Arts and Entertainment
January 7, 2025
From: Savannah Music FestivalExperience a World of Music in One City
Georgia's largest musical arts event and one of the most distinctive cross-genre music festivals in the world.
Schedule of Events:
January 11, 2025
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm: Music Industry Q&A Panel
Join us for a fun and informative event where you can learn all about the music industry from experts in the field. Get insider tips on how to break into the industry, network with other music enthusiasts, and ask your burning questions during the Q&A session. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with like-minded individuals. See you there!
Free and open to the public! All ages are welcome!
Panelists:
Andrew Sovine
Dr. Amy Williams
Mary Dugas
Jacob E. Evans aka Sandwich
Location: Live Oak Public Library
Click here to Sign up
January 25, 2025
5:30 pm – 10:00 pm: Winter Bash – A Party & Concert to Benefit Savannah Music Festival
Beyond Exceptional Dentistry is the presenting Sponsor of the 2025 Winter Bash
Imagine stepping into a breathtaking winter wonderland in the Salzburg Ballroom at Plant Riverside District. Enveloped by the delicate beauty of snowy décor, you’re greeted with a delectable Winter Bash cocktail. As you sip, the air fills with melodies, a seamless stream of live music enhancing every moment from start to finish. Don’t miss the “Going Beyond” Luxury Lounge in the riverfront foyer, hosted by Beyond Exceptional Dentistry—a space where sophistication and celebration come together. Unwind in a plush setting, savor a glass of champagne, and enjoy this special evening. Your night continues with a delectable dinner and fundraising program in the Salzberg Ballroom, followed by an exclusive performance by the acclaimed jazz sensation Matthew Whitaker in Plant Riverside District’s nightclub venue, District Live.
This is not just an event; it’s a night that will ignite conversations and linger in memories! Don’t let this enchanting experience pass you by!
Proceeds from the Winter Bash support Savannah Music Festival programming, including year-round free education programs and community outreach events, off-season concerts, and the signature springtime festival.
HONORARY CHAIR Tim Coy
EVENT CHAIR Rhegan White-Clemm
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Gene Dobbs Bradford
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Ryan McMaken
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $400
Click here to buy tickets.
February 13, 2025
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: The Wood Brothers
A Savannah Music Festival ENCORE pre-festival concert
B. Matthew’s Eatery is the Presenting Sponsor of Savannah Music Festival Encore
The Wood Brothers have learned to trust their hearts. For the better part of two decades, they’ve cemented their reputation as freethinking songwriters, road warriors, and community builders, creating a catalog of diverse music and a loyal audience who’ve grown alongside them through the years. That evolution continues with Heart is the Hero, the band’s eighth studio album. Recorded analog to 16-track tape, this latest effort finds its three creators embracing the chemistry of their acclaimed live shows by capturing their performances in real-time direct from the studio floor with nary a computer in sight. An acoustic-driven album that electrifies, Heart is the Hero is stocked with songs that target not only the heart, but the head and hips, too.
Location: Victory North
Tickets: $47 – $57
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March 26, 2025
6:00 pm – 7:15 pm: DakhaBrakha’s Borscht Workshop
Join DakhaBrakha in the Teaching Kitchen at the Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden for an evening of Ukrainian folk songs and borscht! In a cooking show style, they’ll prepare a pot of the classic beet soup live on stage, accompanied by traditional Ukrainian tunes. Everyone will get the opportunity to sample the soup at the end of the workshop.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $20.00
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March 27, 2025
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Julia Fischer & Jan Lisiecki
One of the world’s leading violinists, Julia Fischer is a versatile musician also known for her extraordinary abilities as a concert pianist, a chamber musician and a music teacher. The first prize at the international Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 1995 was one of the milestones in her early career. She has since performed with top orchestras worldwide and frequently collaborates with renowned conductors. In her Savannah Music Festival debut, Fischer is joined by Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, who made his Savannah Music Festival recital debut in 2017. Lisiecki looks back on a career spanning a decade and a half on the world’s greatest stages. He also works closely with the foremost conductors and orchestras of our time, performing over a hundred concerts a year. This unique duo program will be presented only 15 times in major halls and festivals across North America and Europe. This opening night festival concert is not to be missed.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Sonata No. 26 in B-flat Major, K. 378
Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Opus 24, “Spring“
–INTERMISSION–
Robert Schumann Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Opus 121
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $58.00
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7:00 pm – 8:15 pm: Emmet Cohen & New Jazz Underground
Pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation’s leading figures in jazz. DownBeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command of a seasoned veteran and the passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium. In this Savannah Music Festival return, Emmet Cohen is joined by New Jazz Underground, a trio that has been described as “an innovative and ultra-creative collective striving to establish themselves as a defining voice for the genre of jazz and beyond”. Merging traditional jazz sensibilities with modern influences such as swing, hip-hop, house, Afrobeat, and Afro-Cuban music, the trio initially gained recognition through viral videos showcasing their chemistry, musicality, and raw ambition.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets.
