By Lila Miller
THE 3rd annual Dog Days music festival was this past weekend, Friday through Sunday June 13-15, featuring over 50 bands, with venues across the city, inside and outdoors.
Headliners included Boy Harsher the weekend prior, Angel Du$t, Mannequin Pussy, Geese, and a plethora of other fantastic bands across the southeast and locally here in Savannah.
Organizers Kyle Brown and Paige Petrangelo put together one hell of a festival and managed rain contingency plans with as much aplomb as they could muster up.
“The weather was a challenge for us festival organizers and may have deterred some last-minute ticket buyers, but for the folks that showed up, the rain ultimately brought everyone together,” Petrangelo says.
Genres ranged from punk to indie to americana and bluesy, with a little bit of something for everyone in the mix. Weekend tickets hovered around $130 after fees and day passes were around $50-$80 depending on which day. For about 50 bands, it was manageable.
Although it rained torrentially as if God herself had a hissy fit, the show went on for a very wet, hot Dog Days festival.
“This was the hardest, most tasking weekend of my life, personally. Behind the scenes may have been a bigger shit storm than the weather itself. One thing after another. But at no point did we ever surrender, and the Dog Days team and community banded together in the face of sheer chaos and did what was needed to keep the weekend alive,” Brown reflects.
Friday evening, Western Funeral Company began the festival at Starland Yard on the main stage towards the back of the food truck park. They describe themselves as alt-country or as I fondly refer to it, y’allternative.
This outfit puts the FUN in funeral. Frontman Alex Raffray comes up with lyrics that are slightly depressing but somehow still comedically dark and hilarious. In one song, he sings, “red, white, blue, I’ll take my pills for you.”
Drummer Mariel Zayas-Bazan keeps things rhythmically hypnotic and fast on the drums. I look forward to seeing them progress as a band.
The Maxines (the lead image of this review) played after, with front woman A.J. Grey looking like a sexy bondaged Korn member with more nuance. The Maxines are fun, punk, political without being preachy, and bring a decent crowd ready to mosh.
In one song, Grey scream sings about the genocide in Palestine, war, and apathy, “Don’t talk about the dead bodies… dead bodies, dead bodies, dead bodies,” Grey sings.
It’s a refreshing note and a nod to many of the bands that talked a bit before their sets and acknowledged the dystopian political climate, both generally and in the current timeframe.
Friday evening is a flurry of bands including headliner Angeldu$t, and a blast and a half.
Saturday afternoon, I headed to the Lincoln Park stage behind Lone Wolf, Over Yonder, and Sixby, to hear Elizabeth Moen play. She is all long blonde hair, beautifully made up, looking like a much younger off duty Dolly Parton’s distant cousin.
Her and the backing band sound fantastic, melodic americana with lyrics like, “Heaven is anywhere with you,” Moen sings.
Soon after, it begins to rain and does not stop. There are slight delays but the show’s still on.
Rain contingency plans immediately – the remaining bands from the Lincoln Park stage are moved into Over Yonder to play on their stage, and to keep on schedule, Tobacco City is moved to Sunday afternoon.
I stay at Over Yonder for this series of shows as I hear that the bands aren’t playing over at Starland Yard. Throughout the delays and reschedules at Starland Yard and Lincoln Park, Brown and Petrangelo tarp things down, and have tents to keep the rain off festival goers, while updating people through the Dogdayspresents Instagram page, keeping it as up to date as possible to spread information quickly.
“Seeing people crammed under tents and huddling close while swaying to the various melodies was heartwarming in a way I didn’t expect to experience. Overall, I heard very positive reviews and I’m thankful for all the puddle jumpers, moshers, and friends old and new who rocked Dog Days Fest 2025 with us!” Petrangelo emphasizes.
Fast Preacher plays, they’re a more psychedelic punk band, writing songs about sticking together during the pandemic in 2020. They sing another banger chanting, “Free Palestine!”
The vocalist and band was giving a fun mixture of Cold War Kids and The Strokes instrumentals, if I had to describe them as anything other than themselves.
Jahnah {pronounced like Hannah) Camille is an indie angel and says during her set she wants to see cheeks clapping and lesbians crying, her music- very danceable and just fun.
The Magic Rockers of Texas are a frenetic punk outfit of four guitarists and a drummer with some keys in the mix, that makes you wanna mosh, but delicately. One line I remember, “I wanna be everywhere you’re not,” they sang.
On the big stage in Starland Yard, bands are moved to play at El Rocko later in the evening. There is talk that Saturday night headliner Mannequin Pussy may have to cancel due to the weather and other venues not being able to accommodate them, the crowd they draw, and their gear.
“...It was a triumph. Zero acts were cancelled. And credit to them, many had to be flexible and act quickly. Even the headliners, they were all down to move to a smaller stage and get creative,” Brown says.
The weather cleared up just enough for Mannequin Pussy to play the main stage – a grateful moment, as walls of people crammed in together to hear them play. There was a co-mingling feeling of primal rage, joy, sadness, strength, and a sense of hope in that crowd.
I screamed and cried. It was the best show I’ve ever been to, and the energy in the crowd tasted delicious, perhaps despite or possibly due to the weather. Everybody wanted to be there, rain or shine, indeed.
Dog Days After Dark featured bands from the afternoon bill Celray, with a wiry front woman, a very punchy punk band, Pardoner, another fun punk joint, Sick Thoughts and others. I went to bed blissfully exhausted.
Sunday Funday! Dog Days held a pool party at the Desoto Hotel (one of their sponsors) and I went and dined on hot dogs and snacks and simmered in the pool. Thankfully, the sun stayed out long enough for that.
Bands started back up in the afternoon, Starland Yard saw many more provisional tents in anticipation of the rain, which downpoured yet again. Bands moved from the main stage to the side stage and the show went on with Tobacco City, Caminator, Jalen Reyes, and the headliner Geese.
“...Geese almost played a damn floor show – ‘We are here, we want to play’ was the sentiment of Geese and Mannequin Pussy who were both set to play [Bonna]Roo, along with Hello Mary, Lip Critic, and Caminator. Giving up was never an option,” Brown finishes.
Overall, no one can play God and control the weather, but Brown and Petrangelo still managed to pull off a great festival rain or shine. Can’t wait for the next one. See y’all next year.