New England Americana Festival Announces Its 2026 Line Up

By -


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 favorite live bands, bands we've been meaning to see live, and bands we're excited to discover! It's one of the best festival line ups of the year, and it's free!

Host and performer Kier Byrnes says of this year's festival:

“New England Americana Fest is incredibly excited to be back at Bellforge Arts Center. It’s a special place; there’s a real sense of community and support for the arts there that lines up perfectly with what the festival is about. Last year felt like we were building something meaningful, and coming back gives us a chance to deepen that connection and make the experience even better for everyone involved.”

New England Americana Festival takes place Saturday June 6 at Bellforge Arts Center in Medfield, MA from 1:00 to 8:00 pm. For more information on the festival, check out its website. You can find more on other upcoming events at Bellforge Arts Center here.

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

By -
Image
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Read more

First Listen: New Releases for 11 June

By -
Image
Artist : COWBOY BOY Album : GOOD GIRL Quick Thoughts : While I don't know how I tripped up on COWBOY BOY, but it takes a lot for me not to be into a power pop band, and thus they charmed me from the very start. This is a quick hit album without any real negatives to point out - the vocals are great, the songs are fun while still being somewhat serious, and the whole package is a really solid listen from beginning to end. Songs of Note : "DREAM DREAM DREAM," "PET," "SHRINK," "INCONVENIENT" Artist : St. Lenox Album : Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times Quick Thoughts : St. Lenox does some earnest folk rock/indie pop, and this album does what it says on the tin: it's music about religion, but it's not religious music, if that makes any sense. St. Lenox lays it all out on the table, though - grappling with faith, belief (and the lack thereof), family... it's a heavy record in spite of its light presentatio...
Read more

Yawn Mower - "Rascal"

By -
Image
Photo by Mary Dorsi Asbury Park's Yawn Mower had two goals for their upcoming album. First, after playing their hometown's Sea.Hear.Now festival, they wanted to write songs that worked on a larger stage. Second, they wanted the album to be their Pinkerton , "A raw, rough around the edges, noisier follow up to [their] debut album." The first song from that album is "Rascal," a song partly about the kids of their friends and family. It's a fun track that includes lines like "Here he comes now what a little asshole." It's a quirky and noisy indie rock track that reminds me of an edgier Fountains of Wayne. As anti-kid as the song may seem, you can tell it's not done seriously and there is a ton of love behind the track. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Chick says of the band's upcoming album: “While Dana Yurcisin (bass), Rudy Meier (guitar),  and Nicole Scorsone (violin) have certainly helped fill out past releases, this was the first time that ...
Read more