Almost 100 bands will descend on Savannah between March 7 and 10 for the second annual Savannah Stopover Music Festival.

The four-day event will feature 21 up-and-coming local bands and 78 others from around the world. From Indie rock and punk to country, folk, Americana, dance and hip-hop, music lovers will revel in the assortment of sounds.

Most notable acts include rock band The War on Drugs, which will play at 9:30 p.m. March 10 at The Ships of the Sea Museum Garden, and synth pop/electronica one-woman band Grimes, who will play at 10 p.m. March 9 at the Jepson Center for the Arts. Other bands include: The Love Language, playing at midnight March 10 at The Jinx, and Caveman, performing at 11 p.m. March 8 at Loco's. Brooklyn-based Country Mice will return to Savannah at 5 p.m. March 9 at Congress Street Social Club. And Royal Baths, one of the many bands new to the scene, will play at 10 p.m. March 10 at Live Wire.

"For the most part it's very under the radar but very, very up-and-coming bands," special events coordinator Blake Olmstead said.

She said organizers scheduled the festival the weekend before the South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals, a huge event showcasing music, independent films and emerging technologies. They did that so bands could stop over in Savannah on their way to Austin, Texas, for the annual event.

"It's kind of a way for people to say that they saw them first," Olmstead said.