Savannah, Georgia draws in many college students and young people with its night life options. These options range from bars and clubs to a variety of live entertainment.

Now, the town will host a revamped version of the all-ages rock and metal music festival called AURA Fest, on Feb. 18 at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.

The bands will perform on two stages set up at the museum’s outdoor gardens. Some of the festival’s 15 bands include Unearth, ZAO, I Set My Friends on Fire, The Bunny The Bear and Oh Sleeper, along with a mix of local bands.

According to AURA Fest organizer Timothy Walls, this edition of the festival will offer expanded features and activities for attendees.

Festival Features

Savannah food trucks and brewing companies, like Dark Shark Taco Attack and Southbound Brewing, will have their products available for attendees.

One of the more different activities there, will be massages. Virginia College will have some of its massage therapy students at the festival. The students will offer free, five-minute massages.

As well, Graveface Records and Curiosities, a Savannah-based music and entertainment store, will have old school arcade games out for festival-goers to play.

The mental health organization Hope For the Day will also be at the festival. Hope For the Day advocates for suicide prevention and mental health education.

“I’ve found them through [Vans] Warped Tour. They do a lot of their messaging through bands and live music events,” Walls said.

More about the music

Walls explained why the museum appealed as a festival location, instead of what some may think of concerning music venues.

“They [the museum] have already hosted some music festivals, like Stopover and Savannah Music Festival…they were really open to the idea, even for having heavier music,” Walls said.

One of Walls’ goals with the festival was to book bands that do not play the Savannah area often. He also wanted to book different types of bands for the tour.

“I’ve been really influenced from festivals like [Vans] Warped Tour, where there’s a lot of variety,” Walls said. “I always kind of like having some sort of variety, so that’s why there’s some indie rock, and there’s some hardcore, and there’s some metal.”

Tickets

-Event time: 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.

-Venue location: 41 MLK Jr. Blvd.

Savannah, GA 31401

-Get tickets: aurafest.brownpapertickets.com

-$23 in advance/$25 the day of

-Win tickets for the festival! Check out

www.connectsavannah.com for details.