7:30 pm – 8:45 pm: DakhaBrakha
DakhaBrakha is a quartet from Kyiv, Ukraine that creates a world of unexpected new music. Reflecting fundamental elements of sound and soul, DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art ‘DAKH’ by avant-garde theater director Vladyslav Troitskyi. The name means ‘give/take’ in the old Ukrainian language. After experimenting with Ukrainian folk music, they began to incorporate the rhythms of global traditions into their music, creating the unique and unforgettable sound of DakhaBrakha. Accompanied by Indian, Arabic, African, and Ukrainian traditional instrumentation, the quartet’s astonishingly powerful and uncompromising vocal range creates a distinctive global sound that is still rooted in Ukrainian culture. This is their first Savannah Music Festival appearance since 2017.
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
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8:00 pm – 9:30 pm: Leftover Salmon
In their fourth decade as a band, Leftover Salmon’s current lineup has been together longer than any other and is one of their strongest ever. Built around founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo wizard Andy Thorn, the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison (who performed at Savannah Music Festival 2024 with Mighty Poplar) and drummer Alwyn Robinson, along with dobro and keyboard player Jay Starling. This lineup continues Salmon’s storied history, which began with their roots in progressive bluegrass and evolved as they became one of the original jam bands and the architects of what is now known as jamgrass. Don’t miss their Savannah Music Festival debut!
Location: Victory North
Ticket: $47.00
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8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: BalletCollective: Translation
Founded in 2010 by acclaimed choreographer, director, and New York City Ballet soloist Troy Schumacher, arts nonprofit BalletCollective asks not what ballet is, but what it can be. By partnering with both emerging and established art makers and thought leaders, they use a deeply collaborative, signature process to make forward-thinking ballet-based works. This long-anticipated BalletCollective presentation incorporates work by dancer-choreographers and Georgia natives Gabrielle Lamb and Artistic Director Troy Schumacher. This program features scores by composers Caleb Burhans, Phong Tran and Julianna Barwick and pieces from collaborations with artist and MacArthur Fellow Trevor Paglen, game developer Samantha Lee, Chilean installation artist Sergio Mora Diaz and science fiction writer Ken Liu. Anchored by Schumacher’s Translation, the program takes the audience through several styles of ballet.
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Tickets: $46 – $76
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March 28, 2025
12:30 pm – 1:45 pm: Noon30: Emmet Cohen, piano
Pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation’s leading figures in jazz. DownBeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command of a seasoned veteran and the passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $39.00
Click here to buy tickets.
5:00 pm – 6:15 pm & 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm: Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
Formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS) is regarded as Italy’s leading and longest-standing traditional music ensemble, hailing from Salento in Puglia. Italy’s fascinating dichotomy of tradition and modernity comes together in the music of CGS. The seven-piece band and dancer are the leading exponents in a new wave of young performers reinventing Southern Italy’s pizzica music and dance traditions for today’s global audience. The tens of thousands who often congregate for this Lecce-based band’s concerts in Italy know that bandleader, fiddler and drummer Mauro Durante and company can make an audience shimmy with the energy of the ancient ritual of pizzica tarantata, said to cure the tarantula spider’s bite with its frenzied trance-like dances. CGS shows are full of energy, passion, rhythm and mystery, bringing the audience from the past into modernity, and back. This is their first time at Savannah Music Festival.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $45.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5pm show.
Click here to buy tickets for 7:30pm show
5:30 pm – 6:45 pm & 8:00 pm – 9:15 pm: Cajun Dance Party: BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet
For 50 years, two-time Grammy winner BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet has been hailed as one of the best Cajun bands in the world. Doucet and the band can be credited with helping take Cajun music from its regional roots in Louisiana to popularity worldwide. Making their Savannah Music Festival debut with these performances, BeauSoleil’s distinctive sound derives from New Orleans jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, zydeco, country and bluegrass. Driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle and soulful vocals, BeauSoleil always gets audiences dancing!
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5:30pm show
Click here to buy tickets for 8pm show
6:00 pm – 7:05 pm: Michelle Cann, piano
Lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone, Michelle Cann is one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation and a leading interpreter of the music of Florence Price. Recent engagements include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Her honors include the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. A committed educator, she joined the Curtis Institute of Music piano faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies. In 2024, she was named the inaugural Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner of the American Pianists Association, responsible for artistic oversight of the American Pianists Awards. This is Michelle Cann’s Savannah Music Festival debut.
Florence Price Fantasie Nègre Nos. 1, 2, 4
Margaret Bonds Spiritual Suite
Betty Jackson King Four Seasonal Sketches
Nora Holt Negro Dance Opus 25, No. 1
Hazel Scott
Improvisation on Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C-sharp minor
Improvisation on Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $58.00
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8:00 pm – 10:20 pm: Shovels & Rope / Langhorne Slim
A co-bill of special acoustic performances!
Shovels & Rope’s Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are an acclaimed folk-rock duo from Charleston, SC. This intimate acoustic set will feature songs from their Fall 2023 Bare Bones tour, where they performed across 16 cities on the East Coast and Midwest. The duo will perform stripped-down renditions of songs from their celebrated body of work, including their most recent album, Something is Working Up Above My Head.
Langhorne Slim is a beloved and acclaimed American singer, songwriter and performer. Over the last two decades, he has merged a stew of styles to create a sound that is unique, powerful and raw. From campfires to dive bars, and theaters to arenas, Slim brings an intimacy and edge through his innate ability to connect with his audiences. Though he’s been at this for the better part of his days, it somehow feels like he’s just getting started.
