Christopher Berinato| For the Savannah Morning News
School’s out and summer is heating up with the return of Dog Days Fest at Starland Yard. Dog Days Presents boasts a well-earned reputation for booking “the world’s best punk, country, indie, and rock and roll bands,” and Dog Days founder Kyle Brown stands by that claim.
“It’s as good of a music festival as you will find, in an even more intimate environment than you’ll ever find,” said Brown. “It’s the best way to immerse yourself in a new music environment. There’s nothing like going all-in and being able to see 40 bands in three days. It’s the experience of a lifetime.”
The rollicking weekend event runs June 7-9 and is spread out among several unique venues including Over Yonder, El Rocko Lounge, Starland Strange, Two Tides Brewing, and the main stage at Starland Yard. Moodrights will have a stage set up on their bowling lanes with lights and visuals by art collective Corrupted Thinking, and show promoters Big Blue Booking are presenting performances at Front Porch Improv, a black box theater that is staging live music for the first time.
The line-up is as good as any you might have found at South by Southwest in its prime. Dog Days Fest kicks off on Friday with a slate of national touring bands including Stuck, The Serfs, Mary Jane Dunphe, and Kairos Creature Club, as well as local acts Smalltalk, Pink Peugeot and Chipper Bones.
Saturday is bursting with first-rate touring bands like Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Omni, Being Dead, Mind Shine, Motorbike, Clarko, Wilby, Nag, Real People, D. Sablu, Family Vision, Austin Leonard Jones, Johnny Falloon, and Tommy Goodroad. Expect to see several Savannah favorites like Dustin Price, Holy Ghost Tabernacle, PR Newman, and Klept.
The fun continues into Sunday with headliners MJ Lenderman & The Wind as well as Color Green, Klark Sound, and Heffner.
Sheer Mag makes Savannah debut at Dog Days Fest
One of Saturday’s most exciting headliners is Sheer Mag, a “straight ahead” rock band from Philadelphia led by the infectious vocal powerhouse Tina Halladay.
“The line-up is really cool, and a lot of our friends are on the bill,” Halladay said of Dog Days Fest. It will be Sheer Mag’s first time playing in Savannah.
After building up a fan base through their electrifying DIY collection of 7-inches, Sheer Mag were signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records where they released their latest album,"Playing Favorites."
Sheer Mag rips out guitar-driven anthemic rockers that harken back to '70s classic rock, but with lo-fi punk sonics and attitude. It’s a sound that is as equally suited for an arena as for a dive-bar. One of their most memorable shows was in London during a European tour.
“It was one of the biggest headlining shows we’d ever done and I always remember that show,” recalled Halladay. “It was exciting and felt important. It was also funny because it was the most 'Spinal Tap' moment as well, being lost in the bowels of a venue, walking in a circle and not being able to find the stage. It was definitely one of those days as well.”
Although Sheer Mag lean into amp-blasting '70s rock, Halladay was inspired by soul singers like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Etta James.
“I always felt good and comfortable singing soul songs,” said Halladay. “Performing is really important to me. There is a certain release that comes with performing, and if I don’t do that it feels strange, like there’s something missing from my life. And there’s the people you meet and being able to go to all these different places. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without this band.”
Sheer Mag’s latest album began life as a 4-song disco 7-inch, but it grew into something bigger upon their Third Man signing which gave the band extra support.
“Now we have more people to help out,” said Halladay. “We recorded it in the same way we always do. The recording process didn’t change. It was just decision making and the resources for distribution and advertising, the stuff we weren’t really good at.”
The danceable disco sound Sheer Mag were going for also took new shape, drawing inspiration from other genres like progrock and country.
“Personally, I’ve always loved country music,” said Halladay. “Over the last few years I’ve been really getting into '90s country and more contemporary country. Country, more than ever before, has been in my ears, and I think that comes through in ‘Don’t Come Looking.’”
Another surprising addition to"Playing Favorites"is a guitar solo feature by Tuareg songwriter Mdou Moctar on the song “Mechanical Garden.” Sheer Mag bandmates Kyle and Hart Seely brought a portable recording studio to Moctar’s Airbnb to capture his guitar lightening in a bottle.
“He asked for $500 cash,” recounted Halladay. “Kyle showed him the song and they did a bunch of passes. Then Kyle cobbled together the one that made the most sense for the solo. Mdou then gave his manager the cash and told him to go buy a PlayStation 5 for the community center in the city he was from.”
Sheer Mag’s unique approach to traditional rock dynamics has marked them as both outliers and inspirers in the indie rock scene. With its dependable line-up of exciting acts, Dog Days Fest should be a comfortable fit for Sheer Mag.
“It’s always kind of hard to find bands that fit with us,” said Halladay. “We’re pretty used to being the odd man on the bill. I feel like a lot of bands have sprung out of our sound, but it’s still hard to find rock bands to play with.”
Tickets and schedules for Dog Days Fest can be found atdogdayspresents.com.
If You Go >>
What: 2024 Dog Days Fest!
When: June 7-9
Where: Starland Yard and more
Cost: $25-175
Info:dogdayspresents.com
