Top Boston Bands

Dutch Rebelle

Dutch ReBelle grew up listening to opera, dancehall reggae and No Doubt as well as the Fugees, Goodie Mob and Wu-Tang Clan. “With all my projects, I feel like there’s gonna be a variety because that’s who I am. That’s what I mean by ReBelle Diaries. I used to rap over beats that made no sense with hip-hop, like Tina Turner shit.” After graduating from Penn State with a journalism degree in 2009, ReBelle refocused on rapping, honing her skills at local and national showcases where crowds don’t always expect a female MC to walk out. “That works in my favor,” she says. “The flipside is [they’re] super-critical. You’d better get it right within that first 30 seconds.”

Tigerman WOAH

Playing everywhere from labor rallies to rock clubs, Tigerman WOAH have become Boston’s favorite rabble-rousers, blending blues, punk and Appalachian folk into foot-stomping revivals that champion the working class.
“It’s all coming from the same place, a response to a repressive world,” says frontman Adam Kaz, who howls like Tom Waits and whacks away at a painted banjo-ukelele. He and electric guitarist Jon Feinstorm migrated to Boston from Georgia, enamored with both early-century roots music and socialism. Raised on politically charged punk in his teens, Kaz moved on to Pete Seeger and the Smithsonian Folkways series. “When Jonny and I got [Folkways], we lost our shit,” he says. “That was a good two years where I didn’t listen to anything but that, the Carter Family, Son House and Bukka White.”

 

Bent Shapes

To many, digital music distribution has made hard copies irrelevant—but singer/guitarist Ben Potrykus and drummer Andy Sadoway also see it as an opportunity for novel ideas. With their trio Girlfriends, they released songs on cassette and VHS tape, and under their new name, Bent Shapes, they just released a 7-inch on Plexiglass. Bent Shapes’ tunes largely toggle on the metronomic, shifting interplay between principals Sadoway and Potrykus, who says, “The idea of using guitars as percussion instruments, interacting with drums, is pretty fascinating to me.”

Gem Club

Christopher Barnes survived what he calls a “traumatic experience”—having a crane hoist a piano into his Somerville apartment. “I think about when I have to move out,” says the singer/songwriter/pianist of chamber-pop group Gem Club. But it was worth the effort, considering the growing national buzz since the January release of Gem Club’s second album, In Roses. And that piano is where it all starts. “This is always sort of a jumping-off point, me and a piano, and then we figure out how to take it from there.” For In Roses, Barnes and his collaborators, cellist Kristen Drymala and vocalist Ieva Berberian, recorded at John Vanderslice’s San Francisco studio, broadening their palette through synthesizers and samplers as well as strings arranged with the Magik*Magik Orchestra’s Minna Choi. They’ve since taken drum machines and the synthesizers on tour, and Barnes says they’re working on reducing the orchestral scores so they might employ small string sections at special shows.

Petty Morals

When the six women of Petty Morals first took the stage at the 2014 Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble at T.T. the Bear’s Place, it didn’t take long to predict their deserving romp to the finals. They had delicious dance-punk chops, a joyous rock-’n’-roll attitude befitting a group that got its name from a quote by Keith Richards, and wicked catchy tunes, from originals like the breezy twister “Not Going Back” to a killer cover of the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance.” And of course, there’s that girl-power thang, magnified through giddy smiles and show-specific fashion accessories, like Batman fight-scene bubble quotes pasted on each member. “Bam!” indeed. “We’re still silly girls,” drummer Lauren Recchia says, “but we’re also professional.”

Krill

It’s not typical for a band’s lyricist to picture himself as a tree, a blade of grass or a turd stuck circling the toilet bowl. But Krill isn’t your typical band.
“The thing that drew me to philosophy was what drew me to Krill stuff,” says bassist/singer Jonah Furman, who majored in philosophy at Johns Hopkins and dabbles in existential lyrics as abstract as his Jamaica Plain trio’s art-punk. “We’re doing complicated stuff, but we’re still pretty sloppy,” Furman says with a note of pride. “We came up with our own thing in Somerville, then we went to Allston and got loud, and then we went to JP and got weird. That’s the reductive narrative, but it’s pretty true.”

The I Want You

The I Want You teeters between control and chaos, its keen pop structures leavened by the loose feel of a band that jammed for three months before members decided they should probably play a gig. “Our rule’s been just to let it go and play,” bassist/singer Jim Gerdeman says. “We let everyone do their thing or add their thing to it. There’s no real controlling idea that we’re trying to sound like or shared influences that we’re trying to hit.” The I Want You’s free-flowing chemistry stems from members’ diverse influences and previous bands. Gerdeman grew up on classic rock like the Electric Light Orchestra and Cheap Trick. Guitarist/keyboardist Jonathan Donaldson came from the Color Forms as a fan of the Smiths and psychedelic pop. And guitarist Blake Girndt played songs about the TV series Lost in the Easthampton novelty band the Others. All three split lead vocals while Jonathan Ulman (Thalia Zedek) mans the drums.
 