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Tickets: $39 – $79
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March 29, 2025
4:30 pm – 6:40 pm & 8:00 pm – 10:10 pm: East Nash Grass / Bronwyn Keith-Hynes Band
East Nash Grass, a standout band from Nashville’s vibrant music scene, built its reputation on nightly performances around Music City’s East side. What began as a casual weekly bluegrass night at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge gradually evolved into a dedicated group, eventually becoming one of bluegrass’s top young bands. In 2024, they won the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) “New Artist of the Year” award, with members highly sought after as side musicians for genre stars. Whether playing bluegrass Mondays at Dee’s or on the Ryman Auditorium stage, East Nash Grass brings swagger, skill, and high energy to every performance.
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is renowned as a prolific instrumentalist, earning two IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards and a Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. Her new solo album, I Built a World, also showcases her impressive vocal abilities. As a child, she transitioned from music lessons to public performances, especially in Irish music, after her family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. Her lifelong music education, including the American Roots Music program at Berklee and Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar, continues to shape her work. She blends traditional bluegrass with personal expression, saying, “My favorite bluegrass musicians are rooted in tradition but don’t see boundaries.”
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 4:30pm show
Click here to buy tickets for 8pm show
5:00 pm – 6:15 pm & 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm: Catherine Russell & Sean Mason
Esteemed Grammy-nominated vocalist Catherine Russell and celebrated pianist Sean Mason join forces for this opening Savannah Music Festival concert at District Live. Catherine Russell and Sean Mason share a profound connection that transcends their impressive individual talents. Both masters of jazz, their repertoires span the vast landscape of African-American and American popular music, from the blues and R&B to the Great American Songbook, Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. This collaboration represents a unique convergence of experience and youthful virtuosity, offering a fresh yet timeless sound.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5pm show
Click here to buy tickets for 7:30pm show
5:00 pm – 6:20 pm & 8:00 pm – 9:20 pm: Latin Dance Party: Kiki Valera y su Son Cubano
Son cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba, and Kiki Valera is one of its foremost exponents. Over the last century, this style of traditional Cuban music has contributed to many other genres of music, including jazz, cha cha cha, mambo, salsa, songo and timba. Kiki Valera is the oldest son of the famous La Familia Valera Miranda septet, a multi-generational traditional music group from Santiago de Cuba. Since the 19th century, La Familia Valera Miranda has played a significant role in Cuban culture by collecting and preserving the deep-rooted traditions of the legendary Sierra Maestra mountain region. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer, he’s best known as one of the world’s greatest players of the Cuban cuatro, a mid-size guitar with 8 strings grouped in sets of 2. His current project features several other internationally acclaimed recording artists and is sure to keep audiences on their feet.
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5pm show
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8:00 pm – 9:30 pm: Angélique Kidjo
Five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today—a creative force with sixteen albums to her name. Time Magazine has called her “Africa’s premier diva” and named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2021. The BBC has included her in its list of the continent’s 50 most iconic figures, and in 2011 The Guardian listed her as one of their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Forbes Magazine has ranked Kidjo as the first woman in their list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa. She is the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, the 2018 German Sustainability Award, the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music, and the 2023 Polar Music Prize. As a polyglot performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won the respect of her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. Don’t miss this electrifying opening weekend concert and be prepared to get on your feet and dance!
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Tickets: $42 – $82
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March 30, 2025
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Philip Dukes & Friends I: Mozart by Candlelight
An unforgettable concert experience, unlike any we’ve presented at the Savannah Music Festival! A fabulous and extended evening featuring some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most popular compositions and readings from his letters. Step back in time and look forward to Savannah Music Festival chamber musicians as you have never seen them before—in 18th-century costume!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478
Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304
–INTERMISSION–
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento No. 1 in D Major, K. 136
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $53.00
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7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Jenny Scheinman’s All Species Parade
Featuring Bill Frisell, Carmen Staaf, Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen
Jenny Scheinman, acclaimed violinist and composer, for many years a stalwart of the New York jazz and creative music scenes, returned to her native Humboldt County, California in 2012. She has played Savannah Music Festival with her projects Mischief & Mayhem and Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait, and was an instructor during Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar. With the creation of her new project, All Species Parade, Scheinman immersed herself in the sounds and cultural history of her homeland, aiming to musically conjure the extraordinary diversity of life, past and present, in the Pacific Northwest. Scheinman’s all-original program came together on a duo album including pianist Carmen Staaf, guitarists Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Julian Lage, and the revered rhythm section of Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $39.00
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7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Taj Mahal
For more than 40 years, four-time Grammy-winning Blues Hall of Famer Taj Mahal and his band have taken blues on a joyous ride through reggae, funk, jazz, Cajun, and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. The Quintet is made up of internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich and steel drummer Robert Greenidge (Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band), revered percussionist/drummer Tony Durham and Hawaii-based guitarist and lap steel master Bobby Ingano. The Quintet matches musical virtuosity with downhome grit unlike anyone else. They blend sophistication with humble familiarity, equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or the Carnegie Hall stage. According to Taj, the collaboration extends far beyond the Quintet itself. “Music is like theater to a lot of people—they’re watching it,” he says. “You can watch it, but you’re supposed to participate. The audience is just as much a part of the music as the musicians are.” Taj pauses, then adds with a warm laugh, “I do like it when they dance.”
