Savannah Music Festival - Savannah, Georgia
That is a promise. The widest range
of musical palates will be satisfied during
this cross-genre celebration, from
A to Z, Americana to Zydeco, and
everything in between: baroque, bluegrass,
classical, country, funk, rhythm
and blues, rock and pop. And there
also are categories you might never
have imagined existed, such as steel
gospel music and shouting. Say what?
Robert Randolph, with The Family
Band, is an African-American and a
pedal steel player. He brings his brand
of sacred, steel gospel music to secular
audiences. Shouters are Gullahs from
along the Georgia coast who have preserved
the ancient slave shout songs.
In one day, you can walk to the
Unitarian Universal Church for the
11 a.m. concert series and be mesmerized
by the beauty and talent of
Catherine Leonard, Ireland's leading
violinist. An early evening performance
might be an exciting duo such
the young Brazilian guitarist Chico
Pinheiro and hot jazz songbird Dianne
Reeves. Next you should change
into jeans because there's a Cajun
dance party goin' on. Think Louisiana
dance hall, with Cajun tunes
played by fiddler Joel Savoy and Jesse
Lege with the Caleb Klauder Honky
Tonk Band.
All within the Historic District, the
venues, like the sounds, are as varied
as Savannah's many personalities.
You may take in a performance at the
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the
highbrow, art-laden Telfair Academy
or the striking, contemporary Jepson
Center for the Arts. Events are
staged at the restored Lucas Theatre
for the Arts, the larger Johnny
Mercer Theatre, outdoor on River
Street, at the Kennedy Pharmacy and
in honky-tonks and no-frills dance
halls. 
Keep this in mind when you
pack for Savannah: You might want
to include long evening dresses and
gold stilettos, jeans and tennis shoes,
boots for the bluegrass sets and all
black for the dimly-lit jazz clubs.
The Savannah Music Festival, held annually in March, has grown from a regional event in 2003 to a global happening, attracting national and international performers from far-flung places such as Brazil, West Africa, India, Germany and the British Isles. At the risk of sounding trite, it truly has something for everyone.Pick a conveniently located place to stay in the Historic District because you will be running home to change between sets. If you choose one of Savannah's delightful bed-and-breakfasts, schedule a pit stop for the nightly wine reception, which most inns serve between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The global element of the Savannah
Music Festival expands each
year, with India, West Africa and
Cuba among the countries represented
in 2011, and a genre called
world music is now a staple at the
annual event.
Some of the events at the festival actually are free, such as the Swing Central Jazz Series, which attracts large crowds. Parents with musicallyinclined children should not miss the annual competition among a dozen of the country's hardest-swinging high school bands. It's bound to inspire your young drummer.
Whether you love the sound of an accordion or a French horn rings your chimes, or you simply wanna clap to banjo music, be soothed by a lute or thrill to the blare of a trumpet, you will have the best of times at the Savannah Music Festival.
For more information,
visit
www.savannahmusicfestival.org
or call (912) 234-3378.