Day 2 of Savannah Stopover started out with some hometown pride with some of the best of Atlanta; it also brought some surprising discoveries that turned into some favorites of the weekend.
Atlanta sweethearts Sydney Eloise & The Palms released their debut album Faces back in September via The Cottage Recording Co. and Bear Kids Recordings, Syd. and the Palms have hit the ground running and haven’t looked back since! They are great to see live, and the buzz that surrounds them is well deserved. The band hit the outdoor stage on a gorgeous day beneath a live oak, as the sun was beginning to set; Sydney started to belt out the lyrics to their rather sweet 50’s style bubblegum pop/singer-songwriter sound. It doesn’t matter where they play they are bound to leave their mark on you when you see them live, and Fridays performance at Stopover wasn’t any different as they swooned the crowd with their performance. Sydney Eloise and The Palms appropriately represented Atlanta regarding what our city is capable of producing.
Hybrid “Atla-thens” (Atlanta and Athens) band Tedo Stone released their sophomore album Marshes back in September via This Is American Music. Tedo has a southern soul to his music with a distinct rock vibe; his voice soars along to the fuzzy gazed filled guitar that rips through the open air space. There is plenty of soul on this album to get lost in, and their live performance stands faithful to that sound. You get lost in Tedo’s sublime lyrics and the rhythm of the bass and drums. Tedo has indeed found his sound, and there is so much to love with what he’s producing with his new found glory.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise members all hail from Boone, North Carolina and produce an alternative indie-pop that brings something a little different than the norm when it comes to their music. Their songs have pretty catchy hooks, and their melodic guitar and rhythm of drum brings a catchy song to the audience that you will soon find yourself singing along to. RKS has an extreme amount of energy on stage, led by lead singer Sam Melo’s tenacity to be all over the stage to interact with as many people as he could is rather impressive. If you paid close enough attention, he left his mark on every part of the church in some way or another. The Kitten Surprise crew released their self-titled sophomore album in April of last year via Split Rail Records. They play themselves well as that lovable college band, and their dedicated fans are willing to follow them on their journey through stardom.
Stopover veterans Family and Friends are Athens natives who are “an idea of good people” that’s putting out fun indie-folk based rock. The six-piece released their sophomore EP XOXO on July of 2015. We love seeing Family and Friends live, they bring such energy to their set, with dueling drummers to create this incredible intensity that you can’t help but stomp your feet to. Even in the worst of moods, Family and Friends will crack a smile in a matter of seconds with their fun and beautifully composed songs. They bring a new life and energy to folk music that everyone can enjoy.
The Portland experimental country/folk-rock band Blitzen Trapper, who released All Across This Land back in October of 2015 via Vagrant Records, graced the stage with their easy listening. Their southern rock sound with hints of folk, gives it a soulful Americana styled vibe with a slightly harder edge. You get a good solid show every time you see them, and the same was so on Friday night.
Athens band Muuy Biien are bringing punk back to life with their last full-length album D.Y.I, which was released back in 2014. This band is loud, and people love it. The drums are in your face and the guitars scream into your ears, as the heavy bass is pounding on your chest. Their lyrics aren’t meant to be in the forefront, but an accent to the fast and loud energy of the rest of the band. Muuy Biien had most of the festival curious; they put on a hell of a show that left people rather impressed with what they are throwing out there. Muuy Biien will be making their way to Atlanta with Magma on March 29th, at Aisle 5.
The music community has been plagued with the deaths of heavy hitting musicians recently. The most prominent and saddest being David Bowie’s return to Mars. Somewhere in space and time, all of us have had been influenced by the Thin White Duke. Trinity Church hosted Capsula for a tribute concert to David Bowie’s album Ziggy Stardust. Capsula is a psychedelia based garage rock band from Spain that has been compared to many artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and even The Who. Capsula’s music definitely lends itself to having that 60’s style psychedelia and rock sound to it while giving it a life of its own with garage rock fuzz. What better way to pay tribute to David Bowie than having this band perform Ziggy Stardust who’s name derives from the song “Space Oddity,” and has also released a cover of the entire album back in 2012? As Capsula begins to dive into playing the album you see the excitement on peoples faces as they sing along to “Soul Love,” and “Starman.” They rip into the psychedelic space guitar of “Moonage Daydream,” and it couldn’t be any more perfect. This is the type of tribute that people are looking for in Bowie’s music, bringing the brilliance of his creativity back to life again through a quality performance instead of lights, makeup, wardrobe and projection. Capsula nailed the genuine spirit of Ziggy Stardust through sound instead of the all the theatrics; no one can replace Ziggy, they just helped us remember the man we all found to be something greater than any words can describe.
Prince Rama is the dance-pop/electronic sister duo from Brooklyn, New York, who released their most recent album Xtreme Now on March, 4th via Carpark Records. These ladies are something else – clad with glitter, neon spandex, netting, capes, a sword and even a Dale Earnhardt beach towel; it may give the appearance that they might have gone shopping at a Panama City souvenir shop for their outfits that evening. This is a part of the charm of their performance, their shows are slightly avant-garde that present a ritual like experience, but you can’t deny that its fun and you find yourself drinking the kool-aid along with them. They had people on their feet dancing and singing along with them to their slightly new wave/pop dance-heavy set. They deliver something that you will most definitely never forget.
Originally from London, Yuck’s music will bring you back to 90’s style indie rock/shoegaze with a bit of post-grunge thrown in there from time to time; they released their third full-length Stranger Things on February 26 via Mamé Records. This band has a rather dedicated following, and we were eager to see their set. Their sound is naturally heightened live versus their recorded, and has a slight punky style attitude.
LA synth-pop/singer-songwriter Mr. Little Jeans has released one full-length Pocketknife back in 2014 via Harvest Records. Her songs are entrancing and suck you into the ambiance of synth of each song while her set was slightly the same. Monica Birkenes completely gets absorbed into the beat and works the stage like she’s just as entranced by what’s she’s pulling you into. She closed her set with her cover of Arcade Fires “The Suburbs,” taking the song down this rather dark and seductive path of synth; leading you deeper and deeper before she bites you with the hook “Sometimes I can’t believe it/I’m movin past the feeling again.”
Day 2 revealed itself to be a rather huge day of music and a larger attendance; each band bringing great and memorable sets.
