Nikki Talley plays The Distillery
Nikki Talley *** This young standout on the Asheville, N.C. songwriting scene is known to perform as a solo acoustic artist, as well as to arm herself with an electric guitar and front a full, rocking band. Encouraged and championed by her musician mother (her singing mom plays guitar and banjo), Talley cites an impressively…
Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Savannah Music Festival Trustees Theatre March 28, 2009
Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Piece Band Featuring Christian McBride (bass), Kenny Garrett (saxophone) and Brian Blade (drums). Photos by Geoff L Johnson.
Punch Brothers Savannah Music Festival Lucas Theatre March 28, 2009
Chris Thile (mandolin) fronts group of gifted pickers with guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjo player Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher. Photos by Geoff L Johnson.
Bela Fleck’s Africa Project at Trustees
One of the coolest “gets” by this year’s Savannah Music Festival must surely be Saturday night’s exceedingly rare chance to catch the genre-hopping master banjoist Béla Fleck joined by four of the most revered traditional African musicians alive today for an evening of multi-cultural string and percussion music. A repeat attraction at the SMF, Fleck…
ASO & The Marcus Roberts Trio
ASO & The Marcus Roberts Trio *** In one of the most curious (and curiously depressing) developments of this year’s SMF, this closing day performance by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Spano has failed to generate the same level of interest and anticipation as the group’s two previous annual appearances at…
More St. Patrick’s shenanigans
An officer walking patrol during the St. Patrick’s Day festival saw several firefighters running towards the Savannah River from the Abercorn ramp. The officer then saw a man who was climbing out of the water. The officer saw that the man had bloodshot eyes with large pupils, and noticed he smelled like alcohol. He was…
All hams on deck
Jack North knew he had a good idea back in 1990, but he never dreamed his interactive murder mystery show, Murder Afloat, would still be sailing strong 20 years later. “In the late 1980s, I was doing a show at City Lights theater,” North says. “One of the other actors told me about an…
Can you TASTE the art?
Everyone calls Savannah an “art town.” But how artistic is it, really? Citing what they see as a serious gap in the local arts community, two local artists have organized an ambitious, very inclusive event that they hope will foster communication among what they say is a local scene working under its potential. The event,…
Keeping composed
When most people think of a “composer,” they think of a dead European dude with a powdered wig. Texas-born, Yale-educated, 41-year-old Christopher Theofanidis is none of those, but he is one of the most prolific young composers in America today. He has written new works for a diverse range of ensembles, from the Houston Symphony…
Leaked memo angers mayor
It had all the elements of a great Agatha Christie mystery. A group of people sitting around a large table, wide-eyed and open-mouthed as an angry accuser says he knows one of them has done a dastardly deed. But which one? However, the scene wasn’t a stately English manor house, it was the media room…
New Releases: Adventureland, Monsters vs. Aliens, etc.
ADVENTURELAND *** Our multiplexes need another period coming-of-age flick about as much as the nation needs another banking industry bailout, yet Adventureland proves to be a modest surprise. For that, thank the efforts of a talented ensemble and a screenplay that mostly steers clear of the usual gross-out gags that have come to define this…
Mike Marshall and Darol Anger with Vasen
Mike Marshall and Darol Anger with Vasen play the savannah music festival. charles h morris center, savannah ga. march 24, 2009.
New Covenant Church
Pastor drives change at New Covenant Editor, The New Covenant Church (Epworth Methodist Church), well known for turning out performances over the years, like “Harvey” and “Sabrina Fair”, under the directorship of Mrs. Pat Hoffman, has brought in crowds of up to 200 on a single weekend. Now, it’s the impassioned speeches of the new…
Backwoods rock
Don Chambers’ tunes are lyric-driven, dark and evocative, conjuring Southern gothic myths. They’re wrought of a web of familial woe and backwoods imagery, with a strong undercurrent of spooky religious portent. Currently a longtime resident of the fertile Athens, Ga., music scene, Chambers grew up across the South Carolina border a member of a fundamentalist…
Festival picks
Ian Bostridge & Julius Drake Fans of classical vocal music have no doubt been anticipating this exceedingly rare appearance by a pair of British recitalists who are both considered near the tops in their respective fields. Bostridge —a tenor whose technique and artistic gravity is envied by most similar singers of this generation— and Drake…
West African Drum & Dance Experience, Jeff Beasley
The Listening Room: West African Drum & Dance Experience, Jeff Beasley (feat.) The brainchild of local arts organizers and entrepreneurs Jake and Miriam Hodesh (who also run the monthly Savannah Market Bazaar), this monthly smoke and alcohol-free music series is designed to showcase regional acts who are either unknown or rarely play in quiet, family-oriented…
Q & A with Rob Gibson
To the best of my knowledge, Rob Gibson has never played a lick of music on any stage in Savannah. No quiet, intimate, VH1 Storytellers-type cabaret performances. No impromptu jam sessions with any of the myriad jazz and blues artists who hold court at the scores of local bars, restaurants and nightclubs. No unannounced cameos…
