LAUREL HELLS RAMBLERS + X DIRTY FINGERS @ THE SLAB
TUES DEC 5 | 6:30 PM
You might not even know it exists, but gothic mountain bluegrass is a real thing, and it’ll haunt you like the dead relative you failed to pay enough attention to. From the heart of Appalachia in the hills of western Virginia, the trio of Jade Louise, Clover Lynn, and Deirdre Price blend driving banjo and folk with the dark side of, well, everything. “The Hullabaloo in the 912” opens with Savannah’s Dusty Joy (haunted folk pop) and central Florida’s anarcho folk punks (also a thing) X Dirty Fingers. It’s quite a lineup of a genre the world needs more of. This one is held at the house show venue and art collective The Slab. Find them online and, as the saying goes, “DM for address.”
DANIEL DONATO’S COSMIC COUNTRY + EGGY @ VICTORY NORTH
FRI DEC 1 | 8 PM
The then-teenage Daniel Donato, realizing he was not good at skateboarding and needing direction in his life, did excel at Guitar Hero. Then he heard “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses. Then he picked up his dad’s guitar, found what he was looking for, and hasn’t stopped creating music since. By 16, he was gigging at Nashville’s legendary Robert’s Western World. He was also busking outside Phish and John Mayer shows, all the while honing his unique sound. Now fully developed, it’s made from outlaw country and Grateful Dead-style Americana that Donato calls “21st-century cosmic country.” The short version: another phenomenal Nashville artist is coming to rock Savannah. It seemingly never ends, and let’s hope it doesn’t. New Haven, CT, jam band Eggy opens with a funk-psych-blues blend.
MOSH FOR TOTS @ SOUTHBOUND BREWERY
SAT DEC 2 | 7 PM
Clean underwear alert. This year’s annual Mosh for Tots metal benefit show is a five-band facemelter headlined by Jacksonville’s metalcore veterans Evergreen Terrace (pictured). When they aren’t pounding your ears into hamburger, they do a sweet cover of “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. The Duval fellas are joined by Savannah’s lethal deathcore servers Omenkiller and a pair of South Carolina death- bands Homicyde (-metal) and Violent End (-core). Last but certainly not least is Savannah beatdown specialists Slingblade, who you should never refer to as Kaiserblade. The contrast is stark. Bands playing violent music in genres of beating and death music coming together for a worthy cause is so metal. To make a toy donation, go to Toys for Tots online and/or buy a ticket and mosh for tots. Charitable catharsis is real.
BOOGIE T.RIO + MANIC FOCUS @ ELAN SAVANNAH
SAT DEC 2 | 10 PM
In advertising copywriting, an essential element is to find the USP, the unique selling point. This is relatively easy with Boogie T.Rio. Artists in the EDM space who show up with instruments and amplifiers do not happen much, if ever. Like gothic mountain bluegrass mentioned elsewhere in this column, the world needs more live EDM bands. They debuted at Electric Forest in 2018, have appeared at several other festivals, and toured the nation a couple of times. That implies acceptance of a live band in a genre that has “electronic” right there in its name. Quite an achievement. Sharing the bill on the Manic Daze Boogie Nights tour is Denver-based artist Manic Focus and Marvel Years, another EDM-with-a-guitar act. Is this too much encroachment of rock on the style? Only one way to find out.
HOLISLAY: A SHOWGHOULS SHOWCASE @ THE WORMHOLE
SAT DEC 2 | 10 PM
It's common knowledge you can’t have Christmas in Savannah until the holiday drag show extravaganzas are done. Kicking off this season’s beatings is The Wormhole’s offering that doesn’t quite let go of Halloween, totally ignores Thanksgiving (queens do not overeat), and smushes it into Christmas. Hosted by the indomitable Red, she’s bringing four more glamazons to get you all ho-ho-hot and bothered. The devastating lineup: Miss Yuviah Rose is both nice and naughty, Glam Starr Nicole gives fruitcake for days, Koko Dove is stuffing stockings like a madwoman, and determined to make your Yuletide as gay as humanly possible is D. Luca. Curious, guys? You are, aren't you?