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Ticket: $42 – $87
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April 1, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Simon Mulligan plays Bernstein
British pianist Simon Mulligan is a prolific and versatile musician, having performed with Yehudi Menuhin, Lynn Harrell, and Joshua Bell, among many others. He also works in contemporary music, film and jazz, holds the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music, and is an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland. In this Savannah Music Festival solo debut, Mulligan plays his own transcriptions and improvisations of celebrated works by Leonard Bernstein from West Side Story, On the Town, Wonderful Town, and Candide. Simon Mulligan is a Steinway artist.
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $47.00
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7:30 pm - 8:45 pm: Edmar Castañeda Quartet
Upon arriving in the United States in 1994, Colombian-born Edmar Castañeda made a name for himself as the preeminent jazz harp virtuoso. Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition with a diverse set of styles and genres while bringing attention to the harp. Single-handedly, Castañeda has cemented the harp’s place in jazz with innovative technique and heartfelt creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with music titans such as Wynton Marsalis, Béla Fleck, John Scofield, Ricki Lee Jones, Hiromi, Pedrito Martinez, Marcus Miller, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ivan Lins, The Yellowjackets, Paco De Lucia, and Paquito D’Rivera. This is his Savannah Music Festival debut.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets.
April 2, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Noon30: Edmar Castañeda & Andrea Tierra
Enjoy an encore duo lunchtime performance by Edmar Castañeda and his wife, vocalist Andrea Tierra. Colombian-born Edmar Castañeda has made a name for himself as the preeminent jazz harp virtuoso ever since arriving in the United States in 1994. Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition with a diverse set of styles and genres while bringing attention to the harp. Single-handedly, Castañeda has cemented the harp’s place in jazz with innovative technique and heartfelt creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with music titans such as Wynton Marsalis, Béla Fleck, John Scofield, Ricki Lee Jones, Hiromi, Pedrito Martinez, Marcus Miller, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ivan Lins, The Yellowjackets, Paco De Lucia, and Paquito D’Rivera.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $39.00
Click here to buy tickets.
4:30 pm - 5:45 pm & 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Cillian Vallely, David Doocey & Alan Murray
This new trio features a unique collaboration between three of the best-known names in traditional Irish music: Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes, David Doocey on fiddle, and Alan Murray on guitar and vocals. They released their debut album to great critical acclaim, including a four-star review from the Irish Times. Armagh native Cillian Vallely has established his name over the last two decades through his playing with award-winning Irish supergroup and Savannah Music Festival favorite Lúnasa, in addition to performing or recording with artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Declan O’Rourke. David Doocey, from Co. Mayo, is at the forefront of a younger generation of Irish musicians. He has won several awards for his outstanding fiddle playing, including the All-Ireland Fleadh, and has performed with Grada, Michael McGoldrick, Martin Hayes, and Sharon Shannon, among others. Guitarist, bouzouki player and singer Alan Murray hails from Glasgow, Scotland, where he grew up playing the whistle and later guitar. He has also worked with a wide range of artists, including Lúnasa, Eileen Ivers, and The Battlefield Band.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 4:30pm show
Click here to buy tickets for 7pm show
6:00 pm - 7:45 pm: Philip Dukes & Friends II: Gems
“Gems” of repertoire and “gems” of artists come together to deliver a glittering program of variety and some more light-hearted presentations—with one or two hidden talents on display! Philip Dukes and his chamber musician friends welcome a new artist to the chamber group: Grace Park on violin. It will be an evening to remember!
Franz Schubert Fantasie in F minor, D. 940 (four hands)
Alan Ridout Ferdinand and the Bull
Robert Schumann Fantasiestücke, Opus 73
Walter Leigh Romance for Piano Quintet
–INTERMISSION–
Gabriel Fauré Dolly Suite, Opus 56 (four hands)
Camille Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Opus 28
Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings, Opus 11
Leroy Anderson Fun Favorites (arr. William Zinn):
Serenata
Forgotten Dreams
Belle of the Ball
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $53.00
Click here to buy tickets.
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter
With a combined 18 IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards, these two phenoms have joined forces for a new duo project that is already taking the industry by storm. Their first single “Give It Away” reached #1 on Bluegrass Today’s charts, and weeks after its release, the duo received two standing ovations at the Grand Ole Opry (along with a quick invitation to return). From late-night jam sessions and unforgettable stage performances to recording on each other’s solo projects, the idea of a joint collaboration began taking shape each time Carter and Cleveland visited. Michael Cleveland is a Grammy Award winner and NEA National Heritage Fellow who began playing professionally after high school with Dale Ann Bradley and Rhonda Vincent. He fronts the instrumental powerhouse Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and has performed with Béla Fleck, Tommy Emmanuel, Billy Strings and Vince Gill, among others. For over three decades, Jason Carter has been a cornerstone of the bluegrass world, serving as the fiddler for the renowned Del McCoury Band and as co-founder of the Travelin’ McCourys. Carter has won three Grammy Awards, and has also recorded and performed with an impressive array of bluegrass and country music artists. In 2015, the prolific fiddler and baritone’s name was added to The Country Music Highway in Eastern Kentucky, alongside artists including Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle and Chris Stapleton.
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
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7:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Step Afrika!
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the world’s leading authority on the art form of stepping. Under Mr. Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports. The company’s self-titled work Step Afrika! introduces audiences to stepping through both a traditional and contemporary lens. Step Afrika! combines percussive dance styles from historically African American fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances, and a range of contemporary dance and art forms to create a cohesive and compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. Their blend of technique, agility, and energy makes each performance unforgettable, leaving audiences with hearts pounding.
