If you have ever wanted to attend SXSW but couldn’t make it to Texas, Savannah Stopover is a good substitute as some bands tend to stop in Savannah on their way to Austin, TX.
Taking place on March 11-12, Savannah Stopover offers attendees a variety of genres from bands they already love, to up-and-coming artists they are sure to discover and has become known as one of the best curated music discovery festivals in the country.
With a lineup of 50 bands, it can be difficult to decipher who to catch, so here’s a list of five bands/artists you don’t want to miss.
Reverend Bro Diddley and The Hips (above)
Thursday 3/10 | 7 p.m. | Pre-Festival Kick Off Event
@ Service Brewing Co.
If you can get there the night before, head over to Service Brewing Co. to catch a trio of local bands performing. My personal favorite is Reverend Bro Diddley and The Hips who goes on at 7 p.m. The Hips are a well-disguised, sophisticated amalgamation of forward music and theatrics that will take you back to the early days of rock ‘n’ roll with their hypnotic and fun arrangements of all-original music. The Hips are no stranger to some of the festival performers as they have previously opened for Nordista Freeze. So, if psychedelic energy is your groove, don’t miss this band who should really be playing one of the stages during the main festival.
SASAMI
Friday 3/11 | 8:30 p.m. | Machine Shop Stage
Featured recently in The New York Times, NPR and Pitchfork, SASAMI is on the heels of releasing her new album, Squeeze. A collection of nu-metal, the album takes on the cis, white male space and challenges the boundaries of the genre. Familiar influences of contributors went into the album, such as King Tuff’s Kyle Thomas.
Cece Coakley
Friday 3/11 | 9 p.m. | Tender Frame Shop VIP Stage
While her show requires VIP credentials, Nashville’s Cece Coakley certainly makes it worth coughing up the extra cash. A cross between Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, Coakley is making waves with her single “Cliché”. She grew her original fanbase on TikTok (account handle @cecespizzabuffet) and now has over 62k monthly Spotify listeners and more than 1 million streams of her 2021 “Cliché” single.
Nordista Freeze
Saturday 3/12 | 7:30 p.m. | Paint Shop Stage
Don’t miss out on Nordista Freeze as he stops off in Savannah on his way to play SXSW. NPR described him as “the most beautiful and perfect example of the Nashville music scene” and the Nashville Scene declared him “the cosmic Tom Petty.” He’s a rising star who will likely be playing plenty from his 2021, recently released album, Big Sky Pipe Dream. He’s a prolific, live performer who has played over 500 live shows since 2016, thus his show is nearly guaranteed not to disappoint.
Been Stellar
Saturday 3/12 | 7 p.m. | Paint Shop Stage
Also, on their way to SXSW, the New York-based band Been Stellar will grace the Savannah Stopover Stage just before Nordista Freeze and right after fellow-New York band Dead Tooth. The post-punk band formed sometime in the last five years and already has an impressive following on Spotify with their 2020 single “Fear of Heights” and the 2021 single “Louis XIV”.
Other notable bands to catch include Soccer Mommy, the sure to be nostalgic We Were Promised Jetpacks and the ever popular Of Montreal.
Also, if you want to get the full Stopover experience, be sure to follow the festival on Twitter @SavStopover.
NOTE: In the past, the Stopover folks post an artist to Twitter an hour before the show starts and it’s up to you to make sure you have on your running shoes to not miss the show.
A real Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist-type of experience. Where’s Fluffy? Anyone?
