If It's Too Loud...

Coming back to downtown Lowell for the evening portion of The Town and The City Festival, I knew I had to move between The Old Court and Thirst First. I started out at The Old Court just before Escape Durgin took the stage. The Old Court was a showcase for Lowell artists Saturday night, and Escape Durgin started it off with an eclectic set that spanned multiple genres, usually within the same song. The first song started off as more of a 90's second wave grunge power ballad in the vein of Candlebox, and quickly veered off into 70's psychedelia territory. They reminded me of a modern take on the college bands that dominated central Massachusetts in the 90's, and I don't mean that as a bad thing. Gross Girls were up next, and they may end up being my favorite musical discovery of 2025. You know how most music is either happy, angry, or sad? Gross Girls' songs seem more annoyed than anything else. It's like they took the overall vibe of the 90's and recreated i...

One of the nice things about The Town and The City Festival is that the music starts early in the afternoon on Saturday, which leads to more music. There were many great choices throughout the day, but I decided to stay put at Thirsty First for the triple bill of The Chelsea Curve, Girl with a Hawk, and The Deluxe Fiasco. I arrived at Thirsty First just as The Deluxe Fiasco was starting their set. I was completely unfamiliar with them but was pleasantly surprised to see that they are led by Scott Matthew Pittman, who I've seen play with many other bands. The band has that ramshackle folk sound we tend to like around here, equal parts polished and rough, and included so many members that Pittman was set up next to the stage in the doorway. A highlight was when the band passed around lyrics to their brand new single, "Art is the Handmaid of Human Good," for a sing-a-long. They referred to the song as the "national anthem of Lowell," which was perfect for this fest...

The second night of The Town and The City Festival was the traditional style for the festival with multiple bands playing venues all over downtown Lowell. For me, the night started out at Koto Asian Fusion, a relatively new music venue and a sister venue to Koto in Salem. The stage for the shows Friday night was in the main restaurant, which led to some awkward milling about before the music started. Up first was The Shallows, a Boston band I was unfamiliar with. They play a blend of gorgeous shoegaze inspired alt-rock that was for the most part laid back, and was the perfect way to ease people into an evening of music. Their set inspired some slow dancing to break out periodically, and it's easy to see why. The Shallows play shoegaze, but a version of the genre that is pop leaning, at least in that late 90's alt-rock leaning into pop way.  Lovina Falls played next. It was my third time seeing Valerie Forgione's baroque pop project live, and what strikes me is how different...

The Town and The City Festival is becoming an annual musical highlight for us. Taking over downtown Lowell for the weekend, this year's festival expanded to a third night, which was a festival kickoff with Lady Lamb, Ezra Furman, and Class President. I personally try to see Ezra Furman and Lady Lamb as much as possible, so heading out to Taffeta Music Hall was a no-brainer for me. Opening up the show was Lowell's own Class President. It had been about a year and a half since I last saw them at The Overlook (RIP Mill No. 5), and I was excited to see them again. Their version of pop focused indie rock has only improved since 2023, and I'm now officially on the bandwagon as a fan. Their songs are undeniably catchy with just enough of an edge to keep it from being pure pop, and they put on a ridiculously fun show. I might be tempted to call them pop punk, but they just barely fit into that genre and are a little too alt-rock for that. Regardless, they're a band you need to ...

The Town and The City Festival is one of our favorite events of the year. Some of our favorite bands play every year, and wandering from venue to venue always reminds me of going to CMJ during my college radio years. Three nights of music can be tricky to navigate, so here are our recommendations of the must see artists for 2025! Thursday April 24 Lady Lamb (9:30 pm) and Ezra Furman (8:15 pm) Taffeta, 122 Western Ave at Western Ave Studios Lady Lamb and Ezra Furman are two of our absolute favorite artists at If It's Too Loud..., so we're thrilled to see them playing together. As The Town and The City Festival expands to three nights, this is the only Thursday night show, but it would be a huge deal no matter when it was. These are two of the most compelling alt-rock/indie singer-songwriters around these days, and two of the most engaging performers I've had the pleasure of seeing. Friday April 25 The Sheila Divine (10:00 pm) Taffeta, 122 Western Ave at Western Ave Studios I...

We love The Town and The City Festival that takes over downtown Lowell annually, and this year's line up has been extra crazy great. Today they announced the individual show line ups, and there are choices to be made. Thursday is easy not only because there's one show, but because it features Lady Lamb, Ezra Furman, and Class President at Taffeta. After that, good luck deciding. Ken will probably be at Zorba Music Hall at 10:15 for The Sheila Divine, but that night also features performances from Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, Twisted Pine, Lovina Falls, The PA's, The Freqs, and many, many more. Saturday is just as crazy with Girl with a Hawk, The Chelsea Curve, Loudon Wainwright III, Hilken Mancini & Melissa Gibbs, Senseless Optimism, Gross Girls, The Ghouls, and many, many more. Good luck deciding! The Town and The City Festival runs April 24-26 all throughout downtown Lowell. Multi-day passes are on sale now. Individual show tickets go on sale this Friday, Februar...