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Tickets: $39 – $79
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April 3, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:35 pm: Noon30: Darol Anger & Bruce Molsky
Darol Anger and Bruce Molsky have been musical explorers together for years, sharing a creative universe that’s resulted in some epic collaborations, including the Grammy-nominated Fiddlers Four (with Michael Doucet and Rushad Eggleston), crashing each other’s concerts and recordings, and just finding big joy in playing together. Freestyle fiddler, composer, producer and educator Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. Described as “an absolute master” (No Depression), Bruce’s take on tradition has landed him in collaborations with some of the world’s most highly respected players from roots to rock. This duo project results from their recent release, Lockdown Breakdown.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $39.00
Click here to buy tickets.
6:00 pm - 7:15 pm: American Opera Icon
Celebrating Sherrill Milnes on the 60th anniversary of his Metropolitan Opera Debut
Join American baritone Sherrill Milnes, who shares stories about the debut that launched him into international stardom and his life as the most recorded American opera singer of his time. Through exciting live performances from Milnes’ colleagues and mentees, along with special video presentations, see a storied opera career through the eyes of a living legend.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $53.00
Click here to buy tickets.
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers
For over four decades, The Wooten Brothers—Victor on bass and vocals, Joseph on keyboards and vocals, Roy on percussion and vocals and Regi on guitar and vocals—have been redefining jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass. Growing up as military kids, they shared stages with artists like Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, and Ramsey Lewis. In the mid-80s, they released an album as The Wootens with Clive Davis’ Arista Records. Together the Wooten Brothers bring an uncanny level of experience, originality and musical expertise to the stage. Their shows are a high-energy, super funky, artistic blend of styles, including original songs and classics. In short, these brothers are the real deal, and their shows are not to be missed.
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
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7:00 pm - 9:15 pm: Väsen + Hawktail / Darol Anger & Bruce Molsky
Väsen + Hawktail is the culmination of decades of influence and musical relation. Brittany Haas, Jordan Tice and Paul Kowert met while in college on the East Coast, jamming on Väsen tunes and attending their concerts. These experiences proved highly formative to their musical identities. There’s a strong tie between their respective fiddle traditions and each band’s approach to tune-writing that makes this collaboration a natural fit. The opportunity to perform together is something that both bands have been looking forward to for years. “The members of Hawktail are brilliant musicians I met when they were teenagers coming to Väsen-gigs on our US tours.” says Väsen Nyckelharpa player, Olov Johansson. “It’s been amazing to follow their path and now we get to create new Hawktail-Väsen music together!”
Darol Anger and Bruce Molsky have been musical explorers together for years, sharing a creative universe that’s resulted in some epic collaborations, including the Grammy-nominated Fiddlers Four (with Michael Doucet and Rushad Eggleston), crashing each other’s concerts and recordings, and just finding big joy in playing together. Freestyle fiddler, composer, producer and educator Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. Described as “an absolute master” (No Depression), Bruce’s take on tradition has landed him in collaborations with some of the world’s most highly respected players from roots to rock. This duo project results from their recent release, Lockdown Breakdown.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets.
8:30 pm - 10:30 pm: Marcus King
Marcus King faces heartache, addiction, and mental health head-on in his music. The Grammy-nominated fourth-generation musician from Greenville, SC, started playing guitar at eight years old following in the footsteps of his guitarist father and grandpa. Logging thousands of miles on the road as “The Marcus King Band,” he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess. During 2020, he linked up with Dan Auerbach and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Americana Album.” Between headlining venues, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff. He has launched various mental health initiatives, including a guitar auction collaboration with MusiCares. With his latest album Mood Swings, produced by Rick Rubin, his vocals are front-and-center more than ever before, alongside his always impressive guitar playing. This is Marcus King’s Savannah Music Festival debut.
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Ticket: $47 – $100
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April 4, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Noon30: Väsen + Hawktail
Väsen + Hawktail is the culmination of decades of influence and musical relation. Brittany Haas, Jordan Tice and Paul Kowert met while in college on the East Coast, jamming on Väsen tunes and attending their concerts. These experiences proved highly formative to their musical identities. There’s a strong tie between their respective fiddle traditions and each band’s approach to tune-writing that makes this collaboration a natural fit. The opportunity to perform together is something that both bands have been looking forward to for years. “The members of Hawktail are brilliant musicians I met when they were teenagers coming to Väsen-gigs on our US tours.” says Väsen Nyckelharpa player, Olov Johansson. “It’s been amazing to follow their path and now we get to create new Hawktail-Väsen music together!”
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $39.00
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6:00 pm - 7:10 pm & 8:30 pm - 9:40 pm: Endea Owens & The Cookout
Known as one of the most vibrant emerging artists in jazz, Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised bassist and composer. She has been mentored by Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter. She has toured and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Rhonda Ross, Solange, Jon Batiste, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Cyrus Chestnut.
