Welcome back to the Wrap-Up! This week, we talk Boston music festivals, hype new music from local rapper Avenue, and let a single tear roll down our cheeks in memory of an irreplaceable record shop.
Stop What You’re Doing and Listen to Avenue’s The Chandelier View
The time for heralding Avenue as one of Boston rap’s best kept secrets might be coming to an end just as quickly as the time for bragging about him to the rest of the country gets started. After bouncing around the city’s underground scene since the release of 2014’s Summer of ‘91 EP, the 23 year old dropped a new project, entitled The Chandelier View, collaborating with everyone from Michael Christmas and Deon Chase to Latrell James and HiFadility.
It’s every bit as real and honest as it is catchy and accessible, so crank the bass on your car radio and give it a listen.
Boston Calling Wraps Up Another Spring Fest, Announces Fall Lineup
This past weekend marked another milestone in Boston Calling’s short history of bringing music to City Hall Plaza and Jack Black’s much longer history of doing pretty much anything he wants. In case you missed out, here’s a quick synopsis: Run the Jewels blasted a Queen song, ILoveMakonnen opened and closed his set with “Tuesday,” Tove Lo’s chest made an appearance yet again, Beck tried his best not to look like Michael Cera onstage, Vance Joy forgot the words to his song and everyone went “awww” in sync, Pixies slayed despite being practically fossilized on stage, and I saw one guy try to make out with a cardboard cut-out of Sam Adams. Stay tuned for Sound of Boston’s full coverage of the weekend!
Check out the fall lineup here.
Boston Hassle Hosts Grass Stains Series
Allston’s Ringer Park will be buzzing with tunes, both acoustic and electric, come this Saturday thanks to BRAIN Arts Organization’s Boston Hassle. The outdoor show is set as the first of many Grass Stains installments to take place this summer, with others already planned in Jamaica Plain, Revere, and Somerville.
Take a look at the weekend’s lineup here, and keep your eyes peeled for news on future Hassle shows.
Weirdo Records: Don’t Smile Because It Happened, Cry Because It’s Over
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Boston DIY. With Cambridge’s Weirdo Records announcing its closure, along with recent reports of T.T. The Bear’s Place’s similar fate, music fans around the city are flying their flags at half-mast.
Weirdo Records owner Angela Sawyer broke the news in a farewell letter, telling her customers, “Record stores are a bit like paper airplanes, but thanks to all of you, I’m pretty sure a good one can fly a ways.”
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