8CD Release Smooth Landing: Air Traffic Controller Jon Simmons March 13, 2016 Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews 3/12/16 – The Sinclair It was Boston rock band Air Traffic Controller's CD release show Saturday night at The Sinclair, and the venue was packed—a mix of young and old faces in the crowd. With the...
Interview: Del the Funky Homosapien Jon Simmons March 10, 2016 Beantown Beats, Columns, Featured, Interview When most people hear the name Del the Funky Homosapien, they're not sure what to make of it. But to hip-hop heads of the last 25 years, Del is a major force in the underground rap scene, mentioned alongside...
8.5Time Machine Time Machine: Leon Bridges Jon Simmons March 7, 2016 Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews 3/5/16 – The Wang Theater Since I last saw soul singer Leon Bridges perform, ten months ago at Berklee's 200-person capacity venue—the Red Room at Cafe 939—the venue had gotten bigger. A lot...
8.5You're doing great Best Bearded Falsetto: Jack Garratt Jon Simmons February 27, 2016 Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews 2/26/16 – The Sinclair When I think of a one-man band, I think of this guy: Creepy One-Man Band Guy Thank you, Jack Garratt, for erasing this doofus from my mind. On Friday night, British...
Local Artists to Watch in 2016 Knar Bedian and Jon Simmons February 22, 2016 Featured, Local Spotlight This post was originally published in our end-of-year magazine. For those of you who missed the release of our special digital magazine, we're recapping our list of local acts you'll want to keep an eye...
Interview: Pell Jon Simmons February 2, 2016 Beantown Beats, Columns, Featured, Interview In a time when popular hip hop is saturated with trap beats, off-key singing, and autotune, melody-mindful rappers like Pell stand out. By no means mainstream, but beginning to garner press from major rap...
Album Premiere: Swept Up – The American Symphony of Soul Jon Simmons February 1, 2016 Columns, Featured, Interview, Local Spotlight, Premiere "Bombastic, yet tender. Explosive, yet reflective. Soul-stirring and movement-inducing." This is how Boston's A.S.S. describes their music. Butt jokes aside, The American Symphony of Soul is Boston's...
Best Local Albums of 2015 Knar Bedian and Jon Simmons December 22, 2015 Featured, Local Spotlight 1 Comment As news feeds and magazines are plastered with lists of the year's best music, we rounded up 2015's local releases. A standout album is more than just a collection of catchy singles; it's a carefully curated...
Premiere: “Deuxième Moment” – The Colonnade Jon Simmons December 7, 2015 Featured, Interview, Local Spotlight, Premiere On their Facebook page, Boston indie-rock group The Colonnade lists their interests as "Being Sad." Lead guitarist Jordan Rich's description of their music? "Nostalgic, angsty, monochromatic, jangly, fall...
Interview: Iration Jon Simmons October 21, 2015 Featured, Interview Though the band wasn't the one who coined the term, sunshine reggae is the perfect way to describe Iration's music. A group of guys originally from Hawaii who met in California, Iration has been spreading good...