In 2018, Endea Owens graduated from The Juilliard School, and joined the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of the house band, Stay Human. Since then, Endea has won an Emmy, Grammy, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Also a committed educator and philanthropist, Owens founded The Community Cookout, a nonprofit organization born out of the pandemic that provides meals and music to underserved neighborhoods worldwide. A recent performance by Endea Owens & The Cookout for NPR Music prompted this comment: “This Tiny Desk energized the whole room, each musician a master of their instrument. Owens joked: ‘We are all Juilliard alumni, so you can hear it in the sound.’
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 6pm show
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6:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Philip Dukes & Friends III: French Tragedy
What series would be complete without dramatic and tragic elements? In this concert, Philip Dukes and Friends feature three incredible French masters who, for different reasons, suffered through various addictions or afflictions: Gabriel Fauré’s chain-smoking contributed to his death, alcoholism killed Erik Satie, and Ernest Chausson’s mental health issues resulted in an apparent suicide when the brakes on his penny farthing “failed” on a steep hill and he hit a brick wall. Be sure to bring a handkerchief!
Amédée-Ernest Chausson
Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Opus 21
– INTERMISSION –
Erik Satie Trois Gymnopédies
Gabriel Fauré Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Opus 45
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $53.00
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7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Hazel at 100: Della Mae with Laurie Lewis and Alice Gerrard
In the 100-year anniversary of her birth, the late Hazel Dickens’ pioneering musical legacy will be celebrated by her former duo partner Alice Gerrard, along with some of the leading women of bluegrass, Laurie Lewis and Della Mae.
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Alice Gerrard has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats, and has earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. Gerrard is known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Hazel Dickens during the 60s and 70s when the duo produced four classic albums that have influenced scores of young women singers. For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. She is also a dedicated teacher and mentor. Della Mae is a Grammy-nominated all-woman string band featuring founding members Celia Woodsmith (lead vocalist/guitarist) and 2-time Grand National champion fiddle player Kimber Ludiker, along with guitarist Avril Smith, and two-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year Vickie Vaughn.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $40.00
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8:00 pm - 9:15 pm: Anda Union
As with all nomads, the Mongols have an oral culture, passed on through generations in stories, music and songs, and thus Anda Union sings their history. The band’s thoroughly addictive combination of Mongolian musical styles is a reflection of their roots. Formed in 2000, Anda Union has influenced a generation of young Mongolians in Inner Mongolia as traditional music flourishes in the capital. Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures, the ten members unite tribal and music traditions from all over Inner Mongolia. They do so by bringing a wide range of musical instruments and vocal styles together in a fusion that would have made Genghis Khan himself proud. If you missed their 2019 festival debut, and especially if you did not, the 2025 return of Anda Union is something you will want to behold!
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
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8:00 pm - 10:50 pm: Warren Haynes Band
Visionary Grammy Award-winning artist Warren Haynes is a cornerstone of the American music landscape, lauded as one of the most formidable guitarists and vocalists of the modern era, and a prolific songwriter and producer. He effortlessly cross-pollinates genres and unfurls solos that broil with passion in his distinctive signature style. Throughout his prolific career as part of three of the greatest live groups in rock history—Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and the Dead—and as an acclaimed solo artist, he has become one of music’s most treasured storytellers. His artistry has led to thousands of memorable performances and millions of album and track sales. Haynes is a beacon of creativity and musical excellence that inspires fans as well as fellow musicians, evidenced by the diverse array of artists that he has performed and recorded with, including Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Chris Stapleton, Coheed and Cambria, Dave Grohl, Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and many more. Haynes released his new solo album, Million Voices Whisper, on November 1, 2024, marking his first solo album in almost a decade and fourth solo release in his esteemed career catalog. The soulful blues-rock collection includes guest appearances from his ABB bandmate Derek Trucks, Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson. Haynes also curates and hosts the Christmas Jam, an annual star-studded holiday charity show in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, which will return for its 33rd event in 2025 due to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts this year. As one of the most celebrated and longest-running live concerts in the US, the Christmas Jam has raised nearly $3 million for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, constructing over 50 homes, and helps the region’s housing needs through newer partner BeLoved Asheville.
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Tickets: $47 – $100
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April 5, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Noon30: Anda Union
As with all nomads, the Mongols have an oral culture, passed on through generations in stories, music and songs, and thus Anda Union sings their history. The band’s thoroughly addictive combination of Mongolian musical styles is a reflection of their roots. Formed in 2000, Anda Union has influenced a generation of young Mongolians in Inner Mongolia as traditional music flourishes in the capital. Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures, the ten members unite tribal and music traditions from all over Inner Mongolia. They do so by bringing a wide range of musical instruments and vocal styles together in a fusion that would have made Genghis Khan himself proud. If you missed their 2019 festival debut, and especially if you did not, the 2025 return of Anda Union is something you will want to behold!
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $39.00
Click here to buy tickets.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Sebastian Knauer: Hollywood
Following his acclaimed projects Überbach, This Is (Not) Beethoven, and The Mozart / Nyman Concert, Savannah Music Festival favorite Sebastian Knauer’s artistic journey has now taken him to Hollywood. His latest album, Hollywood, showcases the work of American composers such as George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, and Jerry Goldsmith—all of whom share three common threads: they hail from the USA, blend classical composition with film music, and are connected to Alfred Newman, a pioneering figure of the Hollywood sound. This special festival performance will feature Knauer, a Steinway artist, on piano, accompanied by a string quintet.