The Town and The City Festival once again takes over downtown Lowell this year, and once again it keeps getting bigger and better. Expanding to three days over April 24 to 26, the festival starts on Thursday with Lady Lamb and Ezra Furman at Taffeta Music Hall. That's enough to get us there front and center, but there are also a ton of our friends and favorites playing the rest of the weekend! Playing this year are indie rock stalwarts The Sheila Divine, Maine/Boston lifers Heretix, bluegrass fusion favorites Twisted Pine, garage rockers The Chelsea Curve, genre busting singer-songwriter Senseless Optimism, Hilken Mancini & Melissa Gibbs, Lowell's new favorites The Ghouls, Lovina Falls, Girl with a Hawk, The Freqs, The PA's, Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, and many, many more! The Town and The City Festival runs April 24 to 26 all over downtown Lowell. Multi-day passes go on sale Friday January 17. For more information, check out the festival's website .

This past weekend saw the return of The Town and The City Festival to downtown Lowell over Friday and Saturday. With such a stacked line up and so many bands to see, it was impossible to see them all, or even every band you wanted to see. I tried to take in as much as possible, had to make some tough decisions (or had some made for me), and had a fantastic two nights of music. I started off my night at Smokehouse Tavern to see The Only Things, , Muck and the Mires, and Linnea's Garden. I've been listening to The Only Things for years now, but this was my first time finally seeing the Lowell band live. I missed a few songs of their set, but from what I saw they out on a great show. Just some solid punk and garage rock and roll played by a group of guys just having fun with it. They closed with a cover of The Replacements' "Bastard of Young," which fit right in with their own songs. Next up for me was Muck and the Mires. I'm always shocked that the Boston garage...

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: Friday April 26 The Town and the City Festival, Lowell, MA      Tysk Tysk Task, One Fall, Subpunch, and Burp. at The Old Court     Frank Morey, Sofia Talvik, and Evan Goodrow at Gallery Z     Cuidado, Linnea's Garden, Muck and the Mires, and The Only Things at                   Smokehouse Tavern     Orbit and D-Tension & The Secrets at Warp & Weft Kid Gulliver and The Smallest Town Ensemble at Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company, Framingham, MA Screaming Dead, Gretchen Shae & The...

I've wanted to go to The Town and The City Festival ever since the very first one was announced, but it had never quite worked out. When the line up was announced for October 2021, I could finally go... and then it was postponed. Luckily I was able to make it to the Saturday edition, but had to miss artists like Tanya Donelly & The Parkington Sisters, The Old Rochelle, Hilken Mancini and Chris Colburn, the live debut of Aaron & The Lord, and more. The two shows I caught on Saturday were fairly epic, though. My evening started off at The Worthen Attic, which was basically the second floor of a pub. It's the kind of place where the stage is just an area in the corner of the room on the floor behind a post, but these places have their very own charm. First up was Lowell's own Tysk Tysk Task. Even though I've been a rabid fan for a few years now, and they're very local, seeing them live has just never worked out before. Playing as a duo with Samantha Hartsel on ...

Today two fantastic mostly local music festivals were announced in the Boston suburbs. Both have plenty of If It's Too Loud... approved artists and are highly recommended.  Brite Lites Music Festival Night Shift Brewing, Everett, MA 7/27/19 Happening just over two weeks from now is the second edition of the Brite Lites Music Festival at Night Shift Brewing in Everett, MA. Headlining the day's festivities are longtime blog favorite Weakened Friends. Far from just being a showcase of 90's inspired indie rock, the festival also features the folk/Americana stylings of The Wolff Sisters and two "how are they not international megastars?" Boston hip hop artists Cliff Notez and Oompa. Oompa in particular is ridiculous live, so make sure you get there early enough to catch her. There are also a few artists we're not familiar with, but what's a festival without a few discoveries? Speaking of getting there early, the event is free before 11:00 am, and $10 at...

When I first heard about The Town & City Festival happening in Lowell, MA, I assumed it would be limited to local Lowell area bands, and maybe a Boston band or two with Lowell ties. "A Fall Celebration of Music and Art in Lowell" just gives off a local vibe. When the line up was announced yesterday, to say I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement. There are some local artists playing (Arlen, D-Tension) but there are some huge favorites of ours, also. Playing are "new" favorites like Kingsley Flood and Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. But somehow the festival are legends Edo G, Damon and Naomi, and Kristin Hersh (!?!?!?!?!!!). And they are throwing in a bunch of artists that we always see listed and mean to check out but never quite get around to it (Abbie Barrett, Analog Heart, Frank Morey, Oldsoul). Of course, there are more to be announced, but you can check out the current line up on the poster to the left. The Town and The C...