Alright folks, let’s be honest. There’s about as much live entertainment going on over the next seven days in the greater Savannah area than we usually get in a fortnight or more.

This is the time of year when bars, clubs, restaurants, City Market, the waterfront and anywhere else that’s able to score a temporary beer permit books all manner of pop, rock, country, funk, shag, blues, metal and dance bands to entertain the throngs of revelers who roll into town (or simply roll out of bed) specifically to wade into the slightly trashy —but nowhere near as debauched and despicable as some uptight biddies would have you believe— sea of tipsy, green-frocked humanity known as our annual St. Pat’s Celebration.
If you’re just visiting (or perhaps live here  but just don’t get out much), our humble publication and its ancillary website (connectsavannah.com) do our level best to be THE source for cataloguing and previewing the myriad cultural and entertainment choices to be found in the Coastal Empire (or, if you must insist, the Creative Coast).

Now, with that in mind, dig:

Our Soundboard Calendar lists and gives brief descriptions of all the live music, spoken word, karaoke, live DJ, team trivia, live theater, standup comedy and indie film events we are aware of. If you want to browse your options by date, head there.
There’s also a one-page feature in this issue called Noteworthy, where expanded coverage of a few especially, well, noteworthy events of all types can be found.

The “roundup” that you’re immersed in right now is not meant to be all-inclusive or definitive by any means. There’s no room here for a shout-out to every single interesting show taking place between the start of the St. Pat’s party weekend on Friday. Plus, with Soundboard and Noteworthy already doing their thing, we don’t want this article to become the Department of Redundancy Department.

However, logic dictates that some of you may want a brief, bird’s-eye view of standout gigs grouped by genre, so, voilà!

ROCK & POP

Friday night, Loco’s on Broughton St. has famed Athens roots-rockers Bloodkin, with award-winning opening act Turtle Folk (see Music Feature).

Rising indie-rock songwriter Dare Dukes headlines an ALL-AGES show Friday at the Sentient Bean Coffeehouse on the Southern end of Forsyth Park (with support from Athens’ slowcore darlings Venice Is Sinking.

The Wild Wing Café (which regularly presents well-regarded East Coast bands on their large indoor stage with free admission) has Al. nü-metal sextet Hidden Element on Friday, along with Charleston’s Soul Fish, featuring vocalist Rotie Salley — and an all-day marathon starting noon Saturday which includes Charleston’s Sun Domingo, Charlotte’s keyboard-driven Simplified and the female-fronted The Design (formerly known as Sugar The Band). Monday, rising regional "Y’allternative" sensations WormsLoew hold court, and Tuesday, S.C.’s Tokyo Joe offers modern pop influenced by Elton John, followed later that night by a regular attraction at this venue: Mighty McFly, a kitschy, costumed ‘80s pop and rock cover band.

Monday at 10 pm, Live Wire Music Hall sees the second-ever gig by Black Friday: the latest group centered around prolific Savannah singer-songwriter Greg Williams. This lineup features Jack Sherman (ex-RHCP) on lead guitar.

Saturday night, Molly MacPherson’s Pub near City Market has Kurtis & Kody, an area brother duo formerly based in Nashville that also plays the Live Wire Tuesday at 4 pm.

Monday in the City Market courtyard, there’s an ALL-AGES show by Liquid Ginger, one of the area’s most popular commercial pop-rock quartets.

BLUES & JAZZ

Saturday night, The Josh Maul Blues Band plays a wide variety of electric blues at Jazz’d Tapas Bar.

Monday at 5 pm, Tifton, Ga. singer/guitarist Derrick Dove puts out soulful, Memphis and Tx. style blues at the Live Wire, and at 10 pm that same night The Jinx welcomes back local faves Bottles & Cans for a night of hopped-up, garage-rock-infused Delta blues and swing.

Silver Lining, a local, female-voiced Latin and funk-influenced trio play two ALL-AGES gigs this week — first on Friday at the Mansion on Forsyth Park and then Saturday at Blowin’ Smoke BBQ.

Saturday night the Mansion welcomes Savannah’s newest smooth jazz combo, Hear & Now — and award-winning local vocalist Kim Michael Polote dazzles diners Friday and Saturday at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, backed by piano and bass.

