Support WBUR
2025 Spring Arts Guides
14 albums by New England musicians to listen to this spring
After an especially frigid end to this New England winter, we’re likely all craving a bit more warmth and light. Local musicians seem to be answering that call. At a time of constant division and negativity, the albums being released have a tinge of optimism and hope that can seem almost subversive. Whether it’s a longtime rocker like Adam Sherman finding his “Gratitude” or the explosive MC and producer MO the Great inviting us to join her in “Drinks of Hope,” or Naomi Westwater offering the full cycle of a year, or fascinating concept records from jazz great Greg Hopkins and rockers Lady Pills and Hallelujah The Hills, there will be no shortage of music to match the season.
Attractors, 'Super Big'
March 16
Ska music has had many permutations, but it was originally created by Jamaican jazz musicians. One would be hard-pressed to find a modern band that keeps that spirit alive better than Boston’s Attractors, the instrumental combo led by trumpeter/composer Rich Graiko. For the band’s first LP in five years, the Attractors have 10 catchy Graiko originals that go well beyond ska-jazz thanks to touches of tango, rocksteady, steel pan, bebop and deep dub. The tunes are anchored by one of the best riddim sections around, bassist Thaddeus Merritt and drummer Jesse Hayes. The cast also includes such long-standing ska and reggae scene standouts as saxophonist JC Cohen, trombonist Buford O’Sullivan, Skatalites keyboardist Ken Stewart, and guitarist Van Gordon Martin. The 87-year-old Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald, who was there at the dawn of ska, adds an especially magic touch to this session of jazz you can dance to. The album will be released on the venerable Chicago ska label Jump Up Records.
The Attractors play the fourth Friday of every month at the Plough and Stars in Cambridge and the fourth Sunday of every month at The Stomping Ground in Putnam, Connecticut and appear at a “triple release party” May 17 at the Crystal Ballroom with Bim Skala Bim and the Brunt of It.
Aversed, 'Erasure of Color'
March 21
They may have gotten their start as a Berklee student band, but nearly a decade later, Boston’s Aversed has earned a well-deserved international following for its scorching progressive death metal and deep songwriting — not to mention having a female frontwoman in an infamously male-dominated genre. This is the group’s first LP since new lead vocalist Sarah Hartman came into the fold, and she can shift so seamlessly between guttural screaming and gorgeous melodic singing that it can sound like the band has two lead singers.
Harvey Diamond & John Lentz, 'how strange the road should be so easy'
March 21
At 76, and now retired from a healthcare career, jazz singer John Lentz is releasing his debut album. The soft-voiced Lentz is teaming up with another artist who has spent more time on local bandstands than in the studio, 82-year-old maverick pianist Harvey Diamond, for this recording of standards. Together the two make a sound that can seem dreamy before the musical surprises start. The album will be released on Orchard of Pomegranates, a Montreal-based label dedicated to vocal improvisation and deep listening.
Adam Sherman, 'Nowhere But Here'
March 28
Longtime Boston rocker Adam Sherman aims straight for the heart on this EP of gorgeous baroque pop. Over 40 years after he first appeared on local stages with the storied band Private Lightning, and after a more recent stint with the Nervous Eaters, Sherman is coming into his own as a songwriter. The lead track “Gratitude” was written after Sherman considered what could lift him up during a dark and discouraging time, and features harmony vocals from another local legend, Robin Lane.
Adam Sherman celebrates the release and opens for Robin Lane on March 29 at Club Passim.
Farayi Malek, 'Edge of the Earth'
March 27
Boston singer and educator Farayi Malek has exceptional jazz chops, but her appearance at last fall’s “Country Music: Black Roots and Branches” at Berklee showed that she can also deliver an Americana torch song with passion and nuance. And, based on the first two singles, she’s going down a country road for her debut EP, which will also bring to the forefront her impressive songwriting.
The Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra, 'CHRONOGRAPHY'
April 1
Trumpeter/bandleader/educator Greg Hopkins has been an integral part of the Boston jazz scene for over 50 years, and a mentor to generations of players and arrangers. “CHRONOGRAPHY” is his ode to the Great American Songbook and Boston jazz history through burning big band rearrangements of standards like “Come Sunday” and “In a Sentimental Mood.” Among the many Boston jazz greats whose soaring solos are heard are pianist Tim Ray, saxophonist Bill Pierce and singer Renese King. The album will be released by Boston’s Un-Gyve Limited Group.
The Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra celebrates the album release on April 4 at Scullers Jazz Club.
Lady Pills, 'Renowned in the Roaring Twenties'
April 4
No one can write and deliver a hooky indie pop-rock song like Ella Boissonnault, who performs as Lady Pills. For the third Lady Pills LP, Boissonnault has made a concept record about how life as a professional musician has evolved since the pandemic. Even when it’s sung to a banging dance beat, the world she depicts in her musical stories isn’t always an easy or happy one, but there’s also a sense of upliftment when, in the track “BN2B,” Boissonnault sings that “I’m still fighting for the slice that’s mine.”
