Spring is here and for many people that can only mean one thing: time to light up the grill. Should you be a grilling greenhorn or the master of mesquite, here are three grills to get anyone’s fire going.

Gas:

Gas grills may be pricier than your standard cookout gear, but the longevity, versatility and appearance is worth the extra penny. General Electric gas grills offer a wide variety of features, including side burners or even a rotisserie for that perfect chicken. A tank of fuel can last a long time, but Robert Harrison of Livingood’s in Savannah suggests you keep a spare on hand so that you and your steak don’t get left out in the cold. $3500–$7000, depending on ordered features. Check out this grill at Livingood’s, 912.330.5505, www.livingoodsonline.com.

To parishioners of Christ Church Savannah, the ancient sounds of the Compline Choir offers something more than good listening.

On Sunday evenings at Christ Church Savannah, time seems to stop. In the darkness of the sanctuary, candles are lit, and, in a Christian tradition dating to the Middle Ages, up to 100 people gather together to say farewell to the day and good night to God.

For several years, Christ Church, with its white-pillared facade gracefully situated on Johnson Square, has offered a popular weekly Compline service to parishioners as a quiet alternative to the chaos and clamor of modern life. The practice of Compline (from the word “completion”) began in European monastic communities centuries ago as a concluding service giving thanks to God and asking for protection in the night and day ahead. True to the historic traditions, the Compline service at Christ Church is a sedated, intensely spiritual ceremony. As worshippers pray in silence and listen to scripture, the service is punctuated by the sounds of the Compline Choir, a small group of specially trained male and female singers clad in simple black robes. From the back balcony, they sing haunting melodies that are said to transport observers to a new spiritual plain.

The mounting success of Georgia’s own Lovell sisters is a story of near global proportions.

When the Lovell Sisters Band returns to Savannah in March, they will be fresh off their third European tour. Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland—the sultry tunes of their unique brand of homegrown bluegrass has taken these Southern girls far and wide. Yet, it wasn’t long ago that the Calhoun, Georgia, natives were simply sisters and far fro the tremendous trio they would one day become.

Classical piano and violin lessons learned in childhood took on new meaning for Jessica, Megan and Rebecca when, several years ago, a friend took them to the Mountain Opry in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and they were exposed to the intoxicatingly country sounds of bluegrass. “[The music] acted as a social glue,” Jessica recalled of her first experience with mountain music.

If you take a moment in Savannah to stop and listen, the sweet sounds of success can be heard emanating from the Benedetto Guitar workshop.

On a cold morning several years ago, a young guitarist performed on a sidewalk in the Latin Quarter of Paris, cadging euros from tourists with a fairly fluent rendition of Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages.” When we told him where we were from, he detonated with delight. “Savannah? Savannah! Yes! Yes!” he said. Gleefully, he pointed to the name inscribed on his instrument.

“Benedetto!” he exclaimed. “Le meilleur du monde!” (“Benedetto! The best in the world!”)

The Savannah Music Festival’s executive and artistic director, Rob Gibson, is the driving force behind the event’s world-class programming.

“It is a rare individual who could do what Rob has done—and I am not just referring to the Savannah Music Festival, though that evolution has been remarkable,” says Rick Winger, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. “From his work in Atlanta to Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rob Gibson is committed to quality and excellence.” Winger isn’t the only one amazed by Gibson’s talent and commitment. As the executive and artistic Director of the Savannah Music Festival, Rob Gibson is responsible for providing artistic vision and shaping the overall longterm strategic plan for the organization, and has been instrumental in taking the SMF from a small, local event to a world-renowned festival drawing thousands each year.

WHO: The Blues Was Born Here (Cephas & Wiggins, and Beverly “Guitar” Watkins)

WHERE: Charles H. Morris Center

WHEN: March 19, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

WHY: There’s nothing more Southern than the blues, and this show will offer two great talents with wildly different takes on the genre. Cephas & Wiggins is a guitar-and-harmonica- wielding acoustic duo that plays in the Piedmont style. Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, a Georgia native, has been burning up stages with her rarified electric blues since the late ’50s.

