The Swayback Sisters
Three of Asheville, N.C.'s most interesting acoustic musicians have joined together for a short tour of the southeast, and they have a show at the Distillery here in Savannah Sept. 18. Lyndsay Wojcik, Nikki Talley and Laura Blackley are the Swayback Sisters. Wojcik and Talley are singer/songwriters with strong, expressive voices, while Blackey is a blues singer with a fiery alto. All three are creative acoustic guitarists, and their show - heavy on harmonies and Appalachian folk tunes - also includes healthy amounts of fiddle and banjo. Wojcik (www.myspace.com/lyndsaywojcikband) won the Gibson Songwriting Contest in Nashville, Talley (www.nikkitalley.com/) took top honors on TV's Carolina Star, and Blackley - with three CDs to her credit - hosts the Ashville radio show Southern Sirens (check her out at www.myspace.com/laurablackley).
Willie's comin'
None other than Willie Nelson has been booked to play the Johnny Mercer Theatre. The date is Sunday, Nov. 1, and tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18 at www.etix.com.
Jazz at the Ships
Admission is free to Saturday's concert of jazz standards outdoors at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, 41 MLK Jr. Blvd. The performers are vocalist Claire Frazier and pianist Frank Bright. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in a candle-lit tent. Sweet! See www.shipsofthesea.org/.
New at Shoreline
A last-minute booking at Hilton Head's Shoreline Ballroom has the California-based norteno band Los Manaldrines (the Malicious) playing a 9 p.m. show this Friday, Sept. 18. Tickets are $25. Also new on the Shoreline schedule: Silversun Pickups, Cage the Elephant and An Horse (Oct. 7); the Carter Twins and Stealing Angels (Oct. 18); Social Distortion, TAT and the Strangers (Oct. 25) and Blue October (Nov. 2). Tickets are still available for the Oct. 11 Insane Clown Posse show. See www.shorelineballroom.com/.
Italian Accents
Works by 14th Century Italian composer Francesco Landini will figure prominently in "Florence 1359," a concert by the ancient music ensemble the Goliards Sept. 27 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Landini, the blind organist at the Cathedral in Florence, is considered the giant of 14th century Italian music. The 3 p.m. concert will also feature dances, secular ballads and laude. The Goliards consists of John Hillenbrand, viellist, Anne Durant, harpist, mezzo-soprano Cuffy Sullivan and soprano Jennifer Dickinson. At-the door tickets will be $10 adults and $8 students.
One more thing:
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the Jan. 14 David Copperfield show at the Savannah Civic Center. They're $30-$50 - and, incidentally, the performance has a 6 p.m. start time. cs
