Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gillian Welch Headline April 14th Finale
From March 29th through April 14th,
2018, venues throughout Savannah’s Historic District will be filled with
the extensive concerts, recitals, dance parties, film, theatrical and
multi-disciplinary productions that make up the 29th edition of the
Savannah Music Festival (SMF). Operating in multiple venues for the
first 16 days of the 2018 festival, the organization presents its most
ambitious classical music programming to date, extensive world music
offerings and a hard-hitting week of jazz and acclaimed Americana and
folk music artists, in addition to theatrical productions and films. On
April 14th, the final day of SMF 2018, an all-day multi-stage event is
scheduled for the newly-renovated event spaces at Trustees’ Garden.
“We’re thrilled to incorporate two new venues including into this year’s
festival,” remarks Executive & Artistic Director Rob Gibson. “In
addition to the fabulous new Yamacraw Center for the Performing Arts
concert hall, we are elated to utilize one of Georgia’s most historical
outdoor sites at Trustees’ Garden. With the multitude of artists and
patrons that impact our city across nearly three weeks, these new spaces
offer a unique opportunity to build on our mission of creating a
high-quality exchange between artists and audiences in Savannah.”
Tickets to the 2018 festival go on sale at 10am EST on November 10th,
2017, online at
savannahmusicfestival.org, by phone at 912.525.5050 and
in person at 216 E. Broughton Street.
Chamber, symphonic, vocal music and recitals
Entering his 15th season as SMF Associate Artistic Director, violinist
Daniel Hope
welcomes his friends from across North America and Europe for SMF’s
annual chamber music series, including a three-concert residency for the
Zurich Chamber Orchestra at the start of the festival with soloists Hope,
Sebastian Knauer,
Kristian Bezuidenhout,
Benny Kim,
Daria Zappa Matesic,
Simos Papanas and SMF Associate Artistic Director
Marcus Roberts and his trio. Internationally-renowned violinist
Pinchas Zukerman, a musical hero of Hope’s, will perform with his
Zukerman Trio alone and in a concert including Hope (their first time playing together). Also for the chamber music series,
Daniel Hope & Friends play Alan Fletcher’s
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra,
which was co-commissioned by SMF, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the
New Century Chamber Orchestra. Recitalists include luminary pianists
Murray Perahia and
Marc-André Hamelin, 2017 Van Cliburn Gold winner
Yekwon Sunwoo and fortepiano virtuoso
Kristian Bezuidenhout. Renaissance polyphony devotees
Stile Antico return following their stunning SMF 2011 concert, and the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra makes their 13th consecutive appearance featuring Georgia native violinist
Robert McDuffie and maestro
Robert Spano. The renowned brass ensemble the
American Brass Quintet
plays two concerts at the Charles H. Morris Center. Classics from the
American Songbook and musical theatre are featured in the return
performance of diva
Audra McDonald, and in the
Savannah VOICE Festival co-production
Classical Broadway.
Jazz, Blues and R&B
SMF celebrates the 50th anniversary of Savannah’s Benedetto Guitars with a one-time-only concert featuring
Pat Martino,
Howard Alden,
Chico Pinheiro,
Romero Lubambo and
“King” Solomon Hicks. Up-and-coming jazz pianists
Sullivan Fortner and
Chris Pattishall perform in a variety of projects, including the original production entitled
Trumpet Masters: Celebrating Louis Armstrong & Lee Morgan with
Alphonso Horne and
Terell Stafford. Jazz organist
Dr. Lonnie Smith makes his SMF debut. Other original jazz productions include the premiere of a commissioned work by Trinidadian trumpet player
Etienne Charles for his septet in
Gullah Roots, a co-bill with Charleston’s
Ranky Tanky. The annual
Swing Central Jazz workshop and competition culminates in an all-star concert called
Stomping the Blues and the annual
Late Night Jazz Jam. Guitarists
Bill Frisell and
Julian Lage share a bill with their respective trios, and the
Maria Schneider Orchestra makes its SMF debut.
Lee Fields & The Expressions return to SMF for a special co-bill of throwback soul and R&B with
The James Hunter Six.
