There's an Abundance of Festivals this Saturday!

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There are a lot of days that feature a ton of live music in the Boston area, and choices need to be made. That's usually tough, but this Saturday, August 22, choosing is going to be virtually impossible with these five separate festivals happening around the Boston area! Let's hope the forecast clears up, because Saturday could end up being legendary!


JP Porchfest, Sam Adams Brewery, Jamaica Plain, 12:00-6:00

I'm sure there are other great shows happening as part of JP Porchfest on Saturday, but I'm going to focus on the Meraki Main Stage at Sam Adams Brewery. It's a Boston hip hop showcase, featuring STL GLD, Oompa, Cakeswagg, Tori Tori, Lik Meraki, and Nahli. We're huge fans of the first four listed (we admittedly aren't familiar with Lik Meraki or Nahli), but this line up is absolutely bonkers and could easily sell out most venues throughout town. And Saturday you could see them all for free!


Wildflower Festival, Keyes Field Stage, Milford, NH 12:00-9:00

This one is a hike, but is well worth it. For just a $10 donation, you get to see three Boston area favorites, and help out a great cause. Wildflower Festival's mission statement is "Building stronger communities and enhancing green spaces through art, education and action." The three headliners are 7-11 Jesus (who we've just discovered and are great!) along with favorites like Gollylagging and Tysk Tysk Task! Plus, there are a ton of other artists to discover this year. They are asking attendees to purchase tickets in advance, which you can find here.


Tree Fest, O'Brien's, Allston, MA 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Boston hardcore legends Tree take over O'Brien's for a pair of shows Saturday: a matinee with doors at 2:00 and an evening show with doors at 7:00. Tree are always great, and have been legends since the 90's. Besides seeing Tree twice, you'll get to see Nothing But Enemies, Helldog, Acid Crash, The Long Way, Inverter, and Ravager. If you love heavy, local music, this is an obvious one to attend.


Rat******, 321 Washington St, Somerville, MA 2:00-8:50

We previously covered Rat****** in our summer festival preview, but now that daily line ups have been announced, we wanted to remind you. While both days are great, Saturday is particularly fantastic and features Lady Lamb, Winkler, Harry Ballz, Dino Gala, Clifford, Sweet Petunia, sidebody, and Tiberius. We regularly cover most of these bands, and they are among our favorites, and not just locally. This is a great day of live music, and truly shows off the more indie rock side of the Boston scene.


Riverfest Music Festival, Salisbury Beach Boardwalk, Salisbury, MA 12:00-Dusk

I have a soft spot for free radio station music festivals thanks to all the great ones WFNX and WBCN put on at the Hatch Shell back in the 90's. It's not quite the same, but 92.5 The River is putting on their annual Riverfest this Saturday. After last year's festival was cancelled last minute, we're hopeful that the 2026 edition can go on this year, since it features Spin Doctors, Buffalo Tom (who were scheduled to play in 2025), Fantastic Cat, and Gavin Marengi. There aren't many better ways to spend a late summer afternoon than on a beach and boardwalk watching fantastic and legendary bands for free.

On Repeat...

Hiding Places - "Waiting"

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Photo by Calli Westra Brooklyn's Hiding Places are originally from North Carolina, and that sound is all over their latest single. "Waiting" has a strong alt-country meets dark indie rock sound. The song is as hypnotic as it is heartbreaking. Even if you're not paying attention to the lyrics, the vibe of the song is overwhelmingly dark and somber. There's plenty of country twang and indie rock fuzz throughout the song, with the music carrying the weight of the song as much as vocalist/guitarist Nicholas Byrne's voice does. The song is stunning, both in its beauty and mood. I feel like I've been sitting on "Waiting" for a while now until I could fully wrap my head around it. Hiding Places has something truly special here. Nicholas Byrne says of his band's latest single: "Hiding Places’ first bassist, Anthony Cozzarelli, left the band in July of 2022. I wrote the chorus the day before Anthony left the band. I recalled the slow death of my ...
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Failure - "The Air's on Fire"

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Photo by Lyndsey Byrnes With their upcoming seventh overall studio album, the highly influential band Failure will have released more albums since reuniting in 2014 than they did during their first run. The first single from that album, "The Air's on Fire," shows the band expanding their sound while still being rooted in what has always made them great. The song is a dark and moody one that is always threatening to explode but never quite does. This is an example of 90's alt-rock meets art rock at its very finest. It's the kind of song that could easily have come out thirty years ago, but that doesn't mean it sounds dated. After the first listen, "The Air's on Fire" will sound like a killer alt-rocker from a 90's band that hasn't lost a step at all. The more you listen, the more complex Failure get on the single, and the more the song reveals itself to you. Ken Andrews says of his band's latest single: “That song is directly about my ...
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Mama's Broke - "How it Ends"

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Mama's Broke, the post-folk Canadian duo of Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler, have just released a break up song that might be their most accessible yet. While the previous singles from their upcoming album have a certain darkness or a sense of foreboding, "How it Ends" sounds relatively upbeat. Considering this is a song about how you never think you'll find someone as good as your ex after a break up, that's quite a feat. This is a traditional folk song with some slightly modern folk harmonies. As much heartbreak as their is in "How it Ends," there is also the warmth of remembering a recent relationship. You can listen to "How it Ends" below. Narrow Line is due out May 13 on Free Dirt Records, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Mama's Broke, check out the artist's website .
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