Savana Lee Crawford will tell you she’s not the ‘Jane’ in Sugarcane Jane. The stage name Savana and Anthony Crawford chose for themselves has more to do with a family sugarcane field and a catchy moniker that rhymed.
“People get confused, but I’m not Jane,” she chuckled during a phone interview with The Dispatch. “When we came up with the name, I was telling Anthony about how my granddad had a sugarcane patch, how he would give sugarcane to the kids instead of candy at Halloween and how it was real popular.”
So, even the duo’s name has a rooted, organic birthplace, just like their music.
The Columbus Arts Council brings Sugarcane Jane to the Rosenzweig Arts Center’s intimate Omnova Theater at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 28.
‘One of the best’
The Crawfords have been described as, “One of the best Nashville duos since Johnny and June” by Nancy Dunham of The Washington Times.
They met in 2000 in Nashville, where Anthony has amassed numerous recording credits as multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer or composer with artists including Neil Young, Vince Gill, Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Forbert and Roseanne Cash. Savana was and is a singer and songwriter. In one of life’s little ironies, they discovered their parents lived only 8 miles apart in south Alabama.
In 2007, Anthony produced a solo album for Savana and, by early 2009, they had formed Sugarcane Jane. After years in Music City, they relocated closer to family, to Alabama, where they are raising their three children, ages 2, 5 and 7, and still creating the tight harmonies and musicianship they’re known for.
“There’s such a great music scene down here; they really have embraced us,” said Savana, who describes their sound as folk rock, influenced by some of the artists Anthony has played with. Inflections of gospel, country, jazz and rock all have their place, as do some customized covers. Requests from fans to record some of them led, in part, to the recent CD “All Time High.”
Savanna explained, “We just released an album we call a ‘suitcase release’ that we put some of these covers on, like ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ ‘California Dreaming’ and ‘Young Love,’ by Sonny James. Anthony’s first tour was with Sonny James, so that’s special,” said Savana. “We have a different spin on it, real dreamy and romantic. I love the version we did.”
“All Time High” follows their 2017 album “Ladders and Edges,” produced by multi-JUNO Award winner Colin Linden, and precedes a full-length album slated for release later this year.
In Columbus, Sugarcane Jane will share a mix of new material and favorites, complemented by Anthony’s skill on guitar, harmonica and kick drum. Savana adds a ukulele bass.
Their sets are infused with what Savanna described as “enchanting” elements of the couple’s own love story and harmonies.
“I think the harmonies are what brought us together. I would say our harmonies are probably at the forefront of what we do.”
How to go
Concert tickets for arts council members are $15 in advance, $17 at the door. Non-members are $20 in advance, $22 at the door. Concessions offered include soft drinks, beer and set-ups.
Downtown Columbus restaurants Thai by Thai and Zachary’s are offering a 10 percent discount to diners showing a concert ticket on the day of the show.
Get tickets at columbus-arts.org or by calling the arts council, 662-328-2787 (closed Mondays).
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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