Savannah is certainly an eclectic town, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the diverse, thriving music scene that calls the city home. From bluegrass to hip hop, there is something for every music taste to be found here, and South wants you to experience it all. Specially marked copies of this month’s The South magazine contains our first ever Sounds of the South compilation CD, a limited-edition disc featuring 13 of the most notable and popular bands who call (or have called) Savannah home.

The collection starts with “Spilt Milk,” a track from Savannah-raised Kristina Train, a singer/songwriter/violinist with a gorgeous, soulful voice. Train, now residing in New York, signed with the prestigious Blue Note Records label almost eight years ago. Luckily for us, she has finally released her debut album, Spilt Milk, which the Boston Herald has called “timeless music, recorded beautifully and sung perfectly.” She will be returning to her hometown for the 2010 Savannah Music Festival.

A good female bartender has a special skill set they don’t teach you in bartending school: Guts, gusto and a good sense of humor. Get to know the bold ladies behind some of Savannah’s busiest bars.

Jade Kersey

Club 309 West, 309 West River Street
Bartending Since: 2004

Why Bartending: When her mother opened Club 309 West seven years ago, Kersey was forbidden from working the rather risqué watering hole. The SCAD fashion student soon convinced her mother otherwise and joined the close-knit staff. “It’s really like a big family at 309,” she explains.

The Southern-born dance is half a century old, but still jumpin’ and jivin’ in the Lowcountry.
If you haven’t heard of shag dancing, one thing is for certain: You aren’t from the Carolinas. Shagging came into fashion in the 1950s after originating in and around Myrtle Beach with rebellious boys and girls in canvas shoes and bobby socks. It became the official state dance of South Carolina in 1984, and the state music is—you guessed it—beach music.
So how did the dance fever shimmy its way down to Savannah? By way of devoted Savannah Shag Club members Gloria Moak and her partner, Walter Purcell.