XULUPROPHET + CLAY HODGES @ THE WORMHOLE
FRI NOV 3 | 9:30 PM
Savannah’s psychedelic funk/rock/reggae stalwarts are set to take another audience on a sonic trip that covers plenty of bases. Led by Irishman Oisin Daly and South Bronx native Xulu Jones, the compositions are levels above the average rock-reggae act, with skilled and experienced musicianship elevating the performance. Jones is also a local philosopher of sorts, with an interesting and engaging IG account worth following. On stage, the band delivers hard rock, funky grooves, chill reggae, and visual enhancements. If you missed them at the WSP after show party at a packed Wormhole, here’s your chance to experience a full headliner set. Rapper Clay Hodges opens the show with tracks from his intense and very personal LP B Good 2 U. He’s got a unique flow, various styles, and serious mic skills.
TEDDY ADAMS SEXTET @ GOODTIMES JAZZ BAR
FRI & SAT, NOV 3–4 | 8 PM
Adams is a legitimate local living legend and one of the first inductees in the Savannah/Coastal Jazz Association Hall of Fame. He’s credited with revitalizing the Savannah jazz scene over the last 30 years, has been presented with a key to the city and had an official holiday declared in his name in 1995. A world-class trombonist and band leader, he’s a link from the era of dozens of jazz clubs lining West Broad St. (now MLK Blvd.) in the late 50s-ealy 60s, to the current vibrant scene. His band is loaded with four more Savannah jazz pros that, like Adams, teach and play, keeping the current performance level high and the sound’s future alive. As always, he’s backed by the city’s best. Pianist Eric Jones, Kirk Lee and Calvin Barnes on brass, and the rhythm section of Marc Chesanow and Robert Britton Saunders promise a rousing performance.
VOODOO SOUP @ JAZZ’D TAPAS BAR
FRI NOV 3 | 7:30 PM
Somehow, our local city government has resisted creating an official Office of the Bassmaster General of Savannah. If it did, everyone knows who would be running it with a lifetime appointment. Eric “Big E” Moore has led the popular Voodoo Soup for more than a decade. Well-known for Sunday industry night shows, this booty-shaking marathon at Jazz’d is scheduled to go on until 11 pm, so rest up and wear your dancing shoes. Moore and his team of musical assassins heat things up with a heavy dose of rock, funk, R&B, and more. An intriguing cocktail menu, rich in martini variations, won’t hurt the cause of having a damn good time. DADDY’S BEEMER + CALICO MD @ EL ROCKO LOUNGE
SAT NOV 4 | 8 PM
JOSHUA RAY WALKER @ DISTRICT LIVE
WED NOV 8 | 8 PM
Country singer Joshua Ray Walker felt he needed an opening to gain traction in the competitive country landscape. He cites Chris Stapleton’s 2015 cover of Tennessee Whiskey as a tipping point, leading to an explosion of independent storyteller talent from the likes of Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers…and, eventually, him. He’s got more road stories than you can count, drawing from time with his trucker driver dad and his own tales of meeting characters on the road. The sound is not the mainstream country Shooter Jennings insisted on putting the “o” back in. It’s a classic sound telling modern stories with a haunting baritone vocal delivery that is not lacking in soul and substance. He’s drawing pictures in your mind, plucking heartstrings, and aiming at emotional connections. But it’s not all heavy human-interest topics of down-and-out folks surviving love and loss. Walker flexes his softer, sillier side with a cover of Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You, the title track of her phenomenal R&B LP. The video is not to be missed.
This article appears in Connect Savannah | October, 2023.