Lady Pills celebrates the album release April 4 at Myrtle in East Providence, April 5 at Auspicious Brew in Dover, New Hampshire and April 6 at The Rockwell in Somerville.
Mark Erelli + His String Quintet, 'Live in Rockport'
April 16
Last summer, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Mark Erelli stepped onto the stage of the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport with his guitar, some of his best songs, and a string quintet that dramatically reinspired his material. Happily, the tape was rolling and the evening of powerful chamber-folk was captured on this forthcoming live album. Erelli’s string ensemble is co-led by his Barnstar! bandmate double bassist Zachariah Hickman and Annie Bartlett on viola.
Mark Erelli performs on March 14 at Club Passim. Mark Erelli + His String Quintet celebrate the release of the album May 1 at Groton Hill Music Center.
Rick Berlin with The Nickel & Dime Band, 'WTF!?'
April 18
The deliciously quirky songs of Rick Berlin have been a staple of Boston’s music scene ever since his mid-1970s outfit Orchestra Luna was a WBCN favorite. The ultimate cult artist, Berlin spent nearly a decade playing at the drag bar Jacques’ Cabaret, and the former Doyle’s bartender is one of Jamaica Plain’s most beloved fixtures. In recent years, he’s made music with the sprawling Nickel & Dime Band. On "WTF?!," the band gives Berlin’s unique lyrics settings that range from country to disco to New Orleans funk.
Rick Berlin with The Nickel & Dime Band celebrate both the album’s release and Berlin’s 80th birthday April 19 at the Brighton Music Hall.
Duke Robillard meets Soulshot featuring Andy Bassford and Mark Berney, 'Two Guitars, One Sound'
April 20
Duke Robillard might be best known as one of the founding greats of the New England blues scene, but in recent years he’s recorded everything from organ jazz to early New Orleans swing. Now comes his apparent reggae debut: A blazing session with Rhode Island’s all-star collective Soulshot. The tracks, which range from heavy dub to swinging ska, find Robillard dueling with reggae guitar god Andy Bassford along with the equally versatile trumpeter Mark Berney, whose credits range from the Skatalites and Elovaters to Itzhak Perlman and the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
An album release party will take place April 27 at the Knickerbocker Music Center in Westerly, RI.
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, '7 Shades of Melancholia'
April 25
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol continues to bridge modern jazz with both classical composition ideas and the sounds of his native Turkey without being constrained by the limitations of any of those genres. Following his 2023 big band record, he’s heard here with a small unit that features fellow Bostonians James Heazlewood-Dale on acoustic bass, George Lernis on drums and gongs, and Lihi Haruvi-Means on soprano saxophone, as well as trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on trumpet. Sanlikol appears on piano, voice and an instrument of his own invention: a digital microtonal piano called the Renaissance 17. While all seven tracks have their own high-concept origin stories, they share a sense of hüzün, the Turkish word for melancholia that gives the record a powerful emotional thrust.
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol will perform a faculty recital on March 27 at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.
Naomi Westwater, 'Cycle & Change'
May 9
Boston singer-songwriter and 2024 WBUR Maker Naomi Westwater spent a decade creating the songs that appear on their next album, which take the listener on a journey through the cycle of an entire year. The album’s 16 tracks represent the eight sun holidays like the summer solstice and the winter equinox. Westwater’s enchanting voice and introspective lyrics, drawn from their own story but relatable to anyone who changes with the seasons, make this a most special concept album.
Naomi Westwater appears as part of “Reclaiming Folk: Celebrate the Rich Legacy of Folk Music of People of Color” on March 22 at the Boston Public Library. An album release party will be announced later this spring.
MO the Great, 'Drinks of Hope'
May 17
The unstoppable Roxbury-based MC MO the Great has production talents that match her formidable microphone skills. For her first fully self-produced LP, she’s drawn on her Nigerian American heritage to create a sound she calls Afro-Futuristic tribal. That means layered African rhythms and chants underscore MO’s sharp, reflective and reality-based lyrics for a unique and deeply satisfying sonic experience.
Hallelujah The Hills, 'DECK'
June 13
For 20 years, Boston’s Hallelujah The Hills have made full-blast rock ‘n’ roll that manages to be literate without ever losing its sense of humor. So it’s appropriate that the band is celebrating with its biggest and most eye-popping concept record to date: a four-LP set of 52 songs called “DECK.” Each song was inspired by a playing card (and a full deck with original artwork actually comes with the album). A long list of friends are joining them, including Craig Finn (The Hold Steady), Ezra Furman, Tanya Donelly and Red Sox organist Josh Kantor — not to mention a Nigerian choir and an Irish bagpiper. And yes, there are two bonus songs to represent the Joker cards.
