Girl Meets Festival: Savannah Stopover
It’s appropriate that my first Girl Meets Festival take place in Savannah.
Why? Because the very first Girl Meets City piece happened in Savannah as well!
I’ve been meaning to attend this particular music festival for years now, but something always got in the way. As fate would have it, THIS year my very dear friend Floco Torres was a performer. So I decided to spare no expense and go for the VIP pass.
I even wrote a lil something about my schedule for hissing lawns. I met Bill, from hissing lawns, a couple of years ago at Bragg Jam- thanks to mutual friend Jason Nielubowicz (someone who I also met at Bragg Jam) and we’ve all stayed in touch since.
Heading into Savannah with my boyfriend we went FIRST to drop off a candle order at Southern Sugaring, because of course I’ll multitask and take care of several errands all at once. Then to pick up my sweet VIP bag and wristband. Then to the hotel to take a load off, I had originally planned on an Airbnb but then plans changed and we ended up at the DeSoto Hotel. Which ended up being incredibly convenient!
Especially since when we walked outside and turned the corner we bumped smack into Hitch: the (new to me) restaurant that my friend Courtney insisted we check out. Turns out one of the owners is also a Middle Georgia native, so of course we had to stop in.
To eat, we got the Duck Pot Pie eggrolls: slow cooked duck, peas, carrots, corn, onions, celery, asparagus, herb foie gras sauce with onion marmalade; and we got the Shrimp & Grits tacos: crispy shrimp, fried grit bites, lettuce, chili aoli, and chimchurri. Phew!
It was all really yummy and delicious.
After this we headed BACK to headquarters, taking a lovely walk, for my boyfriend to buy a pass. He had initially said he would stay in the hotel room and work… but that went by the wayside. Whoops.
Then we popped into 22 Square Restaurant and Bar for another quick bite. Remember, with festivals it’s always best to pace yourself! Stay hydrated and eat.
Alanna Royale
I’m a huge fan of classic female soul voices like Etta James, Nina Simone, and Mavis Staples. Alanna Royale is along the same lines, but with a modern twist.
This was when we first ran into a whole crew of Macon people, which was a little disarming at first to me. You know when you see people outside of a place where you usually see them, and it can throw you off a bit? Yeah, that’s what happened there.
Next I had planned to stay and see Lee Fields and the Expressions, but I was a bit tired and not feeling super chatty so we headed on to the next venue for Floco Torres.
While at Club One we caught a local rapper, who was pretty good! He was using a bunch of unexpected beats, to me, which was cool to hear.
I was happy to get to Floco’s show early cause that meant I could scope out the place, and he showed me the VIP Artist access spot so I could get some shots from up above the stage.
I spent most of my time here gathering still shots and video for Floco to use later, but I also got caught up in just watching people who weren’t as familiar with his music falling in love with it. That, my friends, is super cool.
After the show we got pulled into another venue with friends… I don’t even remember which one. By the time we fought through the crowd- I do believe it was to see CUSSES- I was done. I wasn’t just a pumpkin, oh no. I was an angry OLD pumpkin who was tired of all the drunk babies (ie: 20 somethings) around me. I was done.
As we walked towards our hotel room I was stopped by the sounds of another band, Vita and the Wolf. We literally caught their last song from the outside and struck up a conversation with yet another band outside: Saw Black. Through conversation we found out that they were based in Virginia, and their lead singer went to the same college as my boyfriend.
And then on back to the hotel room to crash into bed.
The next day, I was the only one wide awake and ready to go in the morning- but I didn’t make it to see Kelsey Waldon like I had planned. Nope, instead I grabbed breakfast in the hotel and ventured out on a walk around downtown Savannah.
Needless to say, this was a weirdly busy day as well. It started off with shopping at RMC Boutique on Bay Street, and a confusing run in with Savannah Police Department as we were trying to park. But I got some super cute lip gloss from Dollface by Jules while there!
Then it was to see my friend Tara at Custard Boutique, some of y’all might remember one of my very favorite dresses from Custard from a while back:
It’s one of the best examples I have of a dress that’s truly an investment piece. I’ve had it for nearly three years at this point and it’s one of the most forgiving I’ve ever owned.
So of course we had to stop in, and of course I ended up in an impromptu photoshoot while there!
After that it was time for more walking around, and more food. This time at the Mansion on Forsyth Park:
This was when my scheduling snafu about the hotels caught up to me. See, I had not originally planned on spending both nights in Savannah. Occasionally (often) I try to be cheap and then it bites me in the behind. This is how we ended up in two hotels because everything in the SAV was booked up for two nights. We only got the oddball nights of having to be split up in two hotels for the weekend.
My boyfriend headed on to the Westin to get us checked in and I headed over to check out our new friends, Saw Black. This meant I had to pass up Cicada Rhythm, but I had seen them many times before so that was ok.
Saw Black
These guys described themselves as being close to a traditional country/Americana sound, which I think was accurate.
And then I attempted a “self portrait” of sorts in the bathroom of The Jinx, because I thought it had the potential to look cool.
Yes, I am a nerd.
Next up was Lulu the Giant- whose lead singer commented on my article for hissing lawns asking me to come check them out. So I did!
Lulu the Giant
I really really enjoyed this group, in fact they were the highlight out of all the bands for me. Well- they tied with Floco, simply because he’s my homie :p
River Whyless
After Lulu the Giant was River Whyless, a band I had heard many times on my Spotify playlists, but never in person. I had to leave halfway through their set, but it was really really cool to get to see them in person. They’ve got this AMAZING just- big and whole sound.
I also really enjoyed seeing the bands in Trinity United Methodist Church, it was an unexpected venue and simply beautiful.
From here, my guy picked me up in an Uber and we ventured on to The Collins Quarter for dinner. I had been once before during a very out-of-the-way detour on my way to St. Simons Island- but it had been a quick walk in visit sitting at the bar. That time I rounded out my dinner with a lavender latte, which I still remember so well! Mmmmmm. Anyways.
This time around it was the full dinner, however my phone battery DIED right after getting the photo of our appetizer. Just take my word for it that it was all really good.
After this we headed into jazz’d tapas bar and I ordered a drink that the bartender said he hadn’t made in a few years…. and it might have been for me since I ordered the same drink a few years earlier when I was in town for Savannah Fashion Week. *sigh*
Then it was off to try and brave River Street, which didn’t last long because I was an old pumpkin yet again, and we walked along Broughton and then wound up on the ferry back to the hotel. Which was actually a very cool experience.
The next morning was just as busy with visiting my very awesome friend Stacey giving her first sermon at Trinity United Methodist Church. It was really nice to get to see an old Macon friend in her newest home, and still doing amazing work.
After that, it was a quick lunch and time to go home. Looking back, we managed to do a LOT in one weekend. And we still didn’t take full advantage of a lot of the music.
I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes, too much to do and too little time to do it in. But the Hostess City certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, it never does.
Until next time, Savannah….
Love to all y’all,
Molly
