If It's Too Loud...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday August 23 Somergloom featuring Big Brave, Final Gasp, Spiritual Poison, Lesser Glow, Circus Trees, and Luci Dead Limb at Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA Cold Expectations, The Gypsy Moths, and Girl with a Hawk at The Burren, Somerville, MA Gollylagging, Paper Lady, and Alexander at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Muddy Ruckus, Julie Rhodes & The Electric Co., and Yonks at Alchemy, Providence, RI Oh the Humanity!, Eric and the Nothing, Scotty Saints and the True Believer...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday August 2 The Downhauls, Duck & Cover, CE Skidmore, and Gossip Collar at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band at Aeronaut Brewing Company, Allston, MA Michael Kane & The Morning Afters, Cheap Cassettes, and Highwater Haulers at Hotel Vernon, Worcester, MA Sun June and allie at The Word Barn, Exeter, NH Saturday August 3 Mario Fest featuring Black Helicopter, Blood Lightning, Blood, Guts, & Beer, Darryl Shepard's Blackwolfgoat, ...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday July 5 Bella's Bartok at Gallery Walk, Brattleboro, VT The Downhauls, Hammered Saint, Stars Like Ours, and Lonely Leesa and The Lost Cowboys at Koto, Salem, MA Fresh, Ogbert the Nerd, Mint Green, and Oldsoul at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Saturday July 6 Happy Little Clouds, Lovina Falls, and Parlour Bells at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Tysk Tysk Task, Tetchy, Gross Girls, and Wildfeuer at Taffeta, Lowell, MA Kimaya Diggs at Antenna Cloud Farm, Gill, MA Brainstory at The St...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday June 7 Tysk Tysk Task, Dog 8 Dog, and The Shirt and Shoes at The Overlook at Mill No. 5, Lowell, MA Swansea Sound, Jeanines, and Zowy at O'Brien's, Allston, MA Hand of the Tribe, Catching Hell, Circus Trees, and Cosmic Triumph at Thirsty First, Lowell, MA Saturday June 8 Forever Lager Fest featuring Pronoun, Valleyheart, Grace Givertz, Oldsoul, Cape Crush, Rusty Mullet, and Lee Zangari at Notch Brewing, Brighton, MA A Rock-n-Roll Benefit for Mark Erdody (Afternoon ...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: March 22 Consumer, Tysk Tysk Task, Vivid Bloom, and Little Fuss at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Cody Nilsen and Abbie Barrett at Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA Jake Xerxes Fussell and Alex Dupree at Club Passim, Cambridge, MA Marc Valentine, The Chelsea Curve, and Little Billy Lost at The Burren, Somerville, MA March 23 Mephiskapheles, Mamadou, and The Riki Rocksteady All-Stars at Old Town Hall, Salem, MA Happiness, Julie Rhodes & The Electric Company, and How's About Charlie at Askew, Providence, RI Galaxy Cake, The Daylilies, Lonely Leesa & The Lost Cowbo...

Artist : Sarah Jane Scouten Album : Turned to Gold Quick Thoughts : It's a very folk heavy week in new release land, and Sarah Jane Scouten provides one of the better efforts out of many good ones this week. Songs like "Dragonheart" are sneaky good when you least expect them, and the whole effort has a pleasant, familiar quality without sacrificing modernity. I loved this. You will too. Songs of Note : "The Great Unknown," "Dragonheart," "Turned to Gold," "Crocodile Tears," "Roses and Carnations" Artist : Antje Duvekot Album : New Wild West Quick Thoughts : Boston-area folkie Antje Duvekot hit my radar ages ago after she opened for Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket. I've kept up with her over the years, and New Wild West is a great folk record from someone who proves how underappreciated she is. "Lottery Ticket" in particular has been stuck in my head since I first heard it, and the whole alb...

Photo via Facebook Stars Like Ours are quickly becoming a local favorite around here. The trio's latest single, "What's Going Wrong," has a giant 90's power pop sound but a little bit of a Boston garage rock edge to it. This is Stars Like Ours' specialty, and they nail it with this one. This is a huge song with fuzzy guitars and pounding drums. If you remember back when record stores would have a stack of sampler CDs by the door or register, filled with a few songs from artists you knew but were a great way to discover new favorites, you're going to love "What's Going Wrong." Even if you weren't around for that era, it's going to make you nostalgic for it. You can listen to "What's Going Wrong" below. Better Every Day is due out October 6 on Rum Bar Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Stars Like Ours, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . If you're in the Boston area, you ...

This past weekend might have been the craziest of all time for the Boston area, musically speaking. We had Taylor Swift taking over Gillette Stadium (and everyone's social media feeds) for three nights, Janet Jackson in Mansfield, Blink 182 at the Garden, and countless local rock shows happening every single night of the weekend. I assumed I'd have some FOMO at only making it out to one show, but when that show was the outstanding triple bill of The Downhauls, Stars Like Ours, and Swivel, I could not have gone wrong. I'm about to lose all my Boston rock credibility by saying this, but I did not know Swivel at all before they were announced as the opener for The Downhauls' EP release show. Last week I discovered that Carissa Johnson was in the band, and I assumed they were a new project. Turns out they've been around for at least five years and also feature Damone's Noelle LeBlanc, and released an EP back in December that we completely missed. This won't shoc...

I've obviously been a Juliana Hatfield fan for decades at this point, but have seen her live only a handful of times. Seeing her at ONCE back in February of 2020 was one of my last shows in the before times. I saw that she was playing ONCE's outside venue on Sunday. I desperately wanted to attend, especially since I have no idea what will be happening with ONCE after the month runs out, but it didn't work out with my schedule. Of course, after I stumbled on free last minute tickets, I decided to drag my almost thirteen year old daughter out with me for this one. Hey, she's suddenly getting into a lot of what she would consider oldies on her own, so why not, right? Juliana Hatfield was originally supposed to tour with Soul Asylum and Local H, so Sunday night's show was a one off. Judging by the setlist, this was a night of what Juliana Hatfield wanted to play. Although she released the excellent album Blood back in May, she only played one or two songs off the album....