If It's Too Loud...

Last year's New England Americana Festival was one of my musical highlights of 2025. There's just something great about hanging out in a field watching folk, bluegrass, country, and any other branch of Americana that's out there. Plus, I love Bellforge Arts Center, and try to get down there to see virtually anything at that wonderfully underrated venue. Today the festival announces their 2026 line up, and it's simply great. There are a ton of If It's Too Loud... favorites, plus a few new bands we can't wait to explore. This year's festival includes hosts and 2025 Boston Music Awards Americana Artist of the year Kier Burns & The Kettle Burners, Nate Perry & Ragged Company, Other Brother Darryl, Elisa Smith, Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, Tigerman Woah, berm, Regals, Dirt Road Souls, Autumn Hollow, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, Comanchero, Consuelo's Revenge, and damian and the displayers. It's a great selection of some of our favo...

Nate Perry & Ragged Company have had one hell of a year. They ended 2024 with a New Artist of the Year nomination at the Boston Music Awards, and have played both Boston Calling and the New England Americana Festival this year. Yesterday they released a brand new EP, and as much as we liked 2024's The Otherside of Everything , Till the Well Runs Dry expands upon that release spectacularly. "Tonight" blows away any belief that Boston can't do country rock right, and is a strong contender for song of the year. All five songs on this release demand your attention, are irresistibly catchy, and are perfectly designed with sing-a-long choruses. This is country perfect for not only the alt-country fans, but also fans of more mainstream country... well, maybe not the most bro-country ones. If you can get past "Between the Lines" without declaring Nate Perry & Ragged Company are your new favorite band, you may not have a soul. Nate Perry says of his latest re...

Photo by Collin Heroux Nate Perry & Ragged Company were one of the biggest and most surprising discoveries for us at this year's Boston Calling. The Boston Americana outfit blew away everyone lucky enough to see them on the Orange Stage, and if you missed them, they just released a new single sure to clue you in on how great they are. "Tonight" is the definition of country-rock. It has all of the twang you need in a country song but with a rock edge and a fantastic guitar solo to boot. The band also injects some vocal harmonies that are sure to suck you in, along with some of the best written lyrics to come out of Boston this year. Plus, Perry's vocals have this amazing quality that is equal parts grit and smooth.  Nate Perry says of his latest single: “It was a fun song to write and it’s a fun song to play. The creativity that went into the whole song really illustrates how much we've been cooking lately. This song is a reminder that this band can blow the ro...

Tom Morello and Chuck D Photo by Ken Sears Sunday was the day I was most excited for this year at Boston Calling. Tom Morello and Public Enemy back to back were something that made my inner high school self thrilled, and I was planning on doing everything in my power to get as close as possible. Of course, there was still an entire day of music before we got to the Blue Stage finale, and it ended up being a great end to a great weekend! Snacktime With Sunday's theme being fairly jam band-y, Snacktime might have been the perfect opener. A seven piece band out of Philadelphia, they combine funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, and R&B into a fun musical combination. They were at their best when they were at their most raucous, but also did a great job with some songs that were more almost pure R&B. They got the Dave Matthews Band crowd up and dancing, and truly won the crowd over when one of their songs turned into Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." That sample hit and the cr...

Photo by Collin Heroux Boston's Nate Perry & Ragged Company has a new single out just before their appearance at Boston Calling later this month. "Count on You" is an interesting song, mostly because it seems perfectly suited to playing the type of festivals they're booked to play this summer while still being fairly intimate. The song sounds like a more Americana leaning into country version of Bruce Springsteen's huge anthemic songs. Plus, there are some keyboards that are New Wave adjacent. "Count on You" is also the type of song that you're enjoying the studio version of while knowing that it is going to be fantastic live. Nate Perry says of his band's latest single: “‘Count on You’ is about finding your partner in life and running into hard times. Specifically, I wrote this song from the point of view of someone who is scared that their partner isn't going to show up when it matters. The result is a song from the perspective of someo...