C&W/ALT.COUNTRY

Friday night, The Wormhole in the Starland Design District blows it out with a four-act bill of roots-rock and Americana — including local faves The Train Wrecks (who also play The Jinx the following night), Charleston’s Sparklehorse-esque Mexico Electric, Nashville’s The Middlemen and the Old-Time duo of Joe Nelson & James Pitman.

Friday, Sandfly’s Driftaway Café presents The Chuck Courtenay Band, playing honky-tonk and southern rock with guest Nashville pedal steel guitarist Tommy Butler (this lineup hits Tubby’s Tankhouse in Thunderbolt the next night), and on Saturday welcomes Junkyard Angel, a regional, Gram Parsons-inspired group.

Tuesday at The Jinx it’s a rare reunion of The Tennessee Rounders (minus guitarist PeeWee Moore), a defunct Chattanooga outlaw country act with a loyal Savannah following. They’ll play throughout the day and into the night.

BLUEGRASS & FOLK

Even though this roundup is supposed to start on Friday, I have to mention Thursday’s gig by The Packway Handle Band (named Athens, Ga.’s Best Bluegrass Group four years in a row) — festival faves playing at the intimate Blowin’ Smoke BBQ. The following Tuesday, this same venue welcomes The Jeff & Vida Band, one of the best acoustic country/bluegrass/Americana trios in the country. Both shows free to ALL-AGES.

Saturday at Metro Coffee House, Vt.-based adult alternative singer-songwriter Gregory Douglass (think Jeff Buckley, Fiona Apple) plays for ALL-AGES.

IRISH

While the acoustic duo of Frank Emerson and Charleston’s Carroll Brown is a sure-fire way to get your Celtic kicks (every night from Saturday to Tuesday at Kevin Barry’s Pub), the big news for fans of traditional Irish song would be Saturday’s free afternoon shows by Cherish The Ladies (see Noteworthy). If you’re still hankerin’ for more, try the mother-and-son duo of Moira & Mickey Nelligan at The Sentient Bean at 8 pm that same night.

FUNK & REGGAE

There’s a ton of funk (and funk-related) shows in town over the next few days, including: local cover band Pocket Change at Molly MacPherson’s Friday night; Miss. powerhouse Absylom Rising on Saturday and Sunday night at Fiddler’s Crab House on the River; Nashville’s internationally celebrated “stomp music” band Bonepony at the Wild Wing Sunday along with S.C.’s hip-hop-influenced jam band Villanova. Tuesday at 6 pm, Va.’s “tropical funk” act Alliens open for local psychedelic jam group Mr. Wiley at Live Wire, followed by Philly band The Movement’s buzzworthy mix of hip-hop, dub, reggae and alt.rock. Reggae-rock locals The Domino Effect play Locos at 11 pm Saturday and again at the Wild Wing Tuesday afternoon.

METAL

Tuesday night, the Wild Wing has a late-night set by Hilton Head’s bizarre glam/hair-metal act Silicone Sisters, but The Wormhole pulls out all the stops with a day-long Saturday marathon of up-and-coming prog-metal acts from across Ga.,  and a “Locals Rule” night Tuesday with half-price admission with proof of Savannah-area residence.

ST. PATRICK’S ON THE RIVER

And finally, who could forget the Waterfront Association’s annual concert series?

Monday starting at 5 pm and Tuesday starting at 2 pm, outdoor stages on River Street will feature free live entertainment from young and relatively unknown local acts to established (if not particularly well-known) touring artists, including (on Monday): The Red List (locals, formerly Caesura); Friday Night Felons (modern rock from Statesboro); Hold Cell (Atlanta funk/metal/southern rock); Dayfall (regional nü-metal); Black Market; Sunset Jet (classic rock covers); The Rattlers (Athens-based blues-rockers).
And (on Tuesday): Eleven Standing Still (last year’s St. Pat’s Battle of The Bands Winner); Band of The South (touring Georgia Air National Guard group just returned from Afghanistan and Iraq); The Double-J Band; Liquid Ginger; High Velocity (regional southern rock, classic rock and modern country covers).

That’s it! Enjoy the shows, stay safe and take a cab if you’ve had too much to drink.

And if you’re underage, do everyone a big favor and don’t trick a bar or restaurant into serving you illegally. It hurts the entire music scene, from the business owners on down.