IN THE season of giving, what's better than giving back while enjoying the comforts of community, live music, and good food?
If you’ve never made it out to the annual Yuletide Jam, cut out some time between shopping and trimming the tree to take the whole family out to Tubby’s Thunderbolt on Friday. The Seventh Annual Yuletide Jam Fundraiser, benefiting Second Harvest, has grown each year, and 2014 may be the best yet.
Stewart Marshall of the group Stewart & Winfield has been with the event since early on.
“It happened that Mary Jane Crouch, Executive Director of Second Harvest, came to me back in 2008 about getting Stewart & Winfield to come play a fundraiser,” explains Marshall. “We’re from here, but we’ve been based out of Athens since ’89. It was sort of a homecoming to come back and play. Now, we’ve asked friends to join in, and it’s grown from there.”
While in the past, the celebration has been an all-day, all-night type of thing, Marshall says they’ve scaled back this year so that the crowd doesn’t get worn out and can appreciate all of the evening’s talent, which includes local faves Soap, Bottles & Cans, The Veraflames, Junkyard Angel, and more. Attendees can check bands out on an indoor and outdoor stage.
“It’s a cast of those who have supported us in the past and get into the spirit,” says Marshall. “I know most everybody in these groups that are playing. It’s a friendship type of thing.”
In addition to old pals, Marshall is particularly excited about newcomers Willie and the Giant. “They’re an Al Green type of soul band, a standout type of sound for this year,” he excitedly shares.
The Yuletide Jam marks the Nashville band’s first time in Savannah; with an emphasis on warm, saturated vintage sound dipped in Southern soul, they’ll certainly be welcomed on the diverse bill of funky blues and rock n’ roll.
It seems only fitting that a tight-knit community of musicians and friends join together to support an organization that creates dynamic change right here in the Lowcountry, acting as a food safety net for low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, and children. In 2013, Second Harvest provided more than 8.1 million meals (that’s more than 9.6 million pounds of food) to locals in need.
The entirety of the cover charge will go toward the cause. Guests are strongly encouraged to bring canned goods to donate.