In the absence of an established classical music scene, Peter Shannon arrives to usher in the newest chapter of Savannah’s cultural identity.

His brown eyes glint with the luck of the Irish. His brogue is strong and true. His passion for all things music is unwavering. Meet Peter Shannon, artistic director for the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and the newly created Philharmonic Orchestra, and the city’s hope for a revived music scene.

Since February 2007, when he first took the reigns of what was then known as the Savannah Choral Society, Shannon has been raising eyebrows—and glasses—with his dedication to advancing the resources available for classical music players and lovers in the area. He has applied his years of experience to training a group of amateur singers into a chorus with an exquisitely refined sound. And now, in 2009, he has handcrafted an orchestra to accompany the Philharmonic Chorus, and to play independent performances including their official debut occurring February 27, Beethoven’s “Fifth” will be played at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Comprised of musicians from the Lowcountry and throughout the United States, the new Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra will no doubt soon be another artistic asset to add to the city’s roster, joining the ranks of the Savannah Film Festival and the Lucas Theatre. In the two short years he has been a citizen of the city, Peter Shannon has proven himself the architect of a cultural enrichment not seen since the collapse of the Savannah Symphony in the early 2000s.

Can a new Broughton Street business help to change everything the world has ever thought about music? David Meredith, CEO of Music Intelligence Solutions, has the answer.

Have you ever wondered what exactly makes a song a hit? Is it the melody? Or the tempo? Is it any one entity, or is a song more of a sum of its parts? For most ears, music is a subjective art, something that’s not quantifiable or dissectible. Deciding whether or not a song makes your download list is often visceral and instantaneous. You know within a few bars whether it’s a hit or a miss. For you and your headphones, there’s no need for data input, computer computations and complex algorithms, right?

In the anniversary year of his 100th birthday, The South takes a look at Savannah’s enduring influence on the works of the late, great singer and songwriter, Johnny Mercer.

And in your lonely flight, / Haven’t you heard
the music in the night / Wonderful music,
faint as a will o’ the wisp, crazy as a loon /
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
“Skylark” (1941)

With over 1,700 original songs to his name, the volume of Johnny Mercer’s work is impressive, but his artful lyrics, as evidenced in this, one of his most beloved songs, confirm the true depth of his talent. Born in Savannah on East Gwinnett Street, Mercer was raised alongside the scenes of the Lowcountry, and biographers and friends attest to the area’s lasting effect on his work. Like a hauntingly still summer night on the marshes, the words accompanying Hoagy Carmichael’s melody conveys a balance of aching loneliness and beautiful serenity.

Caroline Herring is no liar. She won’t pretend that she grew up singing on a dusty front porch, playing second fiddle to the sounds of crickets chirping and mosquitoes humming. She will, however, passionately discuss how her quiet childhood in small-town Canton, Mississippi, forged her path to becoming the so-called next big thing in folk music. To say that Herring never imagined that path would lead her to the stage and a roster of critical acclaim as long as her guitar strings is certainly an understatement.

Now in her mid-30’s, the Atlanta-based wife and mother of two still vividly recalls when her father first introduced her to the powerful sway of music when he gave her a ukulele and played records by the Kingston Trio, one of the most influential folk music groups of all time. Yet, despite this unique form of home schooling, Herring’s real love for folk music didn’t begin in the family living room; it all started at Ole Miss when she began performing with The Sincere Ramblers, a local country-bluegrass group. In 1999, when she moved to Austin, Texas, to study folklore in the prestigious American Studies doctoral program at the University of Texas, Herring’s spark of interest became a flame of enthusiasm. Being absorbed by the art of story telling in a city known for its thriving music culture was enough to propel Herring into a fruitful career of beautiful music-making that would later have her setting up camp in the Peach State.