The Hotelier

Punk rock often fits the trope “three chords and the truth.” But in the case of Christian Holden, singer/bassist of the Hotelier, the truth gets expounded upon. He lets emotions fly in torrents of lyrical introspection, and songs on his Worcester-based band’s second album, Home, Like Noplace Is There, hover in the 300-word range. Holden, guitarists Chris Hoffman and Ben Gauthier, and drummer Sam Frederick met as students at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley, originally taking the moniker the Hotel Year. They began touring in 2011, evolving from pop-punk, a style Holden deemed “kind of shallow,” to more socio-politically conscious rock, influenced by emo bands the Promise Ring and the Get Up Kids.

Doom Lover

There’s a lot going on at a Doom Lover show, starting with the divergent musical backgrounds its three singers bring to the stage. Jeffrey Vachon comes to Doom Lover from blues-rock ravers Big East, his fellow guitarist Geoff Smith hails from quieter shoegaze group De Osos, and synthesist Nikki Dessingue graced electro-pop outfits Stereo Telescope and the chaotic Campaign for Real-Time.

Parlour Bells

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect odd-couple pairing on the Boston rock scene than Parlour Bells co-founders Glenn di Benedetto and Nate Leavitt. “I probably bring the weirder side of things,” says gangly, colorful frontman di Benedetto, adding of burly, bearded guitarist/producer Leavitt, “He sorta anchors me.” Leavitt, who also plays with soul-rockers OldJack and his own Nate Leavitt Band, met di Benedetto in junior high school in Andover. They started playing in bands, inspired by Guns N’ Roses and the L.A. metal scene, then Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction. “Things like that stuck with us, the flamboyance of glam-rock,” says di Benedetto, whose persona nods to David Bowie and Jane’s Perry Farrell.

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Top 5 Boston Venues Locals Love Playing

While Boston's House of Blues and a bunch of 200-plus capacity venues play host to bigger names, there are a ton of smaller rooms where the local scene is absolutely thriving. Like in any city, it's at those venues where up-and-coming artists including Berklee students and alumni, electronic DJs, and garage-punk bands hone their craft and develop loyal fanbases.
We've picked five of our favorites for their commitment to the area's on-the-rise artists as well as their welcoming of underground touring acts. There's even a mid-size venue in the bunch – it made the cut for maintaining its allegiance to the local scene despite also welcoming more established artists. There are plenty more worthy options we could have included, but this crop, we think, are exemplary of Boston's mixed musical landscape and the locals' enthusiasm for all it offers.

1. T.T. the Bear's Place

Rock 'n' roll is the apparent focus at this Cambridge spot, at least as of late. Bands like San Francisco's Cool Ghouls and LA-by-way-of-Ottawa act Peach Kelli Pop have both recently appeared on the calendar and, to the delight of locals, both bills featured at least one Boston band as an opener. That doesn't mean every show with a touring headliner is open to local bands, but the venue clearly considers them when possible. T.T. The Bear's is a pillar of the local rock 'n' roll scene in general, really. This May, it'll host – for the fifth year running – the annual Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, a battle-of-the bands-style competition established way back in 1979 that's open to local acts from the greater Boston area. Oh, and the club was also the backdrop for Sebadoh's "Ocean" video in the '90s!

2. O'Brien's Pub

The smaller, cozier sister venue to the 240-cap Great Scott, this Allston club can only host about 60 people – and for bands and artists still growing their fanbases, that's a pretty perfect capacity. O'Brien's Pub welcomes all genres, but its calendar lately shows a penchant for both touring and local acts pushing hardcore, metal, pop-punk, and the variations in between. Because of its size, O'Brien's makes a great spot for locals (many from the greater Boston area, too) looking to hone their chops, as well as newer or niche touring bands. Plus, sometimes deserving bands are plucked from the Pub for gigs at Great Scott.

3. Church of Boston

Located just a few blocks from Fenway Park, Church renovated a now-closed venue's spot in 2007 to provide both an upscale bistro and a 225-capacity club. For hip-hop heads, it's a boon for the local scene – according to the venue, their Motivate Mondays event is the city's only underground weekly open mic night. Area musicians of other genres can also appreciate Church for its month-long residencies during which bands and artists can grow their fanbases with performances every Tuesday. There's room for locals on the weekends, too, from Berklee students and grads to formidable up-and-comers playing virtually every style possible.

4. Atwood's Tavern

This Cambridge spot is a haven for local bluegrass, country, Americana, and folk players, and the Bostonians who love them. It's more of an intimate listening room than a bustling venue, and that's perfect for the style of music presented. There aren't many hubs in the city for this particular crowd, and this is certainly one of the best.

5. Middlesex Lounge

Though folk, soul, Afrobeat, and reggae make an appearance from time to time, electronic music has a heavy presence at Middlesex Lounge. Pumping up dance parties Thursday through Sunday each week are eclectic DJs like the BREK.ONE, who spins a blend of hip-hop, dancehall, electro, and more, or The Bladerunners, a duo that filters everything from pop-punk to hip-hop to Hall & Oates into their party-starting tracks. Their weekly electronic dance night is where you'll often find special guests, like London-based trippy techno artist Daniel Avery.

Click here to start booking gigs in Boston, or keep learning more about the local scene:
How to Book Gigs in Boston, According to a Bowery Boston Talent Buyer
Top 5 Boston Venues for Independent Artists (And How to Book Them!)
Boston's Biggest Stage: Everything You Need to Know About Busking