Savannah Music Festival

About the Event

Experience a World of Music in One City

Georgia's largest musical arts event and one of the most distinctive cross-genre music festivals in the world.

Schedule of Events:

12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Noon30: Anda Union

As with all nomads, the Mongols have an oral culture, passed on through generations in stories, music and songs, and thus Anda Union sings their history. The band’s thoroughly addictive combination of Mongolian musical styles is a reflection of their roots. Formed in 2000, Anda Union has influenced a generation of young Mongolians in Inner Mongolia as traditional music flourishes in the capital. Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures, the ten members unite tribal and music traditions from all over Inner Mongolia. They do so by bringing a wide range of musical instruments and vocal styles together in a fusion that would have made Genghis Khan himself proud. If you missed their 2019 festival debut, and especially if you did not, the 2025 return of Anda Union is something you will want to behold!

Location: Ships of the Sea

Ticket: $39.00

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3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Sebastian Knauer: Hollywood

Following his acclaimed projects Überbach, This Is (Not) Beethoven, and The Mozart / Nyman Concert, Savannah Music Festival favorite Sebastian Knauer’s artistic journey has now taken him to Hollywood. His latest album, Hollywood, showcases the work of American composers such as George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, and Jerry Goldsmith—all of whom share three common threads: they hail from the USA, blend classical composition with film music, and are connected to Alfred Newman, a pioneering figure of the Hollywood sound. This special festival performance will feature Knauer, a Steinway artist, on piano, accompanied by a string quintet.

Location: Trinity United Methodist Church

Ticket: $47.00

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4:30 pm - 5:45 pm & 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Solas

Solas is hailed by The Boston Globe as “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced.” Since forming in New York City in 1995, they have been a galvanizing element in the Irish music scene—a lightning rod of talent and inspiration that set new standards for musicianship, repertoire, and intensity. Over the course of twelve critically acclaimed albums and endless international touring, Solas brought their love and respect for the traditions of Irish music, and their sense of melodic and instrumental adventure to the world. In 2017, after a remarkable two-decade career, Solas decided it was time for a break. Eight years later, the break is over, and Solas is back and ready to celebrate their 30th anniversary! The musical adventure continues in 2025. The ensemble features Seamus Egan on guitar, banjo and flute, Winifred Horan on fiddle, Nuala Kennedy on flute and vocals, John Williams on button accordion and Alan Murray on guitar and vocals.

Location: Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden

Ticket: $47.00

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4:30 pm - 5:45 pm: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

For 60 years, South Africa’s five-time Grammy Award-winning ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and charming onstage banter. The group sings a traditional music style called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Mee-Ya), which developed in the mines of South Africa. It was Paul Simon’s 1987 Graceland album that introduced Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the world. The late former South African President Nelson Mandela designated the group “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” a title the members carry with them with the highest honor. In 2018, the group received not one, but two Grammy Award nominations for two separate albums, a first in the history of the World Music category. Ladysmith Black Mambazo has performed for millions of people, singing a message of peace, love and harmony.

Location: Trustees Theater

Ticket: $47.00

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5:00 pm - 6:20 pm & 7:30 pm - 8:50 pm: Zydeco Dance Party: Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas

For more than three decades, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have toured extensively, performing everywhere from local Louisiana spots to international stages, with an ensemble that has always been a family affair. Bandleader Nathan Williams started his professional music career at 21, recording singles for his brother’s El Sid label. Sid also opened a venue in Lafayette, El-Sid-O’s, where Nathan became a staple performer on Friday nights. Williams’ big break came when Buckwheat Zydeco recommended him to Rounder Records, which was searching for an accordionist after Buckwheat left the label for Island Records. Nathan auditioned and secured a recording contract, and in 1985, he founded Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, inspired by a Chenier instrumental. The band debuted at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1988. Their music blends zydeco, jazz, blues, and R&B, with most of the band’s original songs penned by Williams.

Location: Ships of the Sea

Ticket: $45.00

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8:00 pm - 9:30 pm: John Moreland

Following an impressive run of albums in the 2010s that earned him a devoted fanbase, accolades from outlets like The New York Times, Fresh Air, and Pitchfork, and a place in the upper echelon of modern Americana singer-songwriters, John Moreland recently took an entire year off from playing shows and didn’t use a smartphone for six months. After nearly a decade in the limelight, constantly jostled by the expectations of his audience, the music industry, and anonymous strangers online, he carved out some time to rest, heal and reflect. The result of that unplugged year at home is the 2024 release Visitor, a folk-rock record that is intimate, immediate, deeply thoughtful and extremely catchy. Moreland recorded the album at his home in Bixby, Oklahoma, in only ten days, playing nearly every instrument himself as well as engineering and mixing the album. It is a return to the approach Moreland took on his breakthrough albums, 2013’s In The Throes and 2015’s High On Tulsa Heat. On a musical level, the result is a raw, straightforward sound for which he has become known.

Location: District Live at Plant Riverside District

Ticket: $40.00

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8:00 pm - 9:30 pm: An Evening with Branford Marsalis

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. John Zeugner captured the quartet’s impact in a live performance with a recent concert review calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The Branford Marsalis Quartet…was all of those adjectives and more.”

Location: Lucas Theatre for the Arts

Ticket: $42 – $87

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