Music from 'the heart, the soul, and the testicles'

On Friday, August 21, Superior Entertainment will host the first ever Superior Music Festival at the Savoy Bar in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

In addition to performances from Mourning Wood, The Elements, Voodo Theory, Tantrym Tyme and Lights Out Paris, the day-long event will be headlined by the southern sounds of Mississippi’s Saving Abel.

And Saving Abel’s Scott Bartlett told SooToday the band feels no apprehension about playing a relatively small first-time event.

“There’s something about turning your head during a guitar solo and sweat flies off your head and hits a fan and they freak out. It’s awesome. When you can see the gleam in somebody’s eye and they’re that close, it’s more intimate,” he said. “But after the show, especially in a bar, Saving Abel will stick around until you kick us out. And there will be stories to tell. That’s hard to do at a big festival.”

In fact, attendees of Friday’s show in Sault Michigan will be able to hang with the band following their performance, Bartlett said.

They’re always looking for the best local spot and the next thing to do, he told us.

Fans of Saving Abel may notice a new face at the mic at their Superior Music Festival performance.

Following the departure of original lead singer Jared Weeks in 2013, Scott Austin stepped in, not to fill his shoes, but to help the band progress.

“Any time you lose any band member, it just changes the entire dynamic. And losing a singer most assuredly changes the whole thing. We became one of those radio rock bands that lost their singer. Do we throw in the towel? Do we find a carbon copy of Jared Weeks? Or do we try to push the envelope?” Bartlett said.

Deciding to move forward, he told us the fellas decided to find someone who could bring something fresh to the band while giving the other members a louder voice.

The route chosen led them down a slightly heavier and more cohesive path, Bartlett told us, something each and every member is pleased with.

“Here we are a year and a half later, and I can comfortably say it’s the tightest the band has ever been,” he said.

With that in mind, Saving Abel fans should know the band is gearing up to debut a new single this week, a piece Bartlett said will re-establish the band now that the rebranding is complete and the group has weathered the line up change storm.

With so many bands playing under the ‘southern rock’ umbrella, Bartlett says it’s Saving Abel’s sincerity that sets them apart from the pack.

“Our music is from the south. We’re a bunch of guys who grew up in the South idolizing Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band,” he explained. “It’s imbedded in us. It’s not a gimmick if it comes from the heart, the soul, and the testicles.”

Tickets for Friday’s Superior Music Festival are $25 each and may be purchased at the Savoy Bar in Sault Michigan or by calling 906-430-5242.

To learn more about Saving Abel, please click here.

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