Being a young festival is not easy, but Savannah Stopover has proven its gusto to bring itself into its third year with a phenomenal lineup, exciting new attractions, and rockin’ venues to keep your ears a-tinglin’. Stopover capitalizes on the logistical good fortune of Savannah, Georgia’s proximity to interstates 95 and 10 by presenting traveling musicians with a welcoming place to play en route to Austin. The small, vibrant coastal community is rife with a unique brand of low country hospitality and southern gothic ambiance, not to mention home to a burgeoning music scene, music-hungry demographic, and an established arts community. The four-day festival merges music, visual arts, technology, and film components – much in the spirit of SXSW itself – in an intimate, historical setting and at a price unrivaled by any similar music festival.
A collaborative effort of MusicFile Productions and countless volunteers, partners, vendors, and media sponsors, the Savannah Stopover will showcase more than 90 bands in multiple venues across Savannah’s walkable Historic District. Bands will enjoy the quirky, shamelessly social elements of Georgia’s Hostess City while festival goers will be exposed to up-and-coming bands in closer, more personal environs.
Some of Savannah’s best up and coming local bands will round out the merriment with a myriad of day shows and night time soirees.
The Stopover Team:
Kayne Lanahan- Founder/CEO: Often mistaken for KanYe West. Multi-tasker with an encyclopedic knowledge of indie music. Loves dogs and Russell’s chocolate covered bacon. Gave up the big city life in NYC for the Low Country smell of night bloomin’ jasmine. Under the radar picks by night: 3/7: You Won’t, 3/8: HAERTS, 3/9: Field Report.
Peter Robaudo- Director of Talent and Systems Management: Embodiment of a cultural trifecta. Avid collector of musical experiences. Aficionado of the Philo of Sophia. May the world learn peace through music.
Russell Kueker- Operations & Creative Director: Third year Stopover veteran via the East Austin Artist Lounge at SXSW! Makes the chocolate covered bacon that Kayne loves. Usually goes by Billy-Jean Gaga during Stopover.
Selah Dalacos- Director of Band Hospitality: Doppelganger to Punky Brewster, but with a more infectious laugh. Uncanny memory for names, faces and song lyrics. Wears many hats, literally and figuratively.
Blake (Olmstead) Mavrogeorgis- Local/Regional Press Director: Loves to help budding rock stars live out their rock-n-roll fantasies one after-party at a time.
Jason Nielubowicz- Venue Coordinator: Often spotted at shows & events triple fisting it, because just like Valentines Day, double fisting is for amateurs. Loves kittens and a good book, but not at the same time for the obvious reason.
Anna Chandler- Local Band Coordinator: Plays a bunch of instruments salvaged from her grandmother’s basement in her former band General Oglethorpe & the Panhandlers. Enjoys showcasing Savannah talent & shooting guns in the woods. Fully prepared for danceoffs.
Caty Dickensheets- Community Outreach Manager: Currently residing in a Spanish moss draped aviary, Caty is a Lowcountry raised gal who hearts Savannah’s burgeoning music scene, the art of abbreviation, and Sunday funday picnics.
Francis Allen: King of Permits. Because somebody’s gotta do it and I am that somebody. By the book people. By the book.