Did you see the profile in Sunday’s newspaper on MusicFile Productions, the parent company of Savannah Stopover and Revival Fest?
Do you wish we had more venues and more promoters willing to take risks to bring bigger and bigger acts to the city?
If your answer is yes, then consider the impact of Savannah’s alcohol ordinance.
Murder By Death will return to The Jinx on Oct. 23. That’s quite a coup considering that the band typically plays much larger venues.
Two nights later, Murder By Death will be at the 40 Watt Club in Athens. The Savannah show will be 21 and up. The Athens show will be 18 and up. Both venues have full bars; neither serves food.
In June, I saw Murder By Death at Headliners Music Hall in Louisville, Ky., where most shows are 18 and up.
Investors who have considered opening larger venues in Savannah are keenly aware of the problem. Under our alcohol ordinance, it’s impossible to generate revenue from the key demographic of 18- to 20-year-olds while also generating revenue from alcohol.
Owners and managers of existing venues are obviously well aware of the problem too.
Touring musicians face the same reality.
Savannah is already a small market where turnout can be fickle. If young adult fans at local colleges and military bases can’t get in the door, why play a show here at all, especially with Charleston, Athens, Atlanta and Jacksonville nearby?
All four of those cities have venues that allow patrons under 21 while offering full bars and serving little or no food.
Anyone 16 or over can buy a ticket to most shows at the Music Farm in Charleston. Some gigs are even all ages, while others are more restrictive.
Most shows at Terminal West in Atlanta are 18 and up. Shows at Freebird Live in Jacksonville are typically for ages 12 and up.
These business models simply won’t fly in Savannah, which has more restrictive age policies than any city that might be deemed a competitor.
Do we know something that those cities don’t? Or do they know something we don’t?
As I’ve noted here before, Savannah city staff have not suggested revising the alcohol ordinance to maximize business opportunities for venues and bands or to maximize
personal freedom for young adults. Instead, city officials want most legal adults aged 18 to 20 to be banned after 10 p.m. even from restaurants that serve alcohol.
Business isn’t the only thing at stake here.
Don’t we want young adults and maybe even younger teens to be able to appreciate the local live music culture? Don’t we want our many transient and temporary residents, like soldiers and college students, to have great experiences while living in Savannah?
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.