Well, COVID-19 has thrown everyone’s best-laid plans up in the air. I know you’d rather be here than sheltering in place at home. March, April, and May are usually the busiest time of the year; not just for myself as a tour guide, but for Savannah’s entire entertainment and hospitality industry. Plus, the weather is spectacular right now, y’all. However, our entire Spring season has collapsed and your vacation plans have been ruined. But if that’s the only thing in you life that has been ruined this year, you’re actually doing pretty well.
Lucky for you (and me!), our local performers have made a lot of great work available online for your socially distant pleasure. Just because we can’t go anywhere doesn’t mean we have to hibernate in our little caves like bears. Here is a list of just a few things I was able to pull together. Some of these are already past, but you can view the archive, and some have an ongoing schedule.
The Psychotronic Film Society.
I have written before about how much I love the PFS. You can review that blog post here. Well, now you can kick back at 8pm every Sunday and Wednesday night and enjoy a weird and obscure movie! Just join the PFS Facebook group to get updates and receive invitations. For each viewing, Jim shares a link to a YouTube playlist that includes his recorded introduction and that night’s film. Then you can hustle on over back to Facebook and join in the discussion about the movie. It’s almost as good as hanging out with all of us for real at the Sentient Bean. Want to show your love and support? Take a minute to throw a few dollars into Jim’s pocket via PayPal or you can Venmo him some money at James-Reed-109. Anyone who donates at least $5 will receive an email from Jim with a link to download a very special Psychotronic film to keep for your very own. You will also be entered into a drawing to win some nifty PFS swag.
Seldom Sober, Irish duo
The mayor cancelled St. Patrick’s Day this year (a real good move in hindsight), but you can still dance a little jig with Seldom Sober to accompany you. Michael, who is a personal friend of mine, sings and plays guitar. His colleague, Colleen, accompanies on the violin. They perform a set about 40 minutes long each Tuesday night at 8pm. Just go to their Facebook page to tune in live or to play past videos for yourself. Hope to see you there in the comments! If you would like to leave a tip for this pair of generous musicians, you can do so on this page of their website. You can also buy their album or a t-shirt!
Quarantine Concerts
“The idea first came to creator Michael Gaster when he would stream (Facebook Live) some of the concerts he was working on. Viewers would comment how they used to love to go see live music but no longer could, and how great it was to be able to see a live local performance from home. With a deeper appreciation for making entertainment accessible, Michael felt there was a need to bring quality live local entertainment to those less mobile. Now, with so many events being cancelled due to COVID-19, performers having fewer places to perform, and would-be audience members having no place to go, Michael knew it was time for Quarantine Concerts.”
View the list of upcoming local performers on Facebook.
Savannah Music Festival
This was one of the most unfortunate casualties of the COVID-19 shutdown. Next to St. Patrick’s Day, the SMF is Savannah’s premiere springtime festival. It’s two weeks of live performance by artists from all over the world and representing various genres. However, they made up for the tragic cancellation as best they could by setting up the SMF at Noon30 Concert Series. Each day when the festival would have been happening, one of the performers who had been booked did a live demonstration of their music. The dates are already past, but you can watch all the videos on SMF’s YouTube playlist. If you like what you see, consider purchasing tickets and planning a vacation for next Spring!
Savannah Philharmonic #SavPhilMusicMonday
Aw. Keitaro Harada just got here to be the new Music and Artistic Director of the Philharmonic and then a pandemic torched the whole season. It’s just not fair. But the Phil is rolling with the punches. Each Monday through September 14th you can enjoy Harada’s (remote) interview with a member of the orchestra. Videos run 10-ish minutes and finish with one of the Phil’s previous recorded performances. Here is the link to the YouTube playlist.
The Trainwrecks
This local band describes themselves as “Americana with a Rock ‘n Roll presentation”. If you’ve been here before, you might have caught them playing at The Jinx or any number of local bars. Visit their Facebook to see what’s playing and when.
NSFW DJ Collective
Miss hangin’ out at the club? NSFW DJ Collective is live streaming sets from local DJs via their Facebook page.
Sean Maloney, 5 o’clock Sessions
Local musician performs every day at 5pm. Tune in to his Facebook to follow along. And since it’s 5 o’clock, maybe pretend you’re in Savannah by listening with a drink in hand? Put it in a to-go cup just for us.
Keystone Postcard
Tune in to their “live from our driveway” performances every Wednesday from 4-6 and every Sunday from 1-3. Videos on their Facebook page.
Lyn Avenue, Six String Sippin’
Lyn Avenue will live stream a performance every Friday at 8pm through the rest of April. Check their Facebook for the most recent video.
Matt Eckstine, Shed Shows
Tune in to Ecktine’s Facebook feed for his music live stream each Saturday about 7:30. 25% of all tips you leave go to Second Harvest!
Odd Lot Improv streams improv games live
One of our local improv comedy troupes is doing “home editions” of their usual Monday Night Madness, Friday Funnies, and even their murder mystery show! Tune in to their Facebook to watch the fun and games and to participate via the comments.
Front Porch Improv Storytime
Savannah’s other local improv troupe does live readings of children’s books at 1pm every day. They have also made an archive available of their past performances. Visit their Facebook for more info.
Velvet Caravan
This is one of my favorite local bands. They describe themselves as “one of the most unusual ensembles in the area. Combining Gypsy, Honky-Tonk, Swing and Latin, this band plays upbeat tunes from all over the world with thunderous virtuosism and relentless sense of humor.” Velvet Caravan has been conducting live streams and listening parties on their Facebook page. Go give them a listen and go give them a few pennies for their trouble via PayPal or Venmo.
Well, sheltering in place is a bummer, but I hope you turn this unexpected downtime into an opportunity to acquaint yourself with just a little bit of our local talent. Maybe you’ll cook up some ideas for your next vacation here. Don’t forget to leave tips (if you can) for the art you enjoy. And while you’re on my website, pop over to my shopping page and order yourself something nice from one of our local businesses. They’ll be happy to ship to you. And if you want to help out yours truly, purchase a gift card now that you can redeem whenever you make it here. Just go to my Booking page and look for the Purchase Gift Card button beneath its respective tour.
Hope to see you soon!