk rock band NOfX to that coffee-shop soloist you just knew would go somewhere one day. But its cousin ( three-times  removed), Savannah Stopover, thrives in the margins. It still spawns from the same gene  pool,  but doesn’t demand a lot of attention during its 3-day run March 10-12. Though that’s not to say it doesn’t get it. Stopover is quickly becoming the roadside attraction on the way to Austin that’s drawing big talent, letting artists warm up their vocals in venues packed with audiences hungry for what they’re serving, and all for little more than the price of a meal out.

Stopover’s CEO and founder, Kayne (pronounced “KAIN”) Lanahan, has 100 bands lined up to play 10 venues as the festival celebrates its 6th year.

Prior to Lanahan launching the event in 2010, she saw bands passing over Savannah for places like Jacksonville and Atlanta. “[Stopover] was predicated on trying to give the music scene in Savannah a shot in the arm,” she explains. “We wanted to get a lot of newer and up-and-coming bands to play here and get them to fall in love with the city early in their careers so they would always want to come back.”

The first year, they aimed to attract 15 bands performing at SXSW and ended up with 50. “So we knew we were on to something,” Lanahan recalls. Bands went from here to Austin and spread the word, becoming the festival’s best marketing mouthpiece.

“We put a big emphasis on that southern hospitality,” she says.  The bands are well-cared for, getting fed by the Gaslight Group’s (Abe’s, Blowin’ Smoke, 5 Spot, B. Matthew’s) own Brian Huskey every night and crashing in various private homes.

Brooke Atwood, who’s equal parts NYC Fashion designer and Savannah style icon, has opened up her Ardsley Park home to a number of bands, including Field Report, Big Ups  and Milagres.

“I always have breakfast for them—and beer in the fridge,” Atwood says. “They’re always so grateful, and shocked with all of our generosity.” She reiterates Lanahan’s claim that “bands leave here with  friends  not fans.” “It feels like one big family running around downtown,” Atwood enthuses. “By the last  night  lots of hugs and selfies are happening. I think the bands leave dreading the SXSW chaos.” 

So how big does Lanahan want Stopover to become? She answers by  posing  a slightly different question: “How big can you get before you start to suck?” She does not have her sights on SXSW status, adding, “We don’t want to have a giant Doritos bag in Ellis Square.” For now, the 100-band lineup fills a niche, giving audiences an experience unmatched by larger, pricier festivals where performers are always just out of reach.

So while it’s certainly a big deal to play SXSW, the real deal might just be found at Stopover.
 

Rapid Fire Q&A with Kayne Lanahan

Savannah Stopover’s CEO and Founder

Kayne Lanahan, CEO and founder of Savannah Stopover Music Festival
What’s something people might not know about Savannah’s music scene? 

There’s a big metal scene in Savannah. Three of the biggest metal bands in the country are from here, which is Kylesa, Baroness  and Black Tusk.

Where’s the best place to catch the newest bands?
We’re booking a lot of bands at The Jinx. The Sentient Bean is starting to do more live music. If you just want to hear good music, you can just walk up and down Congress Street or River Street any day of the week.

Who are your favorite Savannah musicians?
The Velvet Caravan are all classically trained and blend a bunch of different genres in a fun way. There are also a couple of newer bands that came out of the SCAD scene, which are Triathlon, Wet Socks and Breakers—all of which are getting some national attention.

Describe your musical tastes.
I’m super eclectic. I’m a sucker for a good singer-songwriter. I like a lot of indie rock, dance bands—there’s not a lot that I don’t like.

Where do the locals gather to hear music?
There are cool places like Wyld Dock Bar and the Sentient Bean and, to a lesser extent, there’s kind of a big house-show scene in Savannah that I’m too old to go to, but I know a lot of kids do. One of my favorite things is to go to the bar in the basement of The Pink House and listen to the piano player. Jared Hall of Velvet Caravan plays there like two nights a week.

What do you do when you aren’t booking bands?
I love to cook and I like restoring old houses. I’m a frustrated gardener. And I’m really having fun trying all these great new restaurants in Savannah.