My bad, it seems that Philadelphia does possess a sporting team.

Brit name? No. (*some audience laughter*)
Savannah? No.

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I believe that Philly is actually one of the few cities with a team in all four of the leagues Tuj mentioned. :)

In the title of quite a few songs, hmm.

Initially stately vowelly? No.

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The song route may or may not be helpful. I had heard of maybe one of the songs with the city in its title (and I had not heard of the song that is in fact most famous). The AOTC-related song that I know best names the city in its first line, but not in the title.

Named after geographical feature? I think the best answer is Yes, though I am using a broad definition of “geographical feature”. (It’s not as obviously a g.f. as, say, Little Rock, if that’s what you were thinking of.)

New Orleans? No. (*Applause, and also some muttered and inconclusive discussion about whether New Orleans had already been ruled out by Radox's island question*)

New Mexico? No. (*a little audience laughter, not so much for the question as for the questioner*)

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[KS] Entirely friendly laughter, I promise. :)

It wouldn't happen to be Lake Charles, would it? The city, I mean, not the AOTC.

Closer to Canada? Yes.
Lake Charles? No. (*more applause*)

City in the US lower 48, on a river but not on an island, south of 40°N, not in a state starting with a vowel nor in New Mexico nor in Texas, does not begin with 'P', is not named after a person nor in Spanish nor a version of an existing British town, but the name is vaguely geographical and there are songs about it. It also possesses no team in any major US league of sporting mayhem, but has a specific reason for CdM to pick it.

[Bismarck] Excellent summary. :)
In the Confederacy? Yes.
Two-word name? Yes. (*applause*)

Don't really want it to be.

[Software] Can't see what is the geographical idea of a red stick...

It is indeed the state capital of Louisiana, on the Mississippi, Baton Rouge, so whether he likes it or not, Software now has a new shiny crimson baton to replace the one that somebody apparently ran off with at the end of the last round. Garth Brooks' recording of Callin' Baton Rouge apparently reached number two on the US country charts, and there is also a Lou Reed song with the title Baton Rouge. And then, of course, there's Me and Bobby McGee, which Janis Joplin took to number one.

As for the geographical connection, I did try to give a highly qualified answer. The red stick that Baton Rouge is named after was a boundary marker, and boundaries—even those that don't follow features of physical geography—do fall into the category of "abstract geographical features". But maybe I pushed the definition a little too far, and if so I apologise. :)

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Oh right, I see... also I looked it up and the mayor has a sonorous title, as you said right at the beginning.

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OK, here goes: VEGETABLE and MINERAL with possible ABSTRACT connotations.

Bravo to the setter and the guesser, lovely.

Too silly tired for serious questions

Tuj - NO
Rosie: wood? - Possibly
RTG: separate - YES
Raak: is it art? - Possibly
CdM: P? - YES!
Bool: baton? - NO
Bismark: software (are you addresing me?) - Not as far as I'm aware
SM: metal? mmmm! - Sometimes
Duj: Sorry for the delay, everyone

SM: Plastic thingy? - NO, not even on a plinth
Raak: Statue? - NO
CdM: Toaster benchmark? - Well, sometimes much larger
Bismarck: Maritime? - NO
Bool: Grub? - Well, again, possibly.

Mmmm . . . aroma.

Tuj: Unique? - NO
KS: Cookery? - NO
Super: Farming? - In a way, YES