Inside the Circle: Delta Circle Takes Over Honky Tonk South

Delta Circle opens the night with “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” bringing its Southern rock energy to a packed house at Honky Tonk South in Savannah. Film by Charles Maring for Savannah Proper.

A packed house, a hard-driving opening song and a Savannah band building something of its own

Earnest Spiva, Nic Ziter and Darrell Anthony share a lighthearted moment outside Honky Tonk South before taking the stage.

Before the first guitar rang through Honky Tonk South, the members of Delta Circle were hanging together outside the venue.

For a moment, the energy was quiet.

Away from the stage lights and the packed room waiting inside, the three musicians came together for an impromptu portrait. Photographed and filmed entirely in black and white, the moment felt less like ordinary nightlife coverage and more like the opening scene of a documentary.

Then Delta Circle took the stage.

The Savannah band opened with “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” the Luke Combs anthem built for loud rooms and raised glasses. From the opening notes, the crowd was with them.

It never stopped being with them.

Delta Circle vocalist and guitarist Nic Ziter brings the band’s blend of country and Southern rock to the Honky Tonk South stage.

Familiar songs, distinctly their own

Earnest Spiva drives the rhythm as Delta Circle holds the attention of a packed house at Honky Tonk South.

Delta Circle describes its sound as “country music with a Southern rock attitude,” and that combination becomes especially clear in a live setting.

The band moves comfortably through country, Southern rock, classic rock and the harder edges that connect them. Their set is filled with songs audiences recognize, but the performance never feels like a group simply recreating records. The arrangements are muscular, the guitars are assertive and the musicians play with the kind of chemistry that makes a familiar song feel immediate again.

Nic Ziter leads on vocals and guitar, with Earnest Spiva on bass and vocals and Darrell Anthony moving between vocals, guitar and drums. Each brings a different musical history to the stage.

Ziter began playing guitar at ten and moved to Georgia in 2021 to pursue music full time. Spiva grew up in a musical Savannah family and has written, recorded and performed with local, regional and national artists. Anthony, a Savannah native, is the band’s utility player, shifting roles while bringing an almost restless energy to the performance.

Together, they understand something essential about playing a live room: musicianship earns respect, but connection keeps people there.

At Honky Tonk South, that connection lasted throughout the night. The house remained full, the dance floor stayed active and the audience became part of the performance rather than simply watching it.

Darrell Anthony behind the drums during Delta Circle’s packed Saturday night performance in downtown Savannah.

From a Savannah stage to something larger

Delta Circle formed in June 2024, but its rise has been unusually quick.

The group won the Milan Aire Group Battle of the Bands during its first year and followed that achievement with recognition from Connect Savannah, the International Singer Songwriter Association, the Georgia Country Awards and the Josie Music Awards.

Darrell Anthony moves from the drums to guitar, revealing the versatility at the heart of Delta Circle’s live sound.

Its debut album, Someone Else’s Story, introduced the band as more than a high energy live act. Original songs including “Here’s to a Small Town” and “Like I Love You” have received radio play and helped Delta Circle carry its sound beyond Savannah.

The band has since performed throughout Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, appearing on stages ranging from Savannah venues to the House of Blues in New Orleans.

Those accomplishments matter, but the more revealing measure of the band may be what happened inside Honky Tonk South.

Delta Circle held the room.

The bridge between the songs people know and the songs still being discovered

Cover songs play an important role in a working band’s life. They bring people together quickly. A recognizable opening riff can turn strangers into a crowd before the first chorus arrives.

For an original band, however, those familiar songs can also become a bridge.

Delta Circle is increasingly using the energy of its live performances to lead audiences toward its own music. Someone who arrives wanting to hear a Luke Combs song may leave searching for Someone Else’s Story. That transition, from enjoying the performance to becoming interested in the performers, is where a band begins building something lasting.

The photographs from this Savannah performance deliberately leave the color behind. In black and white, the distractions fall away. What remains are expressions, hands on instruments, stage light cutting through the room and the physical relationship between a band and its audience.

Discover Delta Circle and listen to their original music

Photography and film by Charles Maring for Savannah Proper.