Sentient Bean hosts indie-rock ‘extravaganza’

For students under 21, seeing live music can sometimes present a challenge. The Sentient Bean, a coffee shop at 13 E. Park Ave, will host an evening of music featuring three diverse bands that people of all ages can enjoy on Sept. 11.

Starting at 8 p.m., General Oglethorpe and the Panhandlers, Blair Crimmins and the Hookers, and Dare Dukes with the Blackstock Collection will all perform. During the show, the venue will offer a light menu and full coffee bar.

The Bean's special events manager, Joemy Buschur, said he expects the room to fill up quickly, since all three acts are return performers.

"The music is accessible to a lot of different people who like a lot of different types of music," Buschur said.

The first act, General Oglethorpe and the Panhandlers' name is a reference to Savannah's history. Vocalist and guitarist Devin Smith enjoys the duality of the title, since General Ogletorpe was a philanthropist and panhandlers is a term for beggars.

Anna Chandler and Smith formed the band in 2009, later adding drummer Duncan Iaria and bassist Jack Horner to complete their indie-folk-rock sound.

Oglethorpe just finished recording their first album called "Whistle the Dirges" featuring 12 original songs. They expect to release the album early next year. Post-recording, Chandler said listeners could expect folk sensibilities with strong narrative lyrics.

For this upcoming show, Oglethorpe's set will include 10 songs from their album.

With their full band home from summer break, Chandler said they are going to really step it up and rock out. Her counterpart and co-founder concurred.

"It's going to be a kind of back to school extravaganza," Smith said.

Smith said attendees could expect to come unwind and slip on their dancing shoes.

"Come out freshmen," she said.

For a complete change of pace, the next act, Atlanta-based band Blair Crimmins and the Hookers offer a ragtime sound. The band incorporates piano, ukulele and saxophone, taking listeners on a journey back to the early 20th century.

"We pride ourselves on having an original sound," Crimmins said.

No newcomer to the Bean, Crimmins said she tries to improve on every past performance.

"[I'm] coming back with a rhythm section and some horn players."

Crimmins plans to fill the set with all of their original songs and some covers.

Buschur said he looks forward to seeing what this act will have in store.

"They're unique," Buscher said. "He's another one of those musicians who plays a certain genre of music. They do it really well."

No stranger to Savannah's music scene, Dukes will bring the edge to round out these three completely different performances. A well-known local favorite, Buschur said Dukes' shows always sell out.

Dukes plays in town every few months, in what he described as an attempt to build Savannah's music scene. He often brings in bands such as Blair Crimmins and the Hookers to Savannah to play together.

For this show, Dukes will play with his band the Blackstock Collection, named after Gregory Blackstock, an artist who inspired Dukes.

The band will include Dukes, Blake Helton (drums), Chris VanBrackle (mandolin and banjo), AASU Student Robin Sherman (bass) and Chandler from General Oglethorpe.

Inspired by bands such as the Pixies and Sparklehorse, Dukes described their music as a mix of new folk with a punk rock flavor.

For this show, they will be playing mostly new material, which they anticipated would end up on an album set for release next spring.

"We all worked really hard on rehearsing this summer," Dukes said.