Savannah Georgia 2017 Music Festival Lineup

It’s almost time for Spring Break and time to make plans to enjoy your time off.  In early spring, Savannah’s historic district serves as the backdrop for the extensive concerts, recitals, dance parties, film and dance productions of Georgia’s largest musical arts event.  The Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is an annual 17-day celebration incorporating a carefully curated schedule of popular, folk, traditional, serious and studied music, all performed by renowned artists from across the globe.  Known for its intimate venues, devotion to artistic excellence and high production values, SMF also fosters the creation of new work and artistic collaborations.

Jazz and classical music are again at the forefront of SMF programming, encompassing the majority of fine art at this year’s festival.  However, two distinctive dance productions are also part of the 2017 lineup, including Ballet Collective’s What Comes Next and Argentinian dance ensemble Che Malambo.  SMF’s critically-acclaimed chamber music series is led for the 14th season by violinist and associate artistic director Daniel Hope, who brings his musical friends and colleagues from across North America and Europe for nearly three weeks of original productions. The return of SMF’s Piano Showdown highlights what Jelly Roll Morton called “the Spanish tinge,” with Cuban virtuoso Chucho Valdés, Panamanian star Danilo Pérez and SMF Associate Artistic Director Marcus Roberts.  This is a small sample, please see complete lineup here.

Pop fare is prevalent in the 2017 SMF lineup, beginning with two nights of The Avett Brothers at the Johnny Mercer Theatre.  Roots rock singer-songwriter Jason Isbell makes his second SMF appearance, Nikki Lane and Parker Millsap share a bill, and Richard Thompson is joined on a Lucas Theatre double bill by Sarah Jarosz. Pakistani rock band Sounds of Kolachi plays on an only-in-Savannah co-bill with Hiss Golden Messenger, and the Travelin’ McCourys and Jeff Austin Band team up for a Grateful Ball. On a program called Chicago Blues Meets Gulf Coast Boogie, Lurrie Bell performs alongside Marcia Ball and special guest James Cotton.  On closing night Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers are followed by a festival finale with The Wood Brothers.  See complete lineup HERE.

At SMF, folk art involves diverse musical traditions and their offshoots, starting with a double bill of two award-winning bluegrass groups: Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out and Flatt Lonesome. Opening weekend features a bevy of southwest Louisiana musicians: T’Monde, Pine Leaf Boys, Feufollet, and Joel Savoy & Kelli Jones. Québécois traditional ensembles Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan team up, Canary Island timple player Germán López makes his SMF debut, and Dom Flemons shares a bill with the Foghorn Stringband.  Sufi vocal warrior Sanam Marvi performs inspirational music of Pakistan, Masters of Brazilian Music pairs 80-year-old virtuoso Hermeto Pascoal with mandolinist Danilo Brito’s choro quintet, Edgar Meyer & Mike Marshall (Director of SMF’s Acoustic Music Seminar) play a special duo show and Ukrainian “ethno-chaos” band DakhaBrakha return to SMF with an original score for the 1930 Dovzhenko silent film, Earth.  See a complete lineup HERE

Savannah Music Festival 2017

Tickets: 216 E. Broughton St.

     Savannah, GA 31401

     (912) 525-5050

     on line

Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens presents Folk Couture

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is pleased to announce “Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art”, on view October 7 through December 31, 2016.  Folk Couture departs from the norm by inspiring 13 designers to create garments based on pieces from the permanent collection at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. The designers include: Chadwick Bell, Fabio Costa (NotEqual), Gary Graham, Catherine Malandrino, threeASFOUR, Creatures of the Wind, Bibhu Mohapatra, John Bartlett, Ronaldus Shamask, Michael Bastian, Yeohlee Teng, Koos van den Akker, and Jean Yu.

“The Museum is excited to be able to bring an exhibition of this nature to the Jacksonville community,” states Chief Operating Officer & Chief Curator Holly Keris. “We have been looking to host a folk art exhibition for several years now, and being able to pair this style with fashion offers the opportunity to look at the artwork in a completely original way.”

threeASFOUR designers Gabi Asfour (born 1966, Beirut, Lebanon), Angela Donhauser (born 1971, Dushanbe, Tajikistan), and Adi Gil (born 1974, Tel Aviv, Israel) found inspiration in a 19th-century Quaker quilt featuring a Friendship Star pattern.  Their dress, made from three layers of laser-cut patent leather, combines the four-pointed Christian star, the five-pointed Islamic star, and the six-pointed Jewish star to create a whole new pattern.

Fabio Costa (born 1983, Brazil), well-known for his appearance on Project Runway, also created a garment inspired by a 1796 quilt from the collection, featuring the Tree of Life pattern. Costa hand quilted and stuffed the pattern onto a silk organza capelet and a split-front skirt, and created a pair of pants quilted with Japanese silk thread.

Yeohlee Tang (born 1955, Malaysia) selected four late 20th-century animal woodcarvings and created a garment that celebrated the playful character and hand crafted qualities of the carvings. Ultimately, Tang wants “[the dress] to appeal to the child inside everyone.”

Designers from left to right ThreeASFOUR_
Catherine Malandrino_Fabio Costa_Chadwick Bell

Bibhu Mohapatra (born 1972, India) personally identified with a book containing images of 35 tattoos. He remembers filling a similar book with sketches of his own while studying economics in Utah. While flipping through the book, Mohapatra found inspiration in a particular drawing called Sailors Dream. From this image, Mohapatra created a garment that resembles the nautical theme from the drawing.

Fashion can gain inspiration from unlikely places. The pieces that the designers created definitely reflect this statement. “Folk Couture demonstrates the way in which powerful expressions in a wide variety of mediums by self-taught artists can invigorate a disparate group of thoughtful, articulate designers to create equally vivid, singular objects of couture,” says Carreño.

Exhibition Season Sponsors: City of Jacksonville; Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, Inc.; Robert D. and Isabelle T. Davis Endowment at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida; The Schultz Family Endowment; State of Florida.

Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
  829 Riverside Avenue
  Jacksonville, Florida 32204
  (904) 356-6857
  Hours of Operation & Admission