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?

The Hostess City welcomes the 74th annual Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens with the exhibition of some of the city’s finest homes.

If ever there was a perfect time to amble under the canopy of the oak-lined streets and boulevards of Savannah, the sweet hours of spring would be it. A stroll through the city seems irresistible when the high sun finally banishes the long gray shadows of winter and the azaleas are coming into full, fragrant bloom. For many of the city’s denizens, spring is an expansive and gracious time, a time to sweep off the veranda and throw open the shutters. It’s the time for the 74th annual Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens, when many of the architectural gems in town are on full display for curious locals and tourists alike.

To fan the flames of excitement for this historic Savannah happening, The South presents an inside look at the tour and two of its finest features. So put on your walking shoes and get out your map—an open door to the Hostess City’s hidden beauty is just a page turn away.

As one of Savannah’s newest chefs, Cody Buford of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse is cooling up regales that are sure to spread the love.

Savannah’s newest chef Cody Buford first became part of the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse team in June of 2005 in the South Park district of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he began as a broiler cook. Since then, the “restaurant taught” cook made it to executive chef of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse’s new Savannah location.

And what a location they chose. The nostalgic brick facade and unique familiarity of the former Savannah Morning News building on West Bay Street seem to be the ideal encapsulation for such a warm and talented staff, comfortable surroundings,

Every day, there are unseen hands molding Savannah into what it is, and what it should be. Each day, there are phone calls being made, board meetings being held, initiatives being considered and enacted—all with the goal of community-wide advancement in the Hostess City.

To honor those individuals who have directed their considerable influence towards exacting positive change, we present our first ever list of Savannah’s Power Players. These are the people who spend their days on the phone, in meetings, and at their desks, getting things done for the betterment of the city and the lives of its citizens. These Stars of the South are reminders that one person’s efforts can have a long and lasting influence.

Mayor Otis S. Johnson
Hails from: Savannah, Georgia

Life’s work: Even before becoming the mayor of the city of Savannah in 2004, Otis Johnson’s life has been geared toward community activism and education. He was a professor and administrator at Savannah State University, the executive director of the Chatham Savannah Youth Futures Authority,

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.