American and global roots music
Bluegrass divas
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and
Claire Lynch Band share the stage on opening night, followed the next day by the
Mission Temple Fireworks Revival with
Paul Thorn Band and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Songwriter-guitarist
Margaret Glaspy performs on a double bill with Argentinian composer-singer-guitarist
Juana Molina, and Tulsa’s
John Moreland shares an alt-country bill with Nashville songwriter-guitarist
Aaron Lee Tasjan. New acoustic music projects include
Hawktail and the SMF debut of
Kittel & Co., guitarist
Tommy Emmanuel plays on a co-bill with
Jayme Stone’s Folklife and the original production
The Voice is a Traveler features
Moira Smiley and
Anna & Elizabeth.
Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal return to the Lucas stage as a duo and
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives play Ships of the Sea, as do the
North Mississippi Allstars. Recent MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient
Rhiannon Giddens plays her first theater show at SMF, and
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn return with music from their new project,
Echo in the Valley. The music of Mali is well-represented with
Trio Da Kali sharing a bill with South African guitarist
Derek Gripper (a kora music practitioner), and kora master
Toumani Diabaté performing with his son
Sidiki Diabaté in
A World of Strings, an original production also including Brazilian music played by SMF Associate Artistic Director and mandolinist
Mike Marshall and pianist
Jovino Santos Neto (who also plays a solo show). Iberian sounds include the great flamenco singer
Diego El Cigala and Portuguese fado singer
AntĂ³nio Zambujo, cellist
Mike Block performs with fellow Silk Road Ensemble musician
Sandeep Das on tabla, and this season’s
Latin Dance Party features the incomparable Cuban son ensemble,
Septeto Santiaguero. Festival favorites
LĂºnasa and
Tim O’Brien team up for a concert of Irish and Appalachian-influenced music, and
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas play on a double bill with an exciting new all-female acoustic music quartet called
The Goodbye Girls.
Theatrical and film presentations
In
Death of A King,
Tavis Smiley delves
into the final year of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life in a multi-media
presentation with an original score by SMF Associate Artistic Director
Marcus Roberts. Performance collective
Manual Cinema performs their original work,
Lula del Ray, a mythic reinvention of a classic coming-of-age story, and
PIAF! The Show features
Anne Carrere as Edith Piaf in a production directed by Nice-based theater maverick
Gil Marsalla. Films at SMF 2018 include two with original live scores:
BiRDMAN LiVE is a screening of the Academy Award-winning “Birdman or (the Unxpected Virtue of Ignorance)” scored by jazz drummer
Antonio Sanchez, and “The Goddess,” a 1934 Chinese silent film with original score by
Juana Molina. “TerezĂn: Refuge in Music” featuring
Daniel Hope and
Anne Sofie von Otter is a documentary about music composed by victims and survivors of the Nazi concentration camp.
Savannah Music Festival at Trustees’ Garden: April 14th, 2018
SMF’s all-day festival finale at Trustees’ Garden is a multi-stage continuous presentation of live music featuring
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit,
Tedeschi Trucks Band,
Gillian Welch,
Marc Broussard,
Brent Cobb,
Brett Dennen,
Septeto Santiaguero,
Mipso,
Sammy Miller & the Congregation,
Betsayda Machado y Parranda El Clavo,
Velvet Caravan with special guest Jessica Ann Best and the
Acoustic Music Seminar finale,
Stringband Spectacular.
The 8.5-acre campus will also host a vendor marketplace containing
local and regional food and refreshments. Block I General Admission
tickets for SMF at Trustees’ Garden are $99.50 and VIP Access are
$249.50. When Block I allotments are gone, prices will go up to Block II
levels.
For the complete schedule, visit
www.savannahmusicfestival.org
About the Savannah Music Festival
A non-profit performing arts organization, the Savannah Music
Festival (SMF) is dedicated to presenting world-class celebrations of
the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous productions that
stimulate arts education, foster economic growth and unite artists and
audiences in Savannah. In addition to year-round music education and
broadcast initiatives, SMF produces one of the most distinctive
cross-genre music festivals in the world. The 2018 festival runs from
March 29 through April 14, including more than 100 performances in
venues throughout Savannah’s historic district. For more information
visit
www.savannahmusicfestival.org.