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $47.00
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4:30 pm - 5:45 pm & 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Solas
Solas is hailed by The Boston Globe as “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced.” Since forming in New York City in 1995, they have been a galvanizing element in the Irish music scene—a lightning rod of talent and inspiration that set new standards for musicianship, repertoire, and intensity. Over the course of twelve critically acclaimed albums and endless international touring, Solas brought their love and respect for the traditions of Irish music, and their sense of melodic and instrumental adventure to the world. In 2017, after a remarkable two-decade career, Solas decided it was time for a break. Eight years later, the break is over, and Solas is back and ready to celebrate their 30th anniversary! The musical adventure continues in 2025. The ensemble features Seamus Egan on guitar, banjo and flute, Winifred Horan on fiddle, Nuala Kennedy on flute and vocals, John Williams on button accordion and Alan Murray on guitar and vocals.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 4:30pm show
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4:30 pm - 5:45 pm: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
For 60 years, South Africa’s five-time Grammy Award-winning ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and charming onstage banter. The group sings a traditional music style called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Mee-Ya), which developed in the mines of South Africa. It was Paul Simon’s 1987 Graceland album that introduced Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the world. The late former South African President Nelson Mandela designated the group “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” a title the members carry with them with the highest honor. In 2018, the group received not one, but two Grammy Award nominations for two separate albums, a first in the history of the World Music category. Ladysmith Black Mambazo has performed for millions of people, singing a message of peace, love and harmony.
Location: Trustees Theater
Ticket: $47.00
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5:00 pm - 6:20 pm & 7:30 pm - 8:50 pm: Zydeco Dance Party: Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
For more than three decades, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have toured extensively, performing everywhere from local Louisiana spots to international stages, with an ensemble that has always been a family affair. Bandleader Nathan Williams started his professional music career at 21, recording singles for his brother’s El Sid label. Sid also opened a venue in Lafayette, El-Sid-O’s, where Nathan became a staple performer on Friday nights. Williams’ big break came when Buckwheat Zydeco recommended him to Rounder Records, which was searching for an accordionist after Buckwheat left the label for Island Records. Nathan auditioned and secured a recording contract, and in 1985, he founded Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, inspired by a Chenier instrumental. The band debuted at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1988. Their music blends zydeco, jazz, blues, and R&B, with most of the band’s original songs penned by Williams.
Location: Ships of the Sea
Ticket: $45.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5pm show
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8:00 pm - 9:30 pm: John Moreland
Following an impressive run of albums in the 2010s that earned him a devoted fanbase, accolades from outlets like The New York Times, Fresh Air, and Pitchfork, and a place in the upper echelon of modern Americana singer-songwriters, John Moreland recently took an entire year off from playing shows and didn’t use a smartphone for six months. After nearly a decade in the limelight, constantly jostled by the expectations of his audience, the music industry, and anonymous strangers online, he carved out some time to rest, heal and reflect. The result of that unplugged year at home is the 2024 release Visitor, a folk-rock record that is intimate, immediate, deeply thoughtful and extremely catchy. Moreland recorded the album at his home in Bixby, Oklahoma, in only ten days, playing nearly every instrument himself as well as engineering and mixing the album. It is a return to the approach Moreland took on his breakthrough albums, 2013’s In The Throes and 2015’s High On Tulsa Heat. On a musical level, the result is a raw, straightforward sound for which he has become known.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $40.00
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8:00 pm - 9:30 pm: An Evening with Branford Marsalis
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. John Zeugner captured the quartet’s impact in a live performance with a recent concert review calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The Branford Marsalis Quartet…was all of those adjectives and more.”
Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Ticket: $42 – $87
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April 6, 2025
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm: Philip Dukes & Friends IV: Locomotive Man
Motion and music have always been synonymous, as was Dvo?ák and his obsession with trains—hence the title “The Locomotive Man”—and his love of cigars and beer. Philip Dukes and his chamber musician friends present some of Dvo?ák’s best-loved chamber works, which include the evergreen “American” String Quartet and the beguiling Piano Quartet in E-Flat. This is a classic and pure chamber music program delivered by world-renowned artists.
Antonín Dvo?ák
String Quartet No. 12, Opus 96, “American”
Four Romantic Pieces, Opus 75
– INTERMISSION –
Antonín Dvo?ák
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, Opus 87
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $53.00
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April 8, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Noon30: Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto
Senegalese griot Ablaye Cissoko is part of a new generation of artists from his home country and is one of the most famous kora players in the world. Also a gifted singer, he brings Mandinka traditions into various global roots music, jazz and even classical and Baroque music universes. This collaboration with the well-known French diatonic accordion player Cyrille Brotto is both a waltz between two cultures and a graceful conversation between two master instrumentalists.
Ticket: $39.00
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7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto
Senegalese griot Ablaye Cissoko is part of a new generation of artists from his home country and is one of the most famous kora players in the world. Also a gifted singer, he brings Mandinka traditions into various global roots music, jazz and even classical and Baroque music universes. This collaboration with the well-known French diatonic accordion player Cyrille Brotto is both a waltz between two cultures and a graceful conversation between two master instrumentalists.
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets.
