Embedded Files
I’m writing this post from the soundboard at Honky Tonk South, running sound for the Andrew Sovine Trio. I first got to know Andrew when he was doing music supervision for the Judd Apatow movie that just wrapped up filming here. Now sitting behind this board, surrounded by the ambient hum of amps and a bar that actually appreciates and prioritizes a variety of live music, it’s hitting me how much the Savannah scene has quietly progressed over the last ten years.
If you had told me a decade ago that we’d have Phish playing the arena, or venues like Victory North regularly host my idols, like Drive-By-Truckers, Lettuce, and Buckethead, alongside local heavyweights like Velvet Caravan, I wouldn’t have believed you. We had a few venues (can't say I miss the Stage on Bay), but for the most part decent line-ups were a few hour drive away!
But it’s not just the big names coming through; it’s the people deciding to stay, cultivating the scene.
A little while ago, Victory North hosted a meeting for the Savannah Music Collective, spearheaded by Mary Armstrong Dugas—who, if you don’t know, spent years as the tour manager for Widespread Panic. With a seat at that kind of table, you realize this city is filling up with localizers. World-class musicians, career solo artists, audio engineers, tour managers, studio owners, even venue operators like Brian Goldburg at Victory North. People who aren't treating music as a hobby, but as their actual livelihood. Putting the blood sweat and tears behind the art. They aren’t just clocking in. They're pumping blood and building a legitimate, thriving ecosystem right here in the Hostess City.
And my way of honoring this deeply professional, hard-working musical community... I put on a full tracksuit, strapped on a keytar, and rallied strangers in Starland during First Friday.
Let me explain.
My band, Sporehead, booked a September 4th show at Victory North. It was a massive deal for us, especially since our guitarist, Ian, is moving part-time to Philly. This wasn't just another gig; it was our big hurrah before retreating into the studio for a while.
But as the date crept closer, we hit the classic Savannah hurdle: advance ticket sales. We are a notorious "day-of-show" town. People love to weigh options on the weather, ask friends whats going on that day, or walk up to the door when they hear the bass bumping. That’s great for a spontaneous party, but it’s brutal on the venues and the artists trying to forecast a budget and keep the lights on.
The standard 2026 playbook says you should just throw money at a Meta ad, cross your fingers, and pray the algorithm serves your flyer to the right people.
But algorithms don't build ecosystems. People do.
I miss the days of the street team. I miss the human connection of handing someone a piece of paper and telling them why they need to be in a specific room on a specific night. So, I decided to bypass the AI and the funnels entirely.
I reached out to my partner, Thao Hong, and linked up with her network of local illustrators. Going to Anthony Barbara at Pizzeria Press we commissioned a design for digital and physical posters printed through a risograph printer. Ian hit up our friend Mars Tadeo to design a custom, hand-drawn logo. We took that art, made stickers, and had another friend hand-tie-dye a batch of t-shirts.
This is the real arts economy. It’s paying a local printing company. It’s commissioning a human illustrator instead of typing prompts into a generator. It's real humans communicating to real people to make real HUMAN art.
So I grabbed those freshly printed Riso flyers, put on the tracksuit, and took to the streets to bring back the street team. Nothing says "2 cool 4 school" quite like a maniac ripping a keytar on a sidewalk.
The payoff was everything we hoped for. The Savannah community showed up. We got to bring the funk and jam to the exact same stage where my musical heroes have stood.
To top it all off, we hired Tyler Cooke of Cooke Creations to document the night. He showed up wearing Heelys, gliding through a packed house and Starland with an iPhone, perfectly capturing the magic of a room that was built on handshakes and flyers instead of targeted ads.
This city is bursting with incredible people doing the work to make Savannah a world-class music town. But they can't do it alone.
Reach for your dreams, and don't just talk about them. Share your interests. Create community.
But most importantly:
Commission and hire the Artists and Musicians you love.
Show up to the shows, and buy your tickets in advance.
Support the local printers, the graphic designers, the sound techs, and the bands who are building their lives here.
Let's bring back the street team. I'll see you at the next show.
(I'll leave the keytar at home. Maybe.)
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