Graveface Records is bringing their patented blend of wacky artistry for a massive music festival show to celebrate 20 years as a Savannah staple. 

The company which has developed many unique projects including a record store, a sideshow-themed museum focusing on the bizzare, a music venue, as well as a record label is putting together a special weekend of music highlighting the variety of talent in the Graveface family on October 15 – 16.

Ryan Graveface started the one-of-a kind company to dive into the many interests that began developing early in his life. 

“Honestly, I was just a weird kid, and now I am a weird 41 year old. I just had open minded parents that let me express myself. I became really fascinated with true crime and horror and music was a way to write about things that I liked.”

That love of music eventually led him to create his own label that is now the centerpiece of Graveface. 

Ryan views the label as a home for other misfit artists that lie outside of mainstream genres. “I tend to work with artists that don’t have another outlet,” he laughs, “It ain’t Top 40.”

It might not be “Top 40” but Graveface has gained quite a following in and out of Savannah. Local residents may recognize the popular slogan: “Keep Savannah Creepy” plastered on car bumpers or tshirts around town.

While the company has become very successful, Ryan says there was no master plan in place. 

“It just organically grew.” Ultimately, the brand just represents Ryan’s love for the odd. The locally famous Graveface museum is a strange but captivating destination that has everything from exhibits on old time sideshows to pinball arcades to a gallery of art from famous true crime cases.

While the company has set its roots down in Savannah, the show will display the reach the label now has. 

Artists from across the country and even overseas will descend on “The Lodge of Sorrows”, the Graveface-owned music venue. Over 15 acts will play during the festival, some which are a truly unique viewing opportunity for fans of the company.

“It sounds cliche to say, but it really is a once-in-a lifetime show. For example, one of the acts is Beachy Head which is a band made up of members of three other bands. Originally we were a recording only band, but this will be our first and maybe only live performance ever,” Ryan explains. Ultimately, this one-time only act is representative of the entire show. Ryan emphasizes that every act is bringing new evolutions to their music to produce an unforgettable experience.

For fans of the company’s psychedelic rock groups, this is a can’t miss show. Over the last 20 years, Graveface has become a huge part of the arts community in the city. “

Graveface is a really cool thing to be a part of. It is such an anchor for artists. They bring together so much: bands, film directors, visual artists, chefs, you name it,” Matt Duckworth, a member of the Flaming Lips, Brothers Griin, and Beachy Head explains.

For Matt, returning to Savannah for this show is a truly special milestone for one of his projects, Brothers Griin. Though he hails from Oklahoma and started his music career playing country music, he says that stumbled into the world of psychedelic rock by accident. Now, after many years of playing in rock bands, he ventured into a side project with electronic and dance influences. He began working on the groups’ first record in 2018 during a residency in Savannah. 

“To come full circle and perform the music for the first time in the city that it started in is really cool for us,” he says.

The sentimentality of the various artists under the Graveface label is apparent. Ryan explains that a driving force for the company was to create a community for artists to be able to influence each other, feature on each other’s records, form new acts, and more. 

“It is very Motown Records-style in the fact that we all play on each other’s records. Originally, that was the idea of the label when I started it in 2002.”

Ultimately, the upcoming festivities go to show the artistic power the company has accrued and the way Ryan’s original vision has come to forwishen. Fans will be treated to two days of live musical performances, a special premier screening of the Graveface documentary, and more.

“Communities need a place that helps drive art. A place that will put out your work if you are a musician or give you a venue to perform. All that kind of stuff. It is a really special thing happening,” Matt Duckworth says.

Though Graveface has been a wild success, don’t expect the Savannah powerhouse to slow down. Be on the lookout for continuous evolution from the creative juggernaut in the future. In the meantime, fans of the company can enjoy the upcoming celebration of what has been accomplished over the last two decades.

GRAVEFACE 20TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL

Friday, Oct 14:
9pm Graveface Documentary Screening (ONLY for full weekend ticket passholders)

Saturday, Oct 15:
11pm Night School (best of set)
10pm Monster Movie (members of Slowdive and Eternal – first US show)
9pm Fawning
8pm The Marshmallow Ghosts
7pm Chris Crisci (best of set)
6pm The Lipschitz
5pm Shouldies
4pm Valley Gals
3pm Dreamend (best of set)
2pm Velvet Gentleman
1pm Lovelorn (members of Creepoid)
12pm doors

Sunday, Oct 16:
10pm Brothers Griiin (drummers from The Flaming Lips)
9pm Beachy Head (Christian from Slowdive – first ever show)
8pm Night School (playing INVOKE in its entirety)
7pm Basically Nancy (playing s/t in its entirety)
6pm Chris Crisci (experimental set)
5pm Kid Dakota
4pm Dreamend (playing MAY YOU DIE WELL in its entirety)
3pm Bummerville
2pm Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir (playing SLOW MURDER in its entirety)
1pm Bands w/ Melody
12pm doors 

The Graveface 20th Anniversary Festival takes place Oct. 14-16 (Documentary film on Oct. 14 is only available to full weekend passholders).More information and tickets can be found at graveface.com

This article appears in Oct 12-18, 2022.