If you were to attend every performance this summer of Berklee’s Summer in the City series, you wouldn’t have time for much else. In fact, it would be a full-time job. With 200+ free shows in the Greater Boston area, Berklee College of Music’s Summer in the City series showcases some of the best Berklee talent. With so much going on, it’s difficult to know which concerts to hit. Here are five that you shouldn’t miss.
Where: Charlestown Navy Yard
When: Thursday – July 17, 2014 – 6:00 p.m. Also catch them on August 7th.
Complete with full horn section, funk band Charlie the Most will transport you to the 70’s. Featuring sneaky rhythms and bluesy licks, this ten-person bottle of homemade jam makes you think Chicago or Tower of Power. With an organ opening Jon Lord of Deep Purple (RIP) would be proud of, “It Gets Nasty” does indeed get nasty (check out the video below).
Ladies, whip on your bell-bottoms, guys, let down your hair. Introducing….Charlie the Most!
2. Eguie Castrillo and Mar Del Norte
Where: East Boston Greenway
When: Thursday – July 17, 2014 – 7:00 p.m.
Part of the college’s annual Tito Puente Latin Music Series, Berklee professor and percussionist Eguie Castrillo will be bringing the party to Boston. Castrillo, a Grammy Award-winning musician, has performed alongside acts such as J-Lo, Steve Winwood, and Queen of Disco, Donna Summer. This guy’s a stud. More Castrillo cowbell, please.
3. Osiris Fire
Where: Harvard Longwood Campus
When: Wednesday – July 23, 2014 – 12:30 p.m.
Cool off this summer and catch Osiris Fire, a smooth blend of reggae and world music. Led by Ithaca, New York native Itamar Edelman, Osiris Fire combines deep bass grooves and smooth-sailing rhythms with stormy, spirited lyrics. As Edelman sings on his track “Thunder,” “You may have heard I hustle but I’m not a rude boy / Governmental muscle’s what I seek to destroy.”
4. The Pedtrito Martinez Group
Where: O’Day Park
When: Thursday – July 31, 2014 – 7:00 p.m.
Led by Cuban percussionist and vocalist Pedro Martinez, not to be confused with the beloved Red Sox pitcher of the same name, The Pedtrito Martinez Group takes traditional Afro-Cuban styles and injects fresh funk beats, sometimes even with the help of a scat voice function from a digital stage piano…
Where: Club Passim
When: Thursday – July 24, 2014 – 1:00 p.m.
Self described as playing “hobo-anthems”—whatever that means—this four-piece bluegrass band offers foot-stomping, whiskey-swilling, backcountry tunes. They play music you’re more likely to find in the boondocks of Appalachia than between tall buildings. Let’m take you back to the country.