April 9, 2025
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Noon30: Lakecia Benjamin
To witness a live performance by the alto saxophonist, emcee, and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin is to never forget it. The success of her most recent releases has positioned Benjamin among jazz music’s most celebrated recording artists. In addition to absolute raves in outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian and DownBeat, she received three Grammy nominations for Phoenix, as well as an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album. Earlier this year, she was named Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. And yet the ever-rising star from Washington Heights remains, at her core, an improviser best experienced in her soul-stirring concerts. Each and every time she hits the bandstand, she takes her repertoire and her wide-ranging audience to sublime new planes. And her message of spiritual uplift, and social and political liberation soars higher still.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $39.00
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6:00 pm - 7:50 pm: Danish String Quartet
The Grammy-nominated Danish String Quartet continues to assert their preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets. Celebrated for their “intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow” (Gramophone) and renowned for the palpable joy they exude in music-making, the Danish String Quartet has become one of today’s most in-demand classical quartets, performing to sold-out concert halls around the world.
Caroline Shaw Entr’acte (2011)
Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Opus 77: III, Andante
Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Opus 83
– INTERMISSION –
Franz Schubert String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church
Ticket: $58.00
Click here to buy tickets.
7:30 pm - 8:45 pm: Lakecia Benjamin
To witness a live performance by the alto saxophonist, emcee, and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin is to never forget it. The success of her most recent releases has positioned Benjamin among jazz music’s most celebrated recording artists. In addition to absolute raves in outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian and DownBeat, she received three Grammy nominations for Phoenix, as well as an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album. Earlier this year, she was named Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. And yet the ever-rising star from Washington Heights remains, at her core, an improviser best experienced in her soul-stirring concerts. Each and every time she hits the bandstand, she takes her repertoire and her wide-ranging audience to sublime new planes. And her message of spiritual uplift, and social and political liberation soars higher still.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets.
April 10, 2025
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm & 8:00 pm - 9:15 pm: Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez
Grammy-nominated artists Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martínez first worked together on Rodriguez’s 2012 release The Invasion Parade. Since that initial recording session, they have had the rare occasion to perform together as a duo, leaving audiences completely mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing. Each artist brings a different approach to the collaboration. A protégé of Quincy Jones, who took him under his wing when he defected to the US in 2009, Rodriguez was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana. His riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro-Cuban and jazz roots. Martínez’s musical training came directly from the streets of the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana in which he was raised, and he has subsequently performed with artists such as Sting, Paul Simon, and Wynton Marsalis.
Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5:30pm show
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April 11, 2025
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm & 8:00 pm – 9:15 pm: Junior Brown
Junior Brown’s inimitable brand of country music fuses western swing with the blues, rockabilly, bluegrass and rock n’ roll. A guitarist and lap steel player of the highest order, he and his luthier Michael Stevens developed his signature double-necked instrument, the guit-steel, in the mid-80s, when switching cables between his lap steel and guitar on stage while singing had become too cumbersome. Brown’s list of collaborators spans nearly five decades and includes time spent playing with Asleep at the Wheel, on duets with Ralph Stanley and Hank Thompson, as well as collaborations with George Jones, Doc Watson, Leona Williams, Ray Price, and many others. Don’t miss what will be a hard-hitting return to Savannah Music Festival, Junior Brown’s first since his 2011 debut alongside The Flatlanders.
Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden
Ticket: $47.00
Click here to buy tickets for 5:30pm show
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7:00 pm – 8:30 pm: Allison Miller’s Rivers in Our Veins
Acclaimed drummer and composer Allison Miller invites you to embark on a riveting journey through her commissioned jazz suite, Rivers In Our Veins, exploring cultural, environmental, and ecological themes surrounding American rivers. Rivers In Our Veins is an immersive live performance that seamlessly blends original music, captivating river imagery, and the expressive artistry of contemporary and tap dance. The suite mirrors the diversity of America through folk, jazz, blues, rock, classical, and funk, as Miller leads her ensemble of longtime collaborators, including violinist Jenny Scheinman, Ben Goldberg on contra-alto and Bb clarinets, pianist Carmen Staaf, trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Rashaan Carter, contemporary dancer Maleek Washington, and tap dancers Claudia Rahardjanoto and Lukey Hickey.
Location: Trustees Theater
Ticekt: $47.00
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April 12, 2025
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: An Evening with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
A Jason Isbell record always lands like a decoder ring in the ears and hearts of his audience, a soundtrack to his world and magically to theirs, too. Weathervanes carries the same revelatory power. This is a storyteller at the peak of his craft, observing his fellow wanderers, looking inside and trying to understand, reducing a universe to four minutes. He shrinks life small enough to name the fear and then strip it away, helping his listeners make sense of how two plus two stops equaling four once you reach a certain age—and carry a certain amount of scars.
Location: Johnny Mercer Theatre
Tickets: $57 – $135
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Fest Date: March 27 - April 12, 2025
Locations:
Live Oak Public Library 2002 Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia, United States
District Live at Plant Riverside District 400 West River Street, Savannah, GA, United States
Victory North 2603 Whitaker St., Savannah, GA, United States
Metal Building at Trustees' Garden 660 East Broughton Street, Savannah, GA, United States
Trinity United Methodist Church 127 Barnard Street, Savannah, GA, United States
Ships of the Sea 41 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Savannah, GA, United States
Lucas Theatre for the Arts 32 Abercorn St., Savannah, GA, United States
Trustees Theater 216 E Broughton St., Savannah, GA, United States
Johnny Mercer Theatre 301 West Oglethorpe Ave, Savannah
